Domitian Bronze As, RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 625

Monetary Context and the Saecular Games

The monetary system of the early Roman Empire operated on a multi-tiered bimetallic and base-metal standard established under Augustus and maintained with periodic adjustments by the Flavian emperors. Within this hierarchy, the as formed the principal lower-denomination workhorse of everyday retail trade and small cash transactions. Struck primarily in pure red copper, though occasionally referred to broadly under bronze or copper-alloy classifications in modern literature, the as was valued at half a dupondius, one quarter of an orichalcum sestertius, and one sixteenth of a silver denarius. Under Domitian, who instituted a renowned currency reform in 85 AD that raised the fineness and weight of the precious metal denominations, aes coinage retained an indispensable role in maintaining domestic market liquidity across Italy and the western provinces. In 88 AD, Domitian made the major religious and political decision to celebrate the Ludi Saeculares. Although Augustus had staged games in 17 BC and Claudius had held a rival calculation in 47 AD, Domitian chose to follow the Augustan cycle based on a theoretical 110-year saeculum, calculating from 17 BC with slight adjustments. To broadcast the celebration across all strata of the Roman populace, the imperial mint initiated a massive and highly coordinated commemorative series in gold, silver, and all base-metal denominations. RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 625 stands out as an integral copper-alloy component of this specialized program, bringing complex sacrificial imagery into daily commercial circulation.

Production and Mint Organization

All specimens of RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 625 were produced at the central mint in Rome, which handled virtually the entire volume of regular imperial aes coinage for the Western empire during Domitian's reign. The administrative and mechanical operations of the mint during this period were characterized by rigorous standardization in blank preparation, die alignment, and epigraphic layout. Blanks for the as were typically cast in disc-shaped molds before being hot-struck between engraved iron or bronze dies. The target weight standard for Domitianic asses generally hovered between 10.0 and 11.5 grams, with typical diameters ranging between 27 and 29 millimeters, although individual survivors exhibit standard operational fluctuations inherent to ancient manual minting. Die axes for this series are predominantly regular, typically oriented at six o'clock or twelve o'clock, reflecting the disciplined workshop practices of the urban mint. The production of the Saecular Games series required an exceptional burst of die-cutting activity in 88 AD. Engravers at Rome created miniature multi-figure compositions that were far more intricate than the static single-figure personifications that usually populated imperial asses. The survival of multiple die pairs within this specific catalogued type confirms that the mint committed substantial manufacturing capacity to meet the distribution demands associated with the games.

Obverse Portraiture and Ideology

The obverse of RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 625 presents a mature, laureate head of Domitian facing right. By 88 AD, the portraiture of the emperor had settled into a formal, majestic mode that departed from the veristic, somewhat fleshy features seen on the early Flavian issues of Vespasian and Titus. The portrait exhibits the characteristic high forehead, prominent hooked nose, and strong, set jawline of the princeps, crowned with a finely detailed laurel wreath tied at the nape of the neck with two hanging ribbons. This portrait type emphasizes imperial authority and solemn piety, aligning the ruler with traditional Roman gravitas while underscoring his divinely guided stewardship. The imperial bust is typically truncated cleanly at the neck without drapery, a convention standard for the base-metal issues struck at Rome during this phase of the reign. The carving of the hair, arranged in stylized locks curving forward from the crown, reflects the refined classicizing craftsmanship of the Flavian mint master, projecting an image of stability and imperial dignity appropriate for the inaugurator of a new saeculum.

Reverse Iconography: The Sacrificial Scene

The reverse of this type features one of the most crowded and narrative-rich compositions found on Roman base-metal coinage. The scene depicts a solemn sacrificial ceremony conducted as part of the Saecular Games rituals. To the center left, the emperor Domitian stands veiled and draped in the toga of a sacrificing magistrate (capite velato), holding a patera in his right hand to pour a libation over a lighted altar placed at his feet. Facing him or advancing on the left is a sacrificial assistant, the victimarius, who leads or holds down a sacrificial bull destined for immolation. To the right of the altar stand two ritual musicians indispensable to Roman sacrificial protocol: a flute player performing on the double tibia, intended to drown out any ill-omened extraneous sounds during the prayer, and a lyre player carrying the cithara. Rising behind this detailed human assembly is an architectural backdrop, depicted as a hexastyle building or colonnaded structure, often interpreted by scholars as the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus or a temporary sacred enclosure erected on the Campus Martius where major rites of the Ludi Saeculares took place. Flanking the lower composition are the large letters S C, signifying Senatus Consulto, by decree of the Senate.

Epigraphy and Titulature

The inscriptions on RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 625 provide an unambiguous dating framework and articulate the imperial theology of the issue. The obverse legend reads IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P VIII CENS PER P P, an uninterrupted circular inscription expanding to Imperator Caesar Domitianus Augustus Germanicus, Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate VIII, Censor Perpetuus, Pater Patriae. The inclusion of Germanicus recalls Domitian's military campaign against the Chatti in 83 AD, while Pontifex Maximus affirms his position as supreme guardian of state religion, a role directly enacted on the reverse. Tribunicia Potestate VIII firmly anchors the commencement of the striking period to his eighth renewal of tribunician power, running from September 88 AD to September 89 AD. Censor Perpetuus highlights his assumption of the perpetual censorship in late 85 AD. On the reverse, the legend reads COS XIIII LVD SAEC FEC S C, which expands to Consul Quartum Decimum, Ludos Saeculares Fecit, Senatus Consulto. The phrase 'ludos saeculares fecit' ('he celebrated the Saecular Games') serves as an explicit commemorative statement, identical in formula to the legendary claims made a century earlier on the coinage of Augustus. The fourteenth consulship corroborates the date of 88 AD.

Typology and Chronological Classification

The Saecular Games of 88 AD prompted the production of a multi-scene iconographic suite across several denominations, including sestertii, dupondii, asses, and silver denarii. Within this larger commemorative group, RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 625 is classified specifically as an as bearing the reverse composition of the emperor sacrificing with victimarius, bull, musicians, and hexastyle background. Neighboring catalogued entries in the Roman Imperial Coinage corpus document complementary episodes of the festival, such as the emperor distributing suffimenta (purification materials) on sestertii (RIC 608-610), accepting fruges from citizens (RIC 611), offering prayers accompanied by a chorus of noble youths, or standing before river deities. The exact variety designated by RIC 625 is restricted to the as denomination with Domitian holding TR P VIII and COS XIIII, ensuring that the issue was minted during the autumn and winter of 88 AD when the festival was organized and executed. Minor stylistic differences in die carving exist across known specimens, such as the exact rendering of the pediment on the hexastyle structure or the posture of the victimarius, but these represent workshop variants within a single unified catalogue type.

Circulation and Physical Survival

Although minted to celebrate an extraordinary religious event in the capital, RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 625 was not retained solely as a presentation medallion or souvenir; it was injected directly into the general monetary circulation of the empire. As a standard copper as, it circulated alongside ordinary Flavian base-metal coins featuring Minerva, Pax, and Virtus. Find evidence from stratified excavations and hoards reveals that aes coins of Domitian moved through market networks in Roman Italy, the Danubian frontier, Gallia, and Britannia, continuing to circulate for decades after the emperor's death. Following Domitian's assassination in 96 AD and the subsequent senatorial condemnation of his memory (damnatio memoriae), his base-metal coinage was not comprehensively recalled or demonetized, as the Roman state could not afford to withdraw significant volumes of everyday small change from commercial use. Instead, many asses remained in circulation well into the Antonine period, often showing extensive wear that softens the delicate relief of the musicians and temple columns on surviving specimens.

References

1. Coinage and Finances in the Reign of Domitian, A.D. 81-96. BAR International Series 178, pp. 118-124
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume II: Vespasian to Domitian. pp. 396-399
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 625. ric.2_1(2).dom.625
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume II, Part 1: From Vespasian to Domitian (AD 69-96). pp. 317-319, no. 625