Aurelian Copper-Alloy As

Monetary Reform and Fractional Currency

By the accession of Aurelian in AD 270, the Roman monetary system had experienced decades of severe inflation, leading to the virtual cessation of civic bronze fractional issues in the western and central provinces. Debased antoniniani had driven traditional sestertii, dupondii, and asses out of production, leaving local retail markets without reliable small change. Around AD 274, Aurelian instituted a major currency reform aimed at restoring institutional credibility to Roman money. While the best-known element of this reform was the standardized radiate coin bearing the mark XXI or KA, the reform also included an effort to reconstitute the base-metal hierarchy with laureate and radiate copper-alloy denominations. The laureate coin, widely classified in modern numismatics as an as, was designed to function as everyday fractional currency tariffed against the reformed billon coin and the reformed gold aureus.

Production Standards and Minting Centers

The overwhelming majority of Aurelian's copper-alloy asses were struck at the imperial mint in Rome. Following the suppression of the Roman mint workers' revolt earlier in his reign, the reorganized urban workshops operated under tight administrative supervision. Unlike the billon aurelianiani produced across a wide network of provincial mints, bronze fractions required specialized flan preparation and were produced in far more restricted quantities. The metrology of the as under Aurelian reflects significant internal variability, with recorded specimens typically clustering between 6.5 and 9.5 grams, although outliers exist. Officina letters, rendered either in Latin characters or Greek numerals, frequently appear in the exergue or fields of these coins, confirming that several numbered workshops within the Rome mint participated simultaneously in striking base-metal fractions.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of the Aurelian as follows long-standing imperial convention by featuring a laureate head or bust of the ruler, which intentionally differentiated it from radiate denominations. The emperor is commonly rendered facing right, wearing a laurel wreath and depicted either draped, cuirassed, or in combined heroic military dress. The portrait style is hallmark Aurelian: austere, muscular, and severe, with closely cropped hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and furrowed brow expressing military vigilance. In certain fractional series tied directly to the reform, companion obverses appear depicting Empress Severina with her hair woven into an elaborate stephane and diadem, emphasizing the joint prestige and legitimacy of the imperial household.

Reverse Designs and Dynastic Iconography

Reverse types on Aurelian's asses were chosen to advertise the stability and triumph of the reunited empire. A prominent and characteristic reverse type is CONCORDIA AVG or CONCORDIA MILITVM, which portrays Aurelian and Severina facing one another and joining right hands in the traditional gesture of concord (dextrarum iunctio), often with a small radiate bust of Sol Invictus positioned between them above their clasped hands. Other fractional reverses feature Sol marching or standing with captives at his feet, Victory advancing with wreath and palm branch, or personifications such as Fortuna and Pax. These designs reinforced public awareness of imperial victory, domestic harmony, and the paramount religious patronage of the unconquered Sun god.

Inscriptions and Epigraphic Patterns

Obverse inscriptions on the as are typically concise and formulaic. The standard imperial legend is IMP AVRELIANVS AVG, occasionally expanded or modified in earlier or transitional issues with titles such as CAES or P F. For issues struck under the authority or image of the Augusta, legends consistently read SEVERINA AVG. Reverse legends prominently proclaim political catchphrases, including CONCORDIA AVG, RESTITVT ORBIS, or SOLI INVICTO. In the exergual segment beneath the ground line, mint marks designate the city of production and the specific workshop, such as Rome's officina markings like A, B, Gamma, or Delta. Unlike contemporary billon radiate issues, the fractional asses generally omit the value marks XXI or KA, which were reserved exclusively for the tariffed billon pieces.

Typological Classification and Chronology

Numismatists assign the production of the Aurelian as almost exclusively to the final phases of his reign, spanning late AD 274 through his assassination in autumn AD 275. In his fundamental typological study, Robert Göbl placed these copper fractions into the post-reform emission cycles of Rome, aligning them chronologically with the triumphant return of Aurelian from his eastern campaigns and his formal celebration of the reunification of the empire. Later corpus revisions by Sylviane Estiot have confirmed this tight chronological window. The fractional typology is structured around three main groups: laureate male portraits representing the emperor alone, female portraits dedicated to Severina, and joint representations displaying both figures on the reverse.

Circulation Patterns and Archaeological Evidence

Archaeological finds demonstrate that Aurelian's copper-alloy fractions experienced a very localized and circumscribed circulation. Unlike the ubiquitous radiate coins, which circulated in massive quantities across all provinces from Britain to the Levant, Aurelian's asses are recovered predominantly in Central Italy and metropolitan Rome itself. The volume struck was evidently insufficient to saturate provincial markets or reverse the general reliance on billon radiates for everyday small-scale trade. Consequently, after Aurelian's death, the production of struck bronze fractions lapsed again at most workshops until the comprehensive monetary overhaul introduced two decades later under Diocletian's Tetrarchy.

References

1. Monnaies de l'Empire romain, Tome XII.1: D'Aurélien à Florien (270-276 après J.-C.). Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
2. Die Münzprägung des Kaisers Aurelianus (270/275). Moneta Imperii Romani 47, Vienna
3. Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. pp. 140-155
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume V, Part I. pp. 248-318