Augustus Denarius, RIC I (second edition) Augustus 37A

Monetary Context

The monetary system of the early Roman Principate took shape through structural reforms initiated by Augustus after the close of the civil wars. While the traditional republican silver denomination was maintained, the denarius became the primary fiscal instrument for state payments, legionary wages, and administrative expenditures across the provinces. In the late twenties and teens BC, Rome's urban mint did not hold an exclusive monopoly over precious metal striking. Instead, substantial series of silver denarii and gold aurei were produced in regional centers, particularly in Hispania and Gaul, to finance troop deployments, infrastructure, and colonial foundations. The issue catalogued as RIC I (second edition) Augustus 37A belongs to this network of provincial precious metal production. It operated on a nominal silver weight standard calibrated to approximately 84 denarii per Roman pound, yielding an intended weight around 3.85 grams of refined silver. The issue reflects the integration of ideological messaging with high-volume fiscal logistics, serving both everyday transactional needs and state communication in the early Augustan administration.

Production and Mints

The attribution of this series to Caesaraugusta, modern Zaragoza, stems from sustained numismatic analysis of stylistic groupings, die links, and geographic hoard concentrations. In the original 1923 edition of Roman Imperial Coinage, many of these Spanish issues were loosely grouped under broader Spanish mint designations or assigned tentatively to Emerita or Patricia. C. H. V. Sutherland's 1984 revision of RIC I reassessed the Spanish precious metal mints, formalizing the assignment of a cohesive group of oak-wreathed and bare-headed portrait types to Caesaraugusta, active between roughly 19 BC and 18 BC. Production utilized hand-engraved bronze or iron dies striking prepared silver planchets. The metallurgical composition of these Spanish denarii is consistently refined, showing fineness levels exceeding 95 percent silver, typical of Augustan imperial issues prior to the later reductions of Nero. Flans were typically circular to slightly oval, often showing bevelled edges produced by pre-striking blank preparation.

Obverse Design and Portraiture

The obverse of RIC I (second edition) Augustus 37A features the right-facing head of Augustus wearing an oak wreath. Known in Roman tradition as the corona civica, the oak wreath was decreed to Augustus by the Roman Senate in 27 BC to honor his preservation of the lives of Roman citizens during the civil conflicts. On this Spanish issue, the portrait exhibits the idealized classicizing features that define Augustan official imagery, characterized by calm facial proportions, a distinctively structured jawline, and neatly arranged hair locks beneath the naturalistic foliage of the wreath. The visual execution contrasts subtly with contemporary Eastern and Gallic issues, possessing a crisp and dignified provincial style. The head is bare-necked and depicted without drapery, focusing viewer attention directly on the sacred and civic decoration bestowed upon the Princeps.

Reverse Iconography: The Sidus Iulium

The reverse iconography centers on an eight-rayed comet, known in Latin as the sidus Iulium or Caesaris astrum, oriented with an elongated tail extending vertically upward. This celestial motif recalls the bright comet that appeared during the funerary games held by Octavian in July 44 BC in honor of the assassinated Julius Caesar. Ancient observers and Octavian's political circle interpreted the comet as a manifestation of Caesar's soul ascending to heaven among the immortal gods, an interpretation subsequently ratified by the official consecration of Divus Julius by the Senate. On RIC 37A, the celestial body is articulated with a central star-like core from which eight distinct rays radiate, accompanied by a linear or curved tail demonstrating its cometary nature. The emblem was among the most potent political symbols available to Augustus, graphically legitimizing his authority as divi filius, the son of the deified Caesar, while linking his present peace to divine favor.

Inscriptions and Epigraphy

The epigraphic program of this type is concise and carefully balanced across both faces of the coin. The obverse bears the inscription CAESAR AVGVSTVS, arranged along the rim around the portrait. This formula reflects the definitive political nomenclature adopted in 27 BC, combining the dynastic name Caesar with the sacrosanct honorific Augustus. The reverse bears the inscription DIVVS IVLIVS, split into two words flanking the comet, typically with DIVVS positioned to the left and IVLIVS to the right. The lettering is rendered in classical Roman square capitals, notable for clear horizontal serifs and symmetrical letterforms. The legends contain no explicit consular dates, tribunician counts, or mintmarks, which was characteristic of regional denarius production during this decade. The verbal pairing of CAESAR AVGVSTVS on the obverse with DIVVS IVLIVS on the reverse constructs an unambiguous statement of dynastic succession and filial piety.

Typology and Chronological Classification

RIC I (second edition) Augustus 37A belongs to a tight sequence of comet denarii struck across multiple workshops in the Spanish provinces between 19 BC and 18 BC. Within the Caesaraugusta series, related variants include RIC 37B, which features the portrait facing left rather than right, and RIC 38, where the comet is depicted with the tail oriented downward. Similar comet types were also produced at other mints, such as Colonia Patricia (RIC 102), as well as in the urban college of moneyers at Rome under P. Petronius Turpilianus and M. Sanquinius around 19 BC and 17 BC. The chronological placement of RIC 37A around 19 to 18 BC aligns with the final settlement of the Cantabrian campaign by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Augustus's administrative restructuring of northern Hispania, providing a stable window for heavy regional military and colonial disbursements.

Circulation and Hoard Evidence

Silver denarii of this Caesaraugustan series circulated extensively throughout the western provinces of the Roman Empire, including Hispania, Gallia Lugdunensis, Gallia Narbonensis, and along the Rhine military frontier. Archaeological hoard evidence demonstrates that Augustan denarii remained in active circulation for decades after their emission, frequently appearing alongside triumviral issues, early Gallic emissions from Lugdunum, and subsequent Julio-Claudian coinage. Because Augustus preserved a high standard of silver purity, these coins were widely accepted and integrated into commercial, fiscal, and legionary circulation networks. Examples recovered from military camp deposits in Germany and colonial settlements in Spain show variable degrees of wear, indicating sustained circulation life that occasionally extended into the mid-first century AD until the sweeping recoinage and monetary debasement enacted under Nero in 64 AD.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume I: Augustus to Vitellius. pp. 58-60
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC I (second edition) Augustus 37A. ric.1(2).aug.37A
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume I: From 31 BC to AD 69 (Revised Edition). pp. 44-45, no. 37A
4. Roman Silver Coins, Volume I: Republic to Augustus. p. 136, no. 98
5. The Imperial Spanish Mints of Augustus. pp. 25-42