Caracalla Bronze As RIC IV Caracalla 571B

Monetary and Economic Context

During the reign of Caracalla, the Roman monetary system was characterized by sustained fiscal strain and aggressive military expenditure. In response to mounting costs associated with the imperial army and extensive frontier campaigns, the central administration implemented sweeping currency reforms, most visibly marked in AD 215 by the introduction of the radiate double denarius, conventionally termed the antoninianus. While precious metal issues underwent debasement, the traditional base-metal denominations continued to fulfill vital domestic functions. The as, struck in copper or bronze, occupied the lower tier of imperial base-metal currency beneath the brass sestertius and dupondius. As an essential denomination for small-scale daily transactions, the as sustained market liquidity in Rome, Roman Italy, and western civilian zones where military disbursements quickly filtered into the consumer economy. RIC IV Caracalla 571B belongs to the final monetary phase of the reign, minted during AD 217 amid preparations and initial engagements of Caracalla's Parthian campaign. Even as precious metal coins saw compositional shifts, base-metal denominations retained their traditional constitutional authorization, attested by the senatorial acronym on the reverse, reflecting continuous state oversight of the everyday currency supply.

Production and Mint Operations

The entire attested production of RIC IV Caracalla 571B took place at the primary imperial mint in Rome. Although Caracalla and his imperial entourage had relocated to the eastern provinces to conduct the Parthian war, the mint of Rome remained the central administrative apparatus responsible for mass-producing bronze currency bearing standard imperial iconography. The mint operated with an organized division of labor, utilizing multiple officinae to prepare flans, cut iron dies, and strike coins. Base-metal blanks for the as were typically cast in specialized molds before being struck with engraved dies while heated or cold. Severan asses of this era reflect an established weight standard broadly centering around 10 to 11 grams with diameters usually spanning 24 to 26 millimeters, though individual specimens naturally exhibit minor fluctuations due to manual flan preparation. Flans often show typical manufacturing characteristics such as slightly irregular peripheries, light beveling, and occasional die axis alignment along the regular 12 or 6 o'clock orientations typical of metropolitan workshop discipline.

Obverse Design and Portraiture

The obverse of RIC IV Caracalla 571B displays a right-facing portrait of Caracalla, depicted as a seasoned, aggressive military commander. In this late iconographic phase, the portraiture diverges markedly from the softer dynastic representations of his youth and co-rule with Septimius Severus. The head is depicted with tightly curled hair, a short, trimmed beard, and a furrowed brow conveying determination and fierce military vigor. The imperial head is crowned with a laurel wreath tied at the back of the neck with fluttering ribbons. Distinctive to the 571B variety within the broader catalog group is the specific bust treatment: the emperor is shown both draped and cuirassed, with the folds of the paludamentum secured over a breastplate visible at the shoulder and chest. This cuirassed and draped presentation visually identified the emperor as an active commander-in-chief in the field, aligning the metropolitan bronze currency with the ruler's actual role leading Roman legions in the East.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse of RIC IV Caracalla 571B presents an elaborate and culturally syncretic design: a lion walking to the left, its head adorned with a radiate crown, carrying a lightning bolt or thunderbolt horizontally clamped in its jaws. In the lower field, the letters S and C flank the animal to left and right. This composition represents a sophisticated fusion of traditional Roman military symbolism and eastern religious motifs. The lion served historically as a symbol of solar strength, royal ferocity, and martial power, closely associated with Hercules and eastern solar deities popular in the Severan court, such as Sol Invictus and Syrian solar cults. By crowning the lion with solar rays, the die engravers made explicit the animal's connection to the supreme celestial sun. The inclusion of the thunderbolt in its jaws directly incorporates the supreme weapon of Jupiter, Roman protector of the empire and supreme guarantor of imperial victory. Caracalla was frequently portrayed as a new Alexander or an earthly companion of Jupiter and Sol; this reverse visually synthesized cosmic dominion with invincible military ferocity.

Epigraphy and Legends

The inscriptions on RIC IV Caracalla 571B follow the rigorous, formulaic epigraphic conventions of the late Severan chancery. The obverse legend reads ANTONINVS PIVS AVG GERM, an uninterrupted formula wrapping around the perimeter of the die. Here, ANTONINVS preserves his official imperial name adopted from the Antonine dynasty; PIVS asserts his dutiful reverence toward the gods, his family, and the state; AVG abbreviates Augustus, denoting his supreme imperial rank; and GERM represents Germanicus, an honorific victory title assumed following his military operations on the northern frontier in AD 213. The reverse legend reads P M TR P XX COS IIII P P, framing the radiate lion above and at the sides, while S C rests in the field. This string of constitutional titles provides unambiguous administrative dating. P M signifies Pontifex Maximus, the chief priest of Rome; TR P XX designates his twentieth renewal of tribunician power; COS IIII marks his fourth consulship, held since AD 213; and P P denotes Pater Patriae, Father of the Country. The letters S C, Senatus Consulto, formally record senatorial authorization for the issue of bronze coinage.

Typology and Chronological Sequence

The typology of RIC IV Caracalla 571B belongs to the final chronological cluster of Caracalla's coinage. His twentieth tribunician power commenced around December 10, AD 216, and terminated abruptly with his murder near Carrhae on April 8, AD 217. Consequently, the striking of this issue was confined to the winter and early spring of AD 217. In the classification scheme of Harold Mattingly and Edward Sydenham in Roman Imperial Coinage, type 571 encompasses bronze asses bearing the radiate lion reverse with TR P XX. The specific sub-type 571B is differentiated strictly by obverse bust drapery: while 571A features a simple laureate head, 571B displays the laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust. Related parallel issues sharing the radiate lion motif were struck contemporaneously across multiple denominations at Rome, including the gold aureus, silver denarius, and brass sestertius (such as RIC 562), forming a coherent propagandistic program across the entire precious and base-metal output of the mint during the opening months of AD 217.

Circulation and Archaeological Record

Because it was minted only during the brief early months of AD 217, RIC IV Caracalla 571B represents a relatively short-lived issue compared to long-running Severan types. Asses produced during this period entered general circulation throughout the Italian peninsula and the western provinces, where base-metal Roman denominations formed the foundation of urban commercial exchange. Due to the high intrinsic and legal stability of bronze coinage relative to rapid silver debasement, base-metal coins of the Severan period often circulated for decades, remaining active in monetary channels well into the mid-third century AD. Excavations across Roman military camps, town settlements, and river deposits occasionally yield Severan asses showing substantial surface wear and corrosion, reflecting prolonged domestic usage. Hoard evidence and institutional collection tallies indicate that while the radiate lion reverse is widely known across denominations, surviving specimens of the specific draped and cuirassed as 571B are modest in number, providing vital evidence of late Severan die engraving and workshop activity just prior to the accession of Macrinus.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. Caracalla, Rome, AD 217 issues
2. Roman Coins from the Earliest Times to the Fall of the Western Empire. Severan monetary organization
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Caracalla 571B. ric.4.crl.571B
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IV, Part I: Pertinax to Geta. p. 303, no. 571B