Caracalla Bronze As, RIC IV Caracalla 569

Monetary Context and Denominational Role

Under the Severan dynasty, the Roman imperial monetary system maintained the traditional denominational hierarchy that had functioned since the Augustan monetary reforms, though under increasing fiscal and inflationary strain. The bronze as served as a practical fractional unit in everyday market transactions, valued at one-sixteenth of a silver denarius and one-fourth of an orichalcum sestertius. By AD 217, Caracalla's fiscal policies, which included substantial pay raises for the legions and the introduction of the radiate double-denarius (antoninianus) in AD 215, had placed intense pressure on the imperial fiscus. Base-metal fractions like the as were minted in smaller quantities compared to earlier centuries, as the state prioritized high-volume precious-metal striking to finance ongoing military commitments in the East. RIC IV Caracalla 569 represents this final stage of base-metal output under Caracalla, struck to supply the capital with modest fiduciary small change bearing official imperial messaging.

Production Standards and Mint Attribution

RIC IV Caracalla 569 was produced exclusively by the imperial mint in Rome. During AD 217, Caracalla was absent from the capital, conducting operations in the eastern provinces prior to his assassination near Carrhae in April of that year. Consequently, production of bronze coinage was managed by the imperial bureaucracy at the central mint in Rome in concert with senatorial administrative oversight. The as was cast and struck on round flans prepared from copper or a low-tin bronze alloy, distinguishable from the brassy orichalcum alloy reserved for sestertii and dupondii. Average weights for Severan asses generally hovered between 9 and 12 grams with diameters typically ranging from 24 to 27 millimeters, though significant individual variations occurred because Roman mint workers struck base-metal denominations by total batch weight rather than calibrating each flan to an exact mass.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of this issue presents the mature portrait of Caracalla, rendered as a laureate head facing right without drapery or cuirass. The portraiture of AD 217 reflects the emperor's canonical late style: a stern, furrowed brow, intense gaze, tightly curled hair, and a short, cropped military beard. This severe visual language deliberately diverged from the calm, philosophical Hellenic ideal favored by the Antonines, projecting instead the austere vigor of a soldier-emperor devoted to the legions. The laurel wreath symbolizes imperial majesty and military success, tied at the back of the neck with ribbon ties extending downward. The integration of this mature portrait with the high-relief Severan die-cutting technique provides an authoritative visual anchor for the brief AD 217 issue.

Reverse Iconography: Pluto and Cerberus

The reverse of RIC IV Caracalla 569 exhibits an unusual divine type: Pluto, the Roman god of the underworld, enthroned and facing left. The deity wears a polos (a cylindrical crown associated with chthonic and fertility deities) upon his head. He rests his right hand on his knee and holds a vertical sceptre or staff in his left hand, symbolizing his dominion over the subterranean realm. At his feet, facing left, stands Cerberus, the multi-headed guardian hound of the underworld. Roman imperial coinage rarely featured Pluto, making this reverse type especially notable within Severan numismatics. Scholars have debated the precise motivation behind this underworld motif. Some link it to Caracalla's well-documented health crises and his fervent supplications to healing and chthonic deities such as Serapis, Apollo Grannus, and Aesculapius. Others suggest an apotropaic appeal to the ruler of the afterlife amidst grueling campaigns, or a syncretic representation blending Roman Pluto with the Alexandrian Serapis, whose cult Caracalla patronized heavily.

Epigraphy and Legend Analysis

The obverse legend reads ANTONINVS PIVS AVG GERM. It opens with the emperor's official name, Antoninus, adopted in Severan dynastic propaganda to establish a fictional lineage from Marcus Aurelius. This is followed by Pius ('Pious') and Aug[ustus] ('Emperor'). The victory epithet GERM stands for Germanicus (or Germanicus Maximus), granted to Caracalla following his campaigns against Germanic tribes across the northern frontier in AD 213. The reverse legend reads P M TR P XX COS IIII P P, flanked across the field by S C. The formula expands to Pontifex Maximus ('Chief Priest'), Tribunicia Potestate Vicesimum ('holding Tribunician Power for the twentieth time'), Consul Quartum ('Consul for the fourth time'), and Pater Patriae ('Father of the Fatherland'). The large letters S C denote Senatus Consulto ('by decree of the Senate'), marking the constitutional authority under which bronze denominations were produced in the capital.

Typology and Chronological Placement

The chronological envelope of RIC IV Caracalla 569 is remarkably narrow and precise. The renewal of Caracalla's tribunician power occurred annually, with his twentieth power (TR P XX) commencing either in late AD 216 or on 1 January AD 217, depending on the computational system used at the mint. His reign terminated abruptly on 8 April AD 217, when he was assassinated by a disaffected soldier near Carrhae in Mesopotamia. This places the striking of RIC 569 strictly in the first four months of AD 217. In the Roman Imperial Coinage typology, this Pluto reverse type is catalogued across multiple denominations in this final issue period, appearing on sestertii (such as RIC IV 568) and denarii alongside the as. The type was therefore not an isolated engraving experiment but part of a coordinated multi-denomination iconographic program issued by the Rome mint shortly before the emperor's death.

Circulation Patterns and Archaeological Evidence

Bronze asses struck under Caracalla had a localized circulation network compared to imperial silver and gold coinage. Base-metal pieces circulated primarily within the western provinces, central Italy, and military camps along the European frontiers, where fractional bronze remained necessary for daily civilian commerce and quartermaster expenditures. Because Caracalla's twentieth tribunician year lasted only a few months, issues bearing TR P XX are significantly scarcer in archaeological coin finds and hoard contexts than those of his earlier, more expansive minting periods. Once released into circulation, Severan asses often experienced extended wear, remaining in commercial use through the mid-third century AD until the general collapse of base-metal fractional production under subsequent military crises.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. Caracalla, Rome Mint
2. Coining Images of Power: Patterns in the Representation of Roman Emperors AD 193-284. Chapter 4: The Severan Dynasty
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV: Pertinax to Geta. p. 306, no. 569
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Caracalla 569. ric.4.crl.569