Commodus Silver Denarius, RIC III Commodus 117a

Monetary Context and Silver Standards

The emission of RIC III Commodus 117a occurred during a phase of gradual fiscal strain and monetary debasement across the Antonine monetary system. By AD 185, Commodus had revised the standard of the denarius downwards from the parameters observed under Marcus Aurelius. While the denarius under Trajan and Antoninus Pius routinely maintained silver contents above 80 percent, Commodus reduced the fineness to around 70 to 75 percent, with typical strike weights clustering between 2.7 and 3.2 grams. This reduction allowed the imperial administration to increase mint output to support elevated military pay, grain distributions, and imperial donatives. In this inflationary environment, old high-grade silver gradually disappeared through hoarding or export, leaving newly struck issues like RIC III Commodus 117a to shoulder substantial domestic transaction burdens. The denarius retained its role as the everyday accounting backbone of the empire, circulating alongside the bronze sestertius, dupondius, and as, as well as the gold aureus.

Production and Mint Attribution

Numismatists attribute RIC III Commodus 117a exclusively to the central imperial mint of Rome. Operating under the administrative oversight of the imperial procurator monetae, the Rome mint was divided into distinct working units, or officinae, which produced silver, gold, and aes coinage in coordinated batches. Dies were hand-engraved by imperial artisans whose stylistic conventions in AD 185 emphasized a naturalistic rendering of Commodus's facial features and curly hair. Die studies across related issues indicate high production volumes with frequent die linkings, reflecting intense strike schedules. The silver flans were cast in moulds and struck while warm, resulting in characteristic edge crackling and slight eccentricities in strike centering across preserved examples. Chemical analyses of Rome mint silver from AD 185 reveal trace impurities of copper, lead, and gold consistent with refined Mediterranean silver reserves supplemented by recycled older specie.

Obverse Typology and Imperial Iconography

The obverse of RIC III Commodus 117a displays the right-facing head of Commodus crowned with a laurel wreath. Unlike variants that feature a draped or cuirassed bust, catalogue type 117a is explicitly defined by an undraped head. The portrait reflects the mature imperial styling adopted after his sole accession, with detailed ringlets in the beard and hair rendered through fine radial incisions. The laurel wreath symbolizes imperial triumph and military legitimacy, terminating in ties that fall along the nape of the neck. The portraiture conveys an image of youthful stability and divine protection, adhering strictly to the stylistic norms established by the central Rome engravers during his fifth consulship.

Reverse Iconography: Jupiter Seated

The reverse design of RIC III Commodus 117a presents Jupiter seated on a throne facing left, half-draped with a mantle wrapped around his lower limbs and left shoulder. In his extended right hand, Jupiter holds a thunderbolt, the primary emblem of divine retribution and celestial supremacy, while his raised left hand supports a long vertical sceptre. This representation belongs to a traditional iconographic schema associating the supreme deity of the Roman pantheon, Jupiter Optimus Maximus, with the preservation and prosperity of the reigning Augustus. Following the execution of the powerful praetorian prefect Tigidius Perennis in AD 185, reverse types evoking divine protection gained heightened ideological significance, visually reinforcing the emperor's security under supreme divine patronage.

Epigraphy and Titulature

The legends on RIC III Commodus 117a provide crucial chronological and ideological evidence. The obverse legend reads M COMM ANT P FEL AVG BRIT, abbreviating Marcus Commodus Antoninus Pius Felix Augustus Britannicus. The adoption of the epithet Britannicus recalled military operations conducted in northern Britain by Ulpius Marcellus, while Felix represented a notable expansion of the traditional imperial formula, proclaiming imperial fortune and divine favour. The reverse legend reads P M TR P XI IMP VII COS V P P, expanding as Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate XI, Imperator VII, Consul V, Pater Patriae. The combination of the eleventh tribunician year with the seventh imperial acclamation and fifth consulship establishes an exact epigraphic snapshot of imperial titles deployed in AD 185.

Typology and Chronological Classification

Within the typology of the Roman Imperial Coinage, RIC III Commodus 117a is categorized as part of the substantive issues struck during the emperor's eleventh tribunician renewal in AD 185. It must be carefully distinguished from closely related types, such as RIC III 117b, which presents a draped bust variant, as well as earlier and later issues bearing seated Jupiter reverses under differing tribunician numbers. The transition from TR P X to TR P XI occurred in the autumn of AD 185 under the traditional reckoning of Antonine tribunician dates, although some scholars debate whether renewals took place in December or on the accession anniversary. The combination of IMP VII with TR P XI firmly binds this issue to the immediate aftermath of the British campaign honours and the political reorganisation following the fall of Perennis.

Circulation Patterns and Hoard Presence

Denarii of RIC III Commodus 117a entered a wide geographic circulation network across the western and eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. Because Commodus's denarii possessed a lower silver purity than pre-Antonine issues, Gresham's law fostered their prolonged daily circulation, as citizens preferred spending newer, lower-grade coins while retaining older, purer denarii. Consequently, examples of this issue are commonly documented in military site finds along the Rhine and Danube frontiers, across Roman Britain, and within mixed hoards buried during the Marcomannic aftershocks, the civil wars of AD 193 to 197, and the third-century currency crises. Wear patterns on recovered specimens typically range from moderate to heavy, confirming that these coins circulated actively for decades alongside Severan denarii until the extensive demonetization and reform waves of the mid-third century AD.

References

1. Coinage in the Roman World. pp. 110-125
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. pp. clii-clv, 798-802
3. RIC III Commodus 117a in Online Coins of the Roman Empire. ric.3.com.117a
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. pp. 378-380, no. 117a