Commodus Bronze Sestertius, RIC III Commodus 439a

Monetary Context and Denominational Function

During the reign of Commodus (AD 177 to 192, reigning as sole Augustus from AD 180), the sestertius retained its traditional Augustan place as the paramount token-currency denomination of the Roman monetary system. Struck in orichalcum (a copper-zinc brass alloy that gradually received higher levels of recycled bronze and lead in the late Antonine period), the sestertius was tariffed at four copper asses, two brass dupondii, or one quarter of a silver denarius. In the daily financial transactions of the empire, sestertii facilitated significant municipal transactions, commercial wholesale trade, market purchases, tax disbursements, and institutional cash payments. While precious-metal issues such as denarii and aurei served as primary vehicles for military remuneration, imperial banking, and inter-provincial wealth storage, base-metal large bronzes possessed the widest public visibility throughout central Italy and western urban markets. The substantial flan of the sestertius, typically averaging between 28 and 33 millimeters in diameter and weighing nominally between 20 and 26 grams during the 180s AD, afforded the imperial administration an unrivaled platform for elaborate artistic and programmatic compositions that could not be legibly rendered on smaller silver or copper flans.

Mint Organization and Production Technology

The entire production of standard senatorial bronze coinage under Commodus, including RIC III Commodus 439a, was centralized at the primary imperial mint of Rome. Operating under the administrative oversight of the imperial treasury while preserving the ancestral formulaic sanction of the Senate indicated by the reverse legend letters S C (Senatus Consulto), the Rome mint was organized into specialized workshops or officinae. Coin blanks were cast in gang molds to achieve uniform thickness and mass before being heated and hand-struck between engraved iron or bronze dies. The strike required substantial manual force delivered by heavy sledges to transfer the deeply cut, multi-figured die relief cleanly onto the thick bronze planchet. Surviving specimens demonstrate the high technical skill of the die-engravers active at Rome in AD 184, who successfully integrated minute secondary figures, architectural elements, and naturalistic vegetation into the reverse die design without overcrowding the circular compositional space.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC III Commodus 439a features a mature, laureate bust of Commodus facing right. By AD 184, official portrait dies of the emperor had evolved beyond the youthful, adolescent features of his co-regency with Marcus Aurelius. Commodus is depicted with prominent, deeply curled hair arranged in multiple tiered locks and a thick, well-groomed beard, reflecting the classic Antonine aesthetic popularized by Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. The laurel wreath rests securely upon his head, secured behind the nape with dangling ribbon ties (taeniae). This portraiture conveys imperial gravitas, virility, and physical strength, directly aligning the princeps with the enduring stability of his lineage. Die cutters paid close attention to anatomical modeling, rendering the facial profile with a strong brow and defined nose, framed closely by the imperial legend.

Reverse Design and Iconographic Analysis

The reverse type presents an exceptionally rich tableau of sacred ritual dedicated to Salus, the Roman personification of health, safety, and preservation. The goddess is portrayed draped and seated facing left upon an ornate, low-backed ceremonial seat. The seat itself is distinguished by figural sculptural ornamentation, displaying minute representations of Spes (the personification of Hope) and a mythical sphinx, both traditional symbols of dynastic expectation and vigilant protection. Salus extends a patera from her right hand, offering sustenance to a sacred serpent that rises erect from the ground before an architectural column. At the foot of this column rests a ritual cup or cantharus, while the summit of the column bears a small standing statuette, frequently identified in numismatic literature as Bacchus holding his attributes. To the far left, a lush, leafy tree arches over the sacred space, establishing an idyllic, open-air sanctuary setting. This intricate pastoral composition transcends conventional single-figure representations of Salus, blending themes of divine rejuvenation, fertility, and imperial security.

Epigraphy and Imperial Titulature

The inscriptions on RIC III Commodus 439a provide precise chronological markers and ideological statements. The obverse legend reads M COMMODVS ANTON AVG PIVS BRIT, abbreviating Marcus Commodus Antoninus Augustus Pius Britannicus. The adoption of the title Pius, assumed in AD 183 following his survival of domestic conspiracies, emphasized his filial piety and religious devotion. The honorific cognomen Britannicus entered Commodus's official epigraphy late in AD 184 to commemorate the pacification of the northern frontier in Roman Britain. The reverse inscription reads SALVS P M TR P VIIII IMP VII COS IIII P P S C. The dedication SALVS proclaims the core theme of the issue, which is integrated with the emperor's constitutional offices: Pontifex Maximus (chief priest), Tribunicia Potestate VIIII (holder of tribunician power for the ninth time), Imperator VII (acclaimed military victor for the seventh time), Consul IIII (consul for the fourth time), and Pater Patriae (father of his country). The concluding S C reflects the traditional senatorial authorization for the striking of aes coinage.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the standard typological framework established by Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham in Roman Imperial Coinage (RIC III), number 439a is classified among the bronze emissions struck in AD 184 during the ninth tribunician year of Commodus. The issue is closely related to RIC III Commodus 439b, which shares identical imperial titulature and reverse iconography but differs in the treatment of the obverse portrait bust, such as the inclusion of drapery on the shoulder. Related compositions also appear in precious metals and medallic bronzes from the same regnal year, suggesting that the elaborate sanctuary composition was part of a coordinated monetary program. The combination of TR P VIIII with the newly acquired military title BRIT restricts the striking period of RIC III Commodus 439a to the latter months of AD 184, following the receipt of victory despatches from Britain and preceding the tribunician renewal to TR P X in December of that year.

Circulation, Wear, and Archeological Deposition

Sestertii struck under Commodus circulated widely across the Roman world, with the heaviest concentration found in Italy, the western provinces of Gaul and Britain, and the Danubian frontier zones where large military garrisons maintained an active market economy. Because bronze denominations were not routinely hoarded for intrinsic bullion value in the same manner as gold aurei or high-grade silver denarii, specimens of RIC III Commodus 439a typically entered archeological deposition through casual loss or long-term systemic circulation. Sestertii of the Antonine and Severan periods frequently remained in daily trade for many decades, often continuing in circulation well into the third century AD until the severe monetary debasements of the mid-200s rendered traditional token aes obsolete. As a result, surviving specimens of this specific type often exhibit significant circulation wear, softening the intricate details of the miniature sphinx, the column statuette, and the serpent.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. pp. 797-798
2. Roman Coins from the Earliest Times to the Fall of the Western Empire. pp. 148-156
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Commodus 439a. ric.3.com.439a
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 415, no. 439a