Augustus Silver Denarius, RIC I (second edition) Augustus 105A

Monetary Context and Historical Setting

The monetary system of the early Roman Empire underwent significant structural transformation following the constitutional settlements of 27 and 23 BC. In the early imperial period, Rome's mint remained intermittently inactive for precious metal striking, leading Augustus to establish decentralized regional branch mints to supply silver and gold coinage for administrative expenditures, provincial governance, and military payrolls. The western provinces, particularly Hispania, served as central hubs for this decentralized production due to their abundant mineral wealth and substantial garrison needs. In 20 BC, Augustus achieved one of his most celebrated diplomatic triumphs: negotiating the return of the Roman legionary standards and surviving prisoners captured by the Parthians from Crassus at Carrhae in 53 BC, Decidius Saxa in 40 BC, and Mark Antony in 36 BC. To commemorate this victory without presenting it as an aggressive war of conquest, Augustan official messaging framed the event as the divine vindication of Roman honor overseen by Mars Ultor (Mars the Avenger). Denarii such as RIC I (second edition) Augustus 105A provided an ideal medium to disseminate this triumph to soldiers and citizens alike, embedding the ideological themes of peace through strength and divine retribution into the everyday currency of the empire.

Mint Attribution and Production Methods

The attribution of this coin series has generated significant discussion in twentieth-century numismatics. In earlier scholarship, including the first edition of Roman Imperial Coinage, many Augustan precious metal coins lacking explicit mint marks were attributed broadly to eastern or Gallic mints such as Lugdunum. However, detailed die link studies, style analyses, and provenance records conducted by scholars such as Colin M. Kraay and C. H. V. Sutherland established that a major silver and gold workshop functioned in Hispania Baetica between approximately 20 and 16 BC. This workshop is conventionally located at Colonia Patricia (modern Cordoba), which served as the provincial capital and a vital administrative hub. Production at Colonia Patricia was characterized by high artistic quality, careful die cutting, and meticulous flan preparation. Flans were cast in spherical or lenticular moulds and struck by hand between engraved iron dies. The obverse dies exhibit fine rendering of hair locks, idealized facial anatomy, and consistent lettering, indicating that die engravers may have received official three-dimensional models or official imperial sketches dispatched directly from the imperial capital. The denarius was struck to the standard Roman silver target of 1/84 of a Roman pound (libra), yielding an intended theoretical mean weight of approximately 3.85 grams of high-fineness silver, generally exceeding ninety-five percent purity.

Obverse Design and Iconography

The obverse of RIC I (second edition) Augustus 105A features the head of Augustus facing right, wearing a laurel wreath. The portrait reflects the mature 'Primaporta' stylistic mode that became the canonical image of the first Roman emperor. Rather than the harsh realism or dynamic emotionalism of late Republican veristic portraiture, the portrait is classical, dignified, and serene, deliberately evoking the idealized proportions of fifth-century BC Greek sculpture. The cheekbones are smoothly modelled, the nose is straight and prominent, and the hair falls across the forehead in carefully balanced, comma-shaped locks. The addition of the laurel wreath is emblematic of victory, religious purification, and senatorial honors, specifically evoking the corona civica and the laurel branches decreed to frame the entrance of Augustus's Palatine residence in 27 BC. Die cutters at Colonia Patricia rendered the wreath with fine leaf veining and prominent ties extending behind the nape of the neck, framing the portrait within a disciplined, regal composition.

Reverse Iconography and Architectural Representation

The reverse of the coin presents a detailed architectural depiction of a hexastyle circular or domed temple dedicated to Mars Ultor. The facade displays six columns supporting a domed roof and entablature. Positioned between the central columns within the intercolumniation is an aquila (the legionary eagle standard), flanked on either side by a military standard (signum). In the field or across the architectural composition, the abbreviated inscription MAR VLT appears, confirming the dedication to Mars the Avenger. This design is of paramount architectural and historical significance. The grand marble Temple of Mars Ultor situated in the Forum of Augustus in Rome was not consecrated until 2 BC. Numismatists and architectural historians conclude that the temple depicted on this 18 BC denarius represents either the small circular shrine of Mars Ultor erected on the Capitoline Hill to hold the standards temporarily, or an early architectural model circulated prior to final construction. By placing the legionary eagle and standards within a temple facade, the reverse iconography conveys that Rome's restored military honor had been consecrated under divine guardianship, transforming a military humiliation into a civic and religious triumph.

Epigraphy and Legends

The legends on RIC I (second edition) Augustus 105A are concise and ideologically charged. The obverse legend reads CAESARI AVGVSTO, struck in the dative case. This formulation indicates that the coin, or the honor it commemorates, was dedicated 'to Caesar Augustus' by the senate and the Roman people. The use of the dative was common on provincial and commemorative issues of this period, shifting the voice of the coin from an assertive declaration of authority by the ruler to a collective expression of gratitude and reverence by the Roman state. The lettering exhibits clean, classical Roman lapidary capitals, characterized by distinct serifs and uniform proportions. The reverse legend MAR VLT is an abbreviation for 'Marti Ultori' (to Mars the Avenger), mirroring the dative dedication of the obverse. This epigraphic pairing binds the terrestrial princeps to the martial divinity, framing Augustus as the agent through whom Mars enacted retribution against Parthia for past Roman defeats.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the standard classification established by C. H. V. Sutherland in the revised second edition of The Roman Imperial Coinage (1984), this coin is listed as RIC I (second edition) Augustus 105A. It belongs to a closely related sequence of issues struck in Hispania Baetica around 18 BC that feature Mars Ultor iconography. Related variants in the series include types where the temple is depicted with four columns (tetrastyle) or with a round domed rotunda without visible flanking colonnades, as well as companion issues in gold (aurei) bearing identical or complementary reverse dies. While RIC 105 carries a bare head, RIC 105A specifically designates the laureate obverse variant with the hexastyle temple reverse. Sutherland dated the main activity of the Colonia Patricia mint from approximately 19 BC to 16 BC, placing this issue firmly in 18 BC based on die link clusters, portrait development, and the chronological alignment with Augustus's return to Rome from the East and his celebration of the Parthian restitution. The type is distinct from contemporary eastern issues struck at Pergamum or Ephesus, which also feature the temple of Mars Ultor but exhibit regional stylistic differences in lettering, flan shape, and portraiture.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Monetary Impact

Denarii of RIC I (second edition) Augustus 105A entered a monetary economy in the process of rapid expansion and integration. While minted in Hispania Baetica, these coins were not restricted to regional circulation; the Augustan silver denarius was legal tender across all provinces and legions of the Roman Empire. Substantial quantities moved rapidly northward along the Iberian road network and into Gaul and the Rhine frontier, where Augustus was reorganizing military commands and establishing permanent legionary bases. Hoard evidence from western Europe, such as finds in Spain, France, and western Germany, shows that Augustan denarii of the Spanish branch mints remained in active circulation for decades. Because they were struck to a high silver standard, many specimens continued to circulate alongside later Julio-Claudian issues well into the mid-first century AD. By the time of Nero's monetary reform in 64 AD and the subsequent civil wars of 68 to 69 AD, earlier Augustan silver had experienced noticeable wear, leading many specimens to be culled and melted down during subsequent imperial re-coinages.

References

1. The Chronology of the Coinage of Colonia Patricia and Caesaraugusta. pp. 113-131
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume I: Augustus to Vitellius. pp. 58-61
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC I (second edition) Augustus 105A. ric.1(2).aug.105A
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume I: From 31 BC to AD 69 (Revised Edition). p. 43, no. 105A
5. Roman Silver Coins, Volume I: Republic to Augustus. Augustus, nos. 190-205
6. The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus. pp. 183-192