Caligula Copper As, RIC I (second edition) Gaius/Caligula 35

Monetary and Historical Context

The accession of Gaius Caesar, remembered as Caligula, in March of AD 37 marked a decisive shift in imperial monetary policy. While Tiberius had maintained a conservative output of bronze coinage during his final years, Caligula initiated prompt and extensive emissions of base metal currency at Rome. Central to this monetary activity was the ideological rehabilitation and celebration of Caligula's immediate family. Germanicus, his father, was a celebrated commander whose military successes in Germania and sudden death in Syria in AD 19 had made him a hero of the Roman populace and the frontier armies. By issuing an extensive series of copper asses honoring Germanicus, Caligula sought to satisfy popular sentiment while strengthening his own claim to power. The as had long functioned as the workhorse of base-metal market transactions across Italy and the western provinces. Struck in unalloyed copper at an average theoretical weight standard of approximately 10.9 grams, this denomination circulated widely among ordinary citizens, ensuring that the visual assertion of Germanicus's memory and Caligula's filial piety reached all levels of Roman society.

Production, Mint, and Metrology

The emission catalogued as RIC I (second edition) Gaius/Caligula 35 was produced entirely at the principal imperial mint in Rome. Struck in unalloyed copper rather than the brass or orichalcum used for sestertii and dupondii, these asses conformed to the metrological framework established under Augustus. Individual specimens typically range between 10.0 and 11.5 grams, with die diameters clustering around 27 to 30 millimeters. Engravers at the Rome mint executed the dies with classical Julian portrait modeling, presenting Germanicus with restrained, idealized features. Die alignment for this series is predominantly regular, following the customary twelve o'clock or six o'clock orientations of early imperial minting. Metallurgical studies of early Julio-Claudian copper show high purity levels, often exceeding ninety-eight percent copper, with minimal trace impurities. Production volumes during this first emission of AD 37 to 38 were substantial, reflecting the administration's desire to flood urban and military markets with the new emperor's familial message alongside fresh small change.

Obverse Design and Portraiture

The obverse of RIC I (second edition) Gaius/Caligula 35 presents a left-facing bare head of Germanicus. The portrait style aligns closely with Julio-Claudian dynastic portraiture, characterized by neat, layered locks of hair brushed forward over the brow, a prominent nose, and an alert, determined profile. Engravers avoided divine or triumphal attributes such as wreaths or radiant crowns, choosing instead an unadorned civic presentation. This bare-headed depiction emphasized Germanicus's civil virtue, nobility, and status as an idealized Roman prince cut down before achieving supreme office. The die engraving demonstrates high technical competence, with refined facial contours and crisp letterforms surrounding the head. The choice of a left-facing bust provided a distinct compositional direction that differentiated this commemorative series from contemporary asses bearing Caligula's own portrait or issues dedicated to other relatives.

Reverse Iconography and Design Structure

The reverse design of this type deliberately eschews figurative deities or allegorical personifications. Instead, the composition is anchored by the large, prominent abbreviation S C, standing for Senatus Consulto (by decree of the Senate), set directly in the center of the field. Surrounding this central inscription is Caligula's official imperial titulature, which runs unbroken around the inner perimeter of the beaded border. This structural arrangement mirrors the classic design format utilized for Augustan and Tiberian asses, explicitly acknowledging the constitutional role of the Senate in sanctioning base-metal coinage. By pairing the memory of his father on the obverse with the formal senatorial sanction and his own executive offices on the reverse, Caligula projected an image of constitutional harmony and institutional legitimacy during the earliest months of his principate.

Inscriptions and Epigraphy

The inscriptions on RIC I (second edition) Gaius/Caligula 35 are integral to deciphering its political program and precise dating. The obverse legend reads GERMANICVS CAESAR TI AVGVST F DIVI AVG N, expanding to Germanicus Caesar, Tiberii Augusti Filius, Divi Augusti Nepos. This legend identifies Germanicus as the adoptive son of Tiberius and the grandson of the deified Augustus, anchoring Caligula's paternal line securely within the imperial succession. The reverse legend reads C CAESAR AVG GERMANICVS PON M TR POT, representing Caius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate. The absence of an iterative numeral following the tribunician title confirms that the coin was struck during Caligula's initial tenure of tribunician power between his accession in March of AD 37 and March of AD 38. The central reverse abbreviation S C completes the inscription, validating the production of the base-metal issue under traditional senatorial oversight.

Typology and Relative Chronology

Within the broader classification of Caligulan coinage, RIC I (second edition) Gaius/Caligula 35 occupies a vital chronological position as the inaugural issue of the Germanicus memorial asses. It is differentiated from subsequent emissions strictly through its reverse legend. In AD 38, after Caligula assumed a father-of-the-fatherland title, the mint modified the reverse legend to include P P (Pater Patriae), catalogued separately as RIC 43. Later in his reign, a final emission retained P P while updating the tribunician count to TR POT IIII (RIC 57), struck in AD 40 to 41. Thus, RIC 35 is strictly delimited to the brief window of AD 37 to 38. Decades later, during the Flavian restoration under Titus and Domitian, this exact type was revived and countermarked or re-struck with restorer legends, further attesting to the enduring prestige and recognition of Caligula's original AD 37 emission.

Circulation Patterns and Archaeological Evidence

Archaeological finds show that the asses of RIC I (second edition) Gaius/Caligula 35 circulated extensively across Italy, Gaul, the Rhineland, and Hispania. As low-value copper coins, they were indispensable for daily retail commerce, market purchases, and military stipends. Because of their continuous utility, specimens commonly remained in commercial circulation for decades, frequently accumulating moderate to severe wear. Excavations in military encampments along the Rhine and Danube frontiers demonstrate that soldiers carried these coins far from the capital, preserving the memory of Germanicus, their former general, well into the reigns of Claudius and Nero. Unlike Caligula's personal portrait pieces, which occasionally suffered damnatio memoriae through deliberate defacement or selective melting after his assassination in AD 41, the Germanicus asses were spared widespread mutilation because of the enduring popular sanctity attached to the portrait of his honored father.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. I: Augustus to Vitellius. pp. 154-156, nos. 49-59
2. Catalogue des monnaies de l'Empire romain, II: De Tibère à Néron. pp. 118-121
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC I (second edition) Gaius/Caligula 35. ric.1(2).gai.35
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. I: From 31 BC to AD 69 (revised edition). pp. 108-112, no. 35