Augustus Silver Denarius, RIC I (second edition) Augustus 126

Monetary Context and Imperial Policy

The monetary reforms undertaken by Augustus between 23 BC and 18 BC established the definitive structure of the imperial Roman currency system, replacing the fractured wartime coinages of the triumviral period with an integrated, multi-tiered fiduciary and precious-metal framework. Central to this system was the silver denarius, tariffed at sixteen bronze asses or four brass sestertii. Following the constitutional settlement of 23 BC, Augustus reorganised precious-metal production to ensure a dependable supply of coin for the legions stationed on the western frontiers and for administrative expenditures in newly pacified provinces. While senatorial moneyers continued to strike limited bronze and occasional precious-metal types in Rome, Augustus established major western mint operations in Hispania to fulfill large-scale military and provincial payroll requirements. Denarii such as RIC I (second edition) Augustus 126 played a vital role in demonstrating imperial legitimacy throughout the western provinces. Unlike the republican and triumviral denarii that preceded them, which frequently highlighted ancestral lineages or factional military slogans, Augustan provincial denarii projected an ideology of universal order, divine sanction, and imperial abundance.

Production and Mint Attribution

Numismatic scholarship has extensively scrutinized the mint attribution of the unsigned western silver issues of Augustus. In early twentieth-century scholarship, Harold Mattingly tentatively associated this stylistic group with uncertain mints in Spain or Gaul, occasionally proposing Caesaraugusta or Nemausus. However, subsequent detailed hoard studies, die analyses, and regional find distributions conducted by C. H. V. Sutherland established that the primary workshop responsible for this series was located at Colonia Patricia (modern Córdoba), the capital of the senatorial province of Baetica. Colonia Patricia possessed substantial metallurgical infrastructure, proximity to the prolific silver mines of the Sierra Morena, and strong civic loyalty to the imperial house. Die alignment on these issues is predominantly fixed at 12 o'clock or 6 o'clock, reflecting disciplined workshop standards. The denarius was struck to an intended weight standard around 3.85 to 3.90 grams, utilizing high-grade silver with fineness typically exceeding 97 to 98 percent. The refined die-cutting observed on RIC I (second edition) Augustus 126 reflects the presence of highly skilled engravers, likely dispatched directly from metropolitan centers or trained in official imperial workshops.

Obverse Iconography and Style

The obverse of RIC I (second edition) Augustus 126 presents an unadorned, bare head of Augustus facing right, entirely devoid of surrounding inscriptions. This anepigraphic presentation represents an artistic choice characteristic of several prestige emissions from Spanish and Gallic workshops during the mid-20s and teens BC. By omitting titular abbreviations, the engraver allowed the naturalistic yet idealized portrait to command undivided attention. The style contrasts sharply with the expressive, veristic portraiture of the late Roman Republic and the triumviral issues of Octavian, adopting instead the smooth contours, balanced proportions, and calm demeanor of classical Greek sculpture, particularly inspired by the school of Polyclitus. The youthful depiction does not age realistically across the ruler's reign, serving instead as a timeless visual embodiment of the Princeps. The treatment of the hair, arranged in distinct, layered locks curving gracefully over the temple and nape, became a diagnostic hallmark of Augustan court portraiture known from the Primaporta sculpture type and contemporary imperial dies.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse design centers upon the capricorn, a mythological sea-creature with the foreparts of a horned goat and the coiled tail of a fish, oriented to the right. Between its forelegs, the creature clutches a terrestrial globe fitted with an attached steering rudder, while a horn of plenty (cornucopia) laden with agricultural produce rests upon its back. The capricorn held supreme personal significance for Augustus. As recorded by Suetonius in his Life of Augustus, the princeps was so impressed by the favorable astrological horoscope cast by the astrologer Theogenes in Apollonia that he published his birth sign and caused a silver coin to be struck bearing its image. Although born under the sun sign of Libra on September 23, 63 BC, Augustus chose the capricorn, widely interpreted by modern scholars as either the sign of his conception (calculated around late December) or the celestial location of the Moon or planetary ascendant at his birth. The accompanying attributes deepen the allegory: the globe symbolizes worldwide dominion; the rudder denotes divine guidance and naval mastery, commemorating victories such as Actium; and the cornucopia proclaims the return of universal plenty and agricultural prosperity under the Pax Augusta.

Epigraphic Features and Inscriptions

The epigraphy of RIC I (second edition) Augustus 126 is notable for its deliberate economy. The obverse is entirely anepigraphic, carrying no text whatsoever, which emphasizes the visual primacy of the imperial portrait. On the reverse, the inscription is restricted to the single nominative title AVGVSTVS, placed horizontally either in the exergue or positioned around the capricorn motif. Conferred upon Octavian by the Roman Senate on January 16, 27 BC, following the motion of Lucius Munatius Plancus, the cognomen 'Augustus' resonated with religious veneration and the ancient concept of augury, signifying one elevated above normal mortals by divine sanction. On this issue, the letters are rendered in elegant Roman monumental capitals with neat serifs and balanced proportions, demonstrating the maturation of imperial epigraphic standards away from the uneven lettering seen on earlier civil war coinages. The unembellished legend functions as both a label for the cosmic imagery and an affirmation of the princeps's paramount status in the Roman state.

Typology and Chronological Placement

Within the typology of the second edition of Roman Imperial Coinage, type 126 belongs to the extensive second series of denarii struck at Colonia Patricia, dated between 18 BC and 17 BC. This date range corresponds to the years immediately following the re-establishment of stable imperial administration in the Iberian peninsula after the termination of the Cantabrian Wars by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa in 19 BC. The type is closely linked to RIC 125, which shares the bare-headed obverse portrait and capricorn reverse but displays the creature facing left rather than right. Parallel denarii produced in the same Patricia series feature laureled obverse portraits or alternate reverse emblems, such as a triumphal quadriga, civic crowns (corona civica), and round shields inscribed CL V (Clipeus Virtutis). Around the same timeframe, the mint of Lugdunum (modern Lyon) and the moneyers in Rome were also striking capricorn reverse designs, yet the distinctive stylistic treatment of the Patricia dies, marked by a crisp profile and a slender, elongated capricorn, allows scholars to categorize RIC 126 as a discrete regional emission.

Circulation Patterns and Archaeological Record

Denarii of RIC I (second edition) Augustus 126 enjoyed widespread and long-lasting circulation across the provinces of the Roman Empire. Initially distributed to meet military payroll demands in Hispania and along the northern frontier garrisons on the Rhine and Danube, specimens moved rapidly into commercial channels throughout Gaul and northern Italy. The substantial volume of output from Colonia Patricia during the late teens BC ensured that this type became a familiar component of early imperial silver currency. Hoard evidence from western Europe shows that these denarii remained in active circulation for several generations. Because Augustan denarii were struck from silver of high fineness, they were frequently hoarded during the economic instabilities of the later first century AD, particularly after Nero's debasement of the denarius in AD 64. Specimens of RIC 126 have been documented in Flavian and Trajanic hoards alongside heavily worn republican and Augustan issues, often exhibiting extensive surface wear consistent with decades of continuous market exchange before final burial.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume I: Augustus to Vitellius. pp. 62-63, nos. 344-346
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC I (second edition) Augustus 126. RIC I (2nd ed.) Augustus 126
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume I: From 31 BC to AD 69 (Revised Edition). pp. 44-45, no. 126
4. De Vita Caesarum: Divus Augustus. Section 94.12
5. The Emperor and the Coinage: Julio-Claudian Studies. pp. 35-52
6. The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus. pp. 47-53