Caracalla Bronze Dupondius RIC IV Caracalla 575A

Monetary Context and Denominational System

During the later sole reign of Caracalla (AD 211 to 217), the Roman monetary system was characterized by both traditional denominational structures and mounting economic pressures. The dupondius had functioned since the Augustan monetary reform as a fundamental bronze denomination valued at two asses, half a sestertius, or one-eighth of a silver denarius. Traditionally struck in orichalcum, a golden brass alloy of copper and zinc, the dupondius was distinguished visually from the red-copper as not only by its weight and metal color but crucially by the radiate crown upon the imperial portrait. By the early third century AD, brass metallurgy had degraded across state mints, with zinc levels declining in favor of heavily leaded bronze alloys, making the radiate crown the vital diagnostic feature that secured the token tariff of the coin in daily retail exchange. The emission of RIC IV Caracalla 575A took place in a monetary landscape undergoing substantial fiscal transformation, punctuated notably by the creation of the double denarius or antoninianus around AD 215, which likewise adopted the radiate crown to mark a double denomination. Despite the fiscal stress and debasement evident in the silver supply, base-metal middle bronzes remained critical for everyday commercial life across urban centers, facilitating minor commercial exchanges, market trade, and routine administrative payments.

Production and Mint Organization

The entire emission of RIC IV Caracalla 575A was produced at the imperial mint of Rome, the primary facility responsible for supplying the vast majority of official base-metal coinage to Italy and the western provinces. In this period, the Roman mint operated through organized officinae, or administrative workshops, responsible for the preparation of flans, the engraving of dies, and the manual striking of finished pieces. Blank flans were cast in open or two-part molds, then hammered while cold or slightly heated between hand-carved intaglio bronze or iron dies. The execution of the obverse portrait demonstrates the high artistic competence retained by the central imperial die-engravers in Rome during the Severan period, capturing a mature, muscular likeness of Caracalla. Strict quality control governed weight standards and die orientation, with middle bronzes of this issue exhibiting the typical Severan alignment clustered closely around the six o'clock or twelve o'clock axes. Production of base-metal fractions was coordinated alongside matching sestertii and asses, balancing imperial propaganda requirements with regional demand for circulating bronze.

Obverse Iconography and Attributes

The obverse of RIC IV Caracalla 575A presents a right-facing bust of Caracalla that combines imperial majesty with divine and martial symbolism. He is portrayed with short, tightly curled hair and a full, cropped beard characteristic of his later portraits, departing markedly from the juvenile depictions of his joint reign with Septimius Severus. The head is crowned with a spiked radiate diadem, the conventional iconographic marker of the dupondius since the Julio-Claudian era, which evoked the solar radiate aura of Sol. The bust is carefully draped, showing folds of fabric gathered over the shoulders. Significantly, this specific catalogue variant includes the aegis, an ancient protective mantle decorated with scales and associated directly with Jupiter and Minerva. In Hellenistic and Roman imperial iconography, the aegis was an exclusive attribute signifying divine invulnerability, defensive might, and celestial backing in warfare. Its inclusion on a middle bronze denomination underscores an intentional elevation of Caracalla's military image during his active campaigns in the northern and eastern frontiers.

Reverse Design and Religious Program

The reverse iconography centers on Venus Victrix, an ancient and deeply revered aspect of the goddess of love celebrated as the grantor of triumph in arms. Venus stands facing left, draped in classical garments, holding an upright transverse spear in her left hand and balancing a small winged figure of Victory upon her outstretched right hand. She rests her left arm or torso against a tall oval shield, which is itself planted firmly upon a crested military helmet resting on the ground. This combination of attributes carefully synthesizes divine beauty, peace, and triumphant conquest. While Venus was historically honored as the divine ancestress of the Roman people through the Julian lineage, the Severan dynasty frequently integrated her into their dynastic and military propaganda to emphasize enduring imperial victory, domestic harmony, and celestial favor. Flanking the lower fields of the reverse are the letters S C (Senatus Consulto), reflecting the formal constitutional formula declaring that the base-metal issue was struck by authority of the Roman Senate, an enduring legal formality sustained throughout the principate.

Epigraphy and Inscriptional Analysis

The inscriptions on RIC IV Caracalla 575A are rendered in classical Roman capital epigraphy, displaying crisp lettering executed in shallow relief around the flan perimeter. The obverse legend reads ANTONINVS PIVS AVG GERM, reflecting the standard contracted titular formula used in Caracalla's late period. Here, ANTONINVS honors his adoptive connection to the revered Antonine line; PIVS asserts his filial and religious devotion; AVG abbreviates Augustus, designating supreme imperial authority; and GERM abbreviates Germanicus, a victory title assumed in late AD 213 following his operations along the Rhine and Danube frontiers against the Alamanni. The reverse legend VENVS VICTRIX names the deity directly, forming an explicit dedication to the victorious goddess who ensures the success of imperial arms. The formulaic mark S C (Senatus Consulto) occupies the left and right fields, maintaining the venerable republican and early imperial distinction between the emperor's direct silver and gold output and the senatorial supervision of bronze coinage.

Typology and Chronological Placement

RIC IV Caracalla 575A represents a well-defined typological unit within the standard catalogue of Severan coinage, distinguished strictly from neighboring variants by its combination of denomination, legends, and specific obverse bust attributes. While Venus Victrix appears across multiple denominations under Caracalla, including sestertii (such as RIC IV 575) and silver denarii, the dupondius 575A is specifically differentiated by the radiate crown combined with the draped bust with aegis. The presence of the victory title GERM firmly bounds the terminus post quem of the type to late AD 213 or early AD 214, as the title does not appear on official mint issues before the conclusion of the German campaigns. Numismatists broadly place the issue between AD 214 and the emperor's death in April AD 217. Because the reverse inscription omits tribunican dates or imperial consulships, narrower chronological precision within this three-year window relies on stylistic comparisons with dated sestertii and parallel silver emissions sharing identical portrait styles.

Circulation, Wear, and Archaeological Recovery

Following its release from the Rome mint, RIC IV Caracalla 575A circulated widely throughout Italy and the western and Danubian provinces where Roman copper-alloy denominations remained the lifeblood of civilian retail markets and military camp economies. Middle bronzes from the Severan period frequently experienced prolonged circulation life, surviving well into the mid-third century AD as subsequent emperors reduced the volume of bronze fractions produced in favor of larger sestertii and billon radiates. In archaeological contexts, middle bronzes of this period regularly surface in site finds, urban settlement layers, and river deposits exhibiting moderate to heavy mechanical wear, softening the fine details of the aegis and reverse lettering. The low surviving zinc content characteristic of Severan copper alloys makes these coins susceptible to variable environmental patination, ranging from deep green and brown oxides in soil finds to dark tones in river and hoarded contexts.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. Caracalla, Rome mint (Middle Bronze)
2. Description historique des monnaies frappées sous l'Empire romain, Tome IV. Caracalla, Venus Victrix types
3. Roman Coins from the Earliest Times to the Fall of the Western Empire. Severan base metal and mint organization
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Caracalla 575A. ric.4.crl.575A
5. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part I: Pertinax to Geta. p. 303, no. 575A