Domitian Bronze As, RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 709

Monetary Context and Denominational System

Under the Flavian dynasty, the Roman imperial monetary system retained the bimetallic and base-metal denominations established by Augustus, with structured tariffing that extended from high-value gold aurei down to base-metal quadrantes. The as occupied the foundational level of daily commercial exchange, valued as one-quarter of a brass sestertius, one-half of a dupondius, and one-sixteenth of a silver denarius. While the sestertius and dupondius were manufactured from orichalcum (a bright zinc-copper brass alloy), the as was traditionally struck from relatively pure red copper or related bronze alloys. This deliberate distinction in alloy provided a clear visual separation between denominations of similar module, ensuring that the public could differentiate the copper as from the yellow brass dupondius even when the two denominations were struck at comparable diameters. Domitian enacted sweeping adjustments to the imperial monetary system across his fifteen-year reign, notably staging an ambitious revaluation of the precious-metal coinage in AD 82 and AD 85. Although these precious-metal reforms underwent minor adjustments later in the reign, the production of base-metal bronze and orichalcum remained remarkably steady, fulfilling immense civic, military, and infrastructural expenditure demands. By AD 90 and 91, bronze asses were minted in large quantities to sustain the retail economies of Rome and the Italian peninsula, while also filtering into the frontier military zones along the Rhine and Danube. The issue catalogued as RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 709 exemplifies the mature phase of Domitianic aes coinage, characterized by rigorous flan preparation, high compositional consistency, and meticulously executed official dies that conveyed coordinated political and martial messages.

Production Standards and Mint Operation

The entire emission of RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 709 originated at the central imperial mint in Rome, Moneta Augusti. By the late first century AD, the Rome mint was a highly structured, compartmentalized institution operating under the supervision of imperial freedmen and procurators, staffed by organized teams of flan casters, engravers (scalptores), flan warmers, and strike masters (malleatores). Flavian administrative reforms centralized aes production almost entirely at Rome, having phased out the auxiliary western provincial mints (such as Lugdunum) that had operated during early imperial crises and the reign of Vespasian. Production of the as standard under Domitian targeted an average theoretical weight around 10 to 11 grams, with typical diameters ranging between 27 and 29 millimeters, although regular working variations occurred as flans were cast in open or tiered moulds rather than turned to individual weight tolerances. Surviving specimens illustrate typical six-o'clock or twelve-o'clock die alignments common to the disciplined operations of the Rome mint in this period. The metal matrix consisted primarily of unalloyed copper, occasionally exhibiting minor trace elements of lead, tin, or iron inherent to the refined ore sources of Spain, Cyprus, or Central Europe. The die cutting exhibits exceptional technical mastery, demonstrating deep relief engraving, crisp, compact lettering, and fine detailing in portraiture and drapery that remained a hallmark of the urban mint throughout the AD 80s and AD 90s.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Image

The obverse of this issue presents a right-facing, laureate head of Domitian. The portrait reflects the idealized yet recognizable realism developed by the master engravers of the Flavian court. Domitian is shown with his characteristic profile: a prominent brow, a firm jawline, a slightly hooked nose, and a muscular neck. The laurel wreath rests securely around the head, bound at the back of the cranium with fine ribbons (taeniae) whose loose ends trail downward toward the nape of the neck. The emperor's hair is rendered in layered, tight curls that rise over the forehead, adhering to the courtly fashion that emerged in the mid-80s AD. In Roman base-metal typology, the portrait attributes signaled the specific denomination of the piece. While dupondii of Domitian regularly depicted the emperor wearing a radiate crown to indicate a double value, asses consistently featured the simple laurel wreath or a bare head. On RIC 709, the laureate presentation confirms its identity as an as while projecting victorious military stature and religious primacy. The portrait completely dominates the obverse field, framed by an unbroken peripheral inscription, conveying majesty and imperial vigilance.

Reverse Design: The Virtus Augusti Type

The reverse type portrays Virtus, the Roman divine personification of military courage, valor, and fortitude. Virtus stands facing right, dressed as an Amazon or female warrior in a short tunic (exomis) that leaves one shoulder bare, wearing high-laced boots. Her left foot is raised and planted firmly upon a crest-fallen or upright military helmet resting on the groundline. In her right hand, Virtus holds a grounded spear with the point facing upward, while in her left arm she cradles a parazonium, a ceremonial short sword or dagger encased in an ornate scabbard associated with high Roman commanders. The posture of resting a foot upon a helmet is a traditional Hellenistic and Roman numismatic trope signifying mastery over war, conquest, and triumphant pacification. The parazonium in imperial iconography served not as an offensive weapon of slaughter, but as an emblem of virtuous leadership and legitimate imperium.Flanking the central figure in the lower fields are the large letters S and C (Senatus Consulto), by decree of the Senate. This formula reflected the formal legal fiction under the principate whereby the Roman Senate authorized base-metal coinage for public circulation, even as overall fiscal and design control remained firmly within the purview of the emperor and his financial administrators.

Epigraphy and Titulature Analysis

The obverse legend reads IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM COS XV CENS PER P P, written continuously clockwise along the outer rim. This legend encapsulates the culmination of Domitian's imperial offices and honorific epithets by the early AD 90s. The sequence begins with the praenomen of imperium (IMP) and the dynastic designation Caesar (CAES), followed by the personal name Domitianus abbreviated as DOMIT, and the imperial title Augustus (AVG). The victory title Germanicus (GERM) commemorates his campaigns against the Chatti in AD 83, a title he formally assumed in late 83 and maintained consistently throughout his reign. The chronological anchor of the coin appears in the consulship count, COS XV (consul for the fifteenth time), an office Domitian entered on January 1, AD 90. His ongoing civil oversight is declared through CENS PER (Censor Perpetuus), referencing his assumption of the perpetual censorship in late AD 85, an unprecedented move that granted him lifelong scrutiny over public morals, senatorial membership, and social status. The legend closes with P P (Pater Patriae, Father of his Country), a traditional republican title bestowed on emperors after their accession. The reverse legend reads VIRTVTI AVGVSTI, set in the dative case to signify a dedicated tribute: 'To the Valor of the Emperor.' Accompanied by the senatorial authorization S C across the field, this dedicatory phrase connects the abstract divinity of courage directly to Domitian's personal character and imperial conduct.

Typological Development and Chronological Placement

The emission catalogued as RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 709 is dated securely to AD 90 and 91 based on Domitian's consular iteration. He held his fifteenth consulship in AD 90 alongside Marcus Cocceius Nerva (the future emperor), and did not assume his sixteenth consulship (COS XVI) until January AD 92. Consequently, all coins bearing COS XV coupled with CENS PER span the calendar years 90 and 91. Within the second edition of Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume II, Part 1, this specific combination of obverse bust (laureate right) and reverse deity (Virtus standing right with foot on helmet, spear, and parazonium) constitutes a distinct type within the large output of middle bronzes from those two years. Virtus was a recurrent and prominent motif on Flavian bronze and silver coinage, but her prominence intensified during the later 80s and early 90s amidst renewed frontier hostilities along the Danube involving Dacian, Marcomannic, and Sarmatian incursions. While Minerva remained Domitian's personal patron goddess on imperial denarii and quinarii, base-metal coinage utilized a broader pantheon of personifications, including Virtus, Fortuna, Moneta, and Fides. Type 709 represents an uninterrupted continuation of the Virtus theme struck across preceding consular years (such as COS XII, XIII, and XIV), demonstrating remarkable continuity in die-sinkers' stylistic conventions and reverse designs across the final decade of the Flavian period.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Survival

As an imperial bronze denomination struck at Rome, RIC Domitian 709 circulated extensively throughout the central and western provinces of the Roman Empire, including Italy, Gaul, Hispania, Britain, and the Germanies. Unlike precious-metal denarii and aurei, which frequently travelled beyond imperial borders or were preserved in long-term savings hoards, base-metal asses served utilitarian roles in marketplace commerce. They paid soldiers their day wages, purchased foodstuffs, covered bathhouse entry fees, and settled local tariffs. Over time, circulation caused heavy physical abrasion, smoothing the finer details of the emperor's curls and the delicate attributes of Virtus. In archaeological contexts, asses of this type appear regularly in urban excavations, military camps, river deposits, and site finds along the limes frontiers. Because Domitian's base-metal coinage was not subject to systematic remelting after his assassination in AD 96, unlike some official monumental inscriptions that suffered damnatio memoriae, these coins remained in active circulation for decades. Hoard evidence and site finds from Roman Britain and the Rhine demonstrate that Flavian bronze asses continued to pass from hand to hand well into the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian, and the Antonines, remaining viable fractional currency until progressive debasement and inflation altered the Roman token coin economy in the late second and third centuries AD.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. II: Vespasian to Domitian. pp. 390-410
2. Coinage and Finances in the Reign of Domitian: A.D. 81-96. BAR International Series 178
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 709. ric.2_1(2).dom.709
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. II, Part 1: From Vespasian to Domitian (AD 69-96). p. 317, no. 709