Commodus Brass Sestertius RIC III Commodus 345

Monetary Context

During the high empire, the sestertius functioned as the premier large-denomination base-metal coin of the Roman currency system. Valued at one-quarter of a silver denarius or four copper asses, the denomination carried significant purchasing power in daily commercial transactions while also serving as an expansive medium for official state communication. Under the Antonine dynasty, sestertii were struck primarily from orichalcum, a golden-toned copper-zinc alloy known modernly as brass, which distinguished them visibly and metallurgically from the pure copper asses and dupondii. By 182 AD, the monetary system was experiencing subtle fiscal pressures, although Commodus had not yet enacted the severe debasements that marked his later reign. Issues of large orichalcum coinage continued to circulate heavily throughout Rome, Italy, and the western provinces, where base-metal denominations were essential for urban markets, tax accounting, and civic exchanges. The invocation of Salus on RIC III Commodus 345 reflected an established tradition within imperial propaganda, connecting the physical welfare of the ruler directly with the security of the Roman commonwealth.

Production and Mints

The sestertii of RIC III Commodus 345 were produced exclusively at the imperial mint in Rome, which possessed the heavy striking machinery, skilled die-engravers, and extensive metallurgical facilities needed to cast large blank flans and strike them cleanly. Blanks for sestertii were cast individually or in open molds before being trimmed, heated, and struck between paired iron dies. Engravers at the Rome mint worked within highly standardized stylistic guidelines, rendering the young emperor's curly hair, emerging facial features, and imperial laurel wreath with considerable sculptural depth. The formulaic abbreviation S C (Senatus Consulto) occupies the lower reverse field, continuing the centuries-old constitutional convention that imperial base-metal coinage was issued under the formal decree or authority of the Roman Senate. Although actual operational and fiscal authority rested entirely in the imperial palace and the bureaucratic office of the procurator monetae, the preservation of the senatorial sanction remained an indispensable feature of bronze and brass production.

Obverse Design and Portraiture

The obverse of RIC III Commodus 345 displays the laureate head of Commodus facing right. Stylistically, the portrait portrays the emperor as a young adult, retaining the distinctively curled hair and groomed facial features characteristic of the later Antonine family aesthetic. The laurel wreath rests securely upon his curls, tied at the back of the head with ribbons falling toward the neck. In contrast to subsequent portrait styles where Commodus adopted heavy military busts or the iconic lion-skin headdress of Hercules, this issue depicts him in an austere civic manner without drapery or cuirass at the truncation of the neck. The die work of 182 AD demonstrates remarkable technical precision, capturing individual hair locks and naturalistic facial contours while preserving the formal dignity required for imperial portraiture on large flans.

Reverse Iconography

The reverse design features the goddess Salus, personification of health, safety, and salvation, standing draped and facing to the left. In her right hand, she extends a shallow patera, offering nourishment to a sacred serpent that rises and coils around an altar standing on the ground before her. In her left hand, she holds a long sceptre erect, a traditional emblem of divine majesty and protective authority. The iconographical schema of Salus feeding a serpent has deep roots in Greco-Roman religious thought, deriving in part from the cult of Asclepius and his daughter Hygieia. On Roman imperial coinage, the type had dual connotations: it symbolized both the public health of the Roman citizenry (Salus Publica) and the personal preservation or recovery of the emperor (Salus Augusti). Given the delicate political environment of 182 AD, which witnessed domestic conspiracies and palace rivalries against Commodus, the imagery emphasized the divine protection preserving the princeps from harm.

Inscriptions and Epigraphy

The obverse legend reads M COMMODVS ANTONINVS AVG, presenting the ruler's official nomenclature: Marcus Commodus Antoninus Augustus. By maintaining the name Antoninus, Commodus emphasized his dynastic legitimacy as the natural son and heir of Marcus Aurelius. The reverse legend, SALVS AVG TR P VII IMP V COS III P P S C, is an expansive epigraphic statement that unites programmatic messaging with rigorous chronological data. The opening phrase, SALVS AVG (Salus Augusti), dedicates the coin to the welfare of the emperor. The accompanying titulature details his constitutional powers: TR P VII indicates his seventh renewal of tribunician power, IMP V records his fifth imperial acclamation, COS III marks his third consulship, and P P (Pater Patriae) reflects his status as Father of the Country. The letters S C, positioned in the exergue or divided across the lower field, signify Senatus Consulto. The letterforms are standard imperial capitals, carefully distributed along the outer perimeter of the design to maximize clarity and balance.

Typology and Chronology

The combination of epigraphic titles on RIC III Commodus 345 restricts its striking strictly to the year 182 AD. Commodus held his seventh tribunician power (TR P VII) from December 181 AD to December 182 AD, and his fifth imperial acclamation (IMP V) was attained during the campaign operations along the Danubian frontier prior to his sixth acclamation later in 182 AD or early 183 AD. Within the standard cataloguing scheme established by Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham in The Roman Imperial Coinage, type 345 represents the standard right-facing laureate head sestertius for this reverse type. While closely related issues share identical reverse inscriptions or depict Salus seated rather than standing, type 345 is defined explicitly by the standing posture of Salus and the uncouth, undraped head of the emperor facing right. This precise alignment of titles makes type 345 a key chronological benchmark for the early sole reign of Commodus.

Circulation and Monetary Life

Upon leaving the mint of Rome, sestertii of this series entered an empire-wide currency pool characterized by prolonged velocity and extensive secondary use. Because large bronze denominations sustained substantial physical wear over decades, surviving sestertii from the Antonine period frequently exhibit smooth relief, softened legends, and heavy perimeter contact marks. These coins circulated across central Italy, the western provinces such as Gaul and Britain, and frontier legionary encampments along the Rhine and Danube rivers. Hoard evidence demonstrates that Antonine sestertii remained active in commercial circulation well into the third century AD, often coexisting with the increasingly degraded billon and bronze issues of the Severan and post-Severan emperors. As monetary inflation reduced the purchasing power of bronze during the mid-third century AD, large flans like RIC III Commodus 345 were frequently hoarded, melted down for raw alloy, or overstruck during the systemic currency reorganizations of the late empire.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. Commodus, 182 AD
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Commodus 345. ric.3.com.345
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 403, no. 345