Caligula Copper As: RIC I (second edition) Gaius/Caligula 43

Monetary Context and Denominational Role

Under the Augustan monetary system reformed in the late first century BC, the base-metal denominations formed the foundation of daily commerce throughout the Roman world. The as was struck in pure copper, distinguishing it from the brass (orichalcum) sestertius and dupondius. As a fraction of the silver denarius (valued at sixteen asses to one denarius), the as represented the principal small-change denomination for ordinary retail transactions, modest wage payments, and daily subsistence expenses. When Gaius assumed the principate in AD 37, he inherited an imperial treasury stabilized by Tiberius but faced the urgent necessity of establishing personal and dynastic prestige. Memorial issues celebrating his deceased family members, including his father Germanicus, his mother Agrippina Senior, and his brothers, were integrated directly into the circulating medium. Unlike high-value gold and silver issues that circulated primarily among elites, soldiers, and provincial administrators, copper asses flooded the domestic markets of Rome and Italy, carrying imperial political messaging directly into the hands of ordinary Roman citizens.

Production, Minting, and Metrology

The entire production of RIC I (second edition) Gaius/Caligula 43 is securely attributed to the imperial mint at Rome. During this phase of the Julio-Claudian principate, the Rome mint was the sole centralized facility responsible for striking regular copper and brass coinage for the western provinces, alongside limited municipal or regional token issues. Production adhered to standard Augustan metrological guidelines, where the as was struck at an average target weight hovering around 10.5 to 11.5 grams, with a typical diameter ranging between 27 and 30 millimeters. Flans were cast in pure red copper and struck between hardened bronze or iron dies. Die alignment for this series is predominantly upright or slightly offset, typical of the rotational habits of mint workers in Rome during the late 30s AD. Striking quality across the series shows meticulous die-engraving standards, rendering detailed hair curls and crisp, well-spaced lettering, although the softness of pure copper left surviving specimens susceptible to honest circulation wear and surface corrosion.

Obverse Iconography and Familial Representation

The obverse of this issue is entirely dedicated to the portraiture of Germanicus, who had died in Antioch in AD 19 under circumstances that generated lasting public sympathy and veneration. Germanicus is depicted with a bare head facing left, rendered in a restrained, classicizing Julio-Claudian style characterized by short, layered locks of hair brushed forward across the brow, a firm jawline, and idealized facial planes reminiscent of Augustan portraiture. The omission of the laurel wreath or any explicit divine attribute conforms strictly to republican and early imperial traditions regarding posthumous honors for non-reigning princes of the imperial house. By choosing this profile portrait, Caligula presented his father as an uncorrupted military hero and civic paragon, invoking his enduring popularity among both the Roman plebs and the legions of the Rhine frontier.

Reverse Composition and the Senatorial Decrees

The reverse composition of RIC 43 is austere and typologically traditional, centered around a massive pair of letters, S C, standing for Senatus Consulto ('by decree of the Senate'). In accordance with Augustan constitutional forms, base-metal coinage struck at Rome retained the explicit legal fiction of senatorial authorization, even as total control over design and bullion rested with the princeps. Framing the central field, Caligula's official imperial titular inscription runs along the inner circumference. This arrangement provides a powerful visual dialogue between the two sides of the coin: the obverse honors the deceased biological father who never reigned, while the reverse asserts the sovereign, legal, and religious authority of the reigning son who possessed constitutional power through the Senate and the Roman people.

Inscriptions and Epigraphic Analysis

The inscriptions on RIC 43 are critical for establishing both dynastic legitimacy and precise chronology. The obverse legend reads GERMANICVS CAESAR TI AVGVST F DIVI AVG N, translating as 'Germanicus Caesar, son of Tiberius Augustus, grandson of the deified Augustus.' This formulaic sequence emphasizes legitimate adoption and unbroken pedigree descending from the founder of the principate. The reverse legend reads C CAESAR DIVI AVG PRON AVG P M TR P III P P, which expands to 'Caius Caesar Divi Augusti Pronepos Augustus, Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate III, Pater Patriae.' In English, this proclaims: 'Gaius Caesar, great-grandson of the deified Augustus, Augustus, Chief Priest, invested with the Tribunician Power for the third time, Father of his Country.' This inscription explicitly documents Caligula's descent from Augustus as a great-grandson (pronepos), while the title Pater Patriae, accepted by Caligula early in his reign, confirms his elevated patriarchal status over the Roman state.

Typological Sequences and Chronological Placement

Caligula struck posthumous memorial asses for Germanicus across multiple years of his four-year reign. The fundamental typology remained virtually identical, meaning that dating relies entirely on the numeral attached to the emperor's tribunician power (TR P) on the reverse. Caligula entered his third tribunician power on March 18, AD 39, which continued until March 17, AD 40. Therefore, the issue bearing TR P III (RIC 43) forms the precise middle link between the earlier TR P issues of AD 37-38 (RIC 35) and the subsequent TR P IIII issues of AD 40-41 (RIC 50). Furthermore, this specific issue must be distinguished from the later restoration and memorial issues struck under Germanicus's brother Claudius (such as RIC I [second edition] Claudius 106), which feature an altered obverse legend and different reverse titular formulas. RIC 43 represents an unbroken continuation of Caligula's dynastic program into the penultimate year of his administration.

Circulation Patterns and Archaeological Evidence

Archaeological finds demonstrate that Caligula's Germanicus asses circulated extensively across Italy, the western provinces, and the northern military zones along the Rhine and Danube rivers. Because copper coinage remained in active circulation for decades until worn flat, specimens of RIC 43 often appear in mid-to-late first-century AD contexts alongside Claudian and Flavian issues. Following Caligula's assassination in January AD 41, many of his direct portrait coins suffered deliberate defacement, countermarking, or withdrawal as a result of senatorial condemnation of his memory. However, memorial issues depicting Germanicus, such as RIC 43, were largely spared from damnatio memoriae because the obverse honored the revered Germanicus rather than Caligula himself. Many examples show extensive smoothing and patination consistent with prolonged circulation into the reign of Trajan, when pre-Neronian copper standards were finally demonetized and recalled on a broad scale.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. I: Augustus to Vitellius. pp. 156-159
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC I (second edition) Gaius/Caligula 43. ric.1(2).gai.43
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. I: From 31 BC to AD 69 (revised edition). pp. 108-112, no. 43