Domitian Bronze As, RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 756

Monetary Context and Imperial Reform

The copper-alloy as served as the everyday foundation of the Flavian monetary system, functioning as the primary fractional unit below the brass dupondius and sestertius. In the Roman imperial currency structure, one silver denarius exchanged for sixteen copper asses, placing the denomination at the heart of local commerce, daily sustenance purchases, and military payroll expenditures. Following the accession of Domitian in AD 81, the imperial administration instituted major currency reforms that briefly increased the fineness and weight of precious-metal denominations. While these standards experienced minor downward adjustments in AD 85, base-metal coinage maintained strict metallurgical and dimensional controls through the remainder of the reign. Bronze and copper issues struck under Domitian were produced in vast numbers to satisfy both state expenditure and the transactional demands of the western provinces. By placing the personification of Moneta upon the as, the imperial government made an explicit ideological statement directly to the public handling small change, reinforcing the message that state coinage was issued with certified purity, uniform weight, and legitimate authority.

Mint Production and Metallurgical Execution

RIC 756 was produced exclusively at the imperial mint in the capital city of Rome, which handled virtually all regular base-metal striking for the western empire under the Flavians. Metallurgically, imperial asses of this era were manufactured using unalloyed copper rather than the zinc-alloyed brass (orichalcum) reserved for the sestertius and dupondius. Asses were cast as circular blanks before being struck by hand between engraved iron dies. Average weights for Domitianic asses generally clustered between 10.0 and 11.5 grams, with typical diameters ranging between 27 and 29 millimeters, although individual flans exhibit natural variance resulting from rapid manual preparation. Production volumes for base-metal denominations were substantial during Domitian's sixteenth consulship, requiring numerous coordinated obverse and reverse die pairs. Surviving examples demonstrate careful die alignment, typically exhibiting an upright or inverted die axis consistent with Rome's regulated workshop traditions. The presence of the letters S C demonstrates the continued legal convention of striking bronze and copper coinage under formal senatorial authority, even as practical direction remained firmly with the imperial procurator monetae.

Obverse Typology and Imperial Iconography

The obverse of RIC 756 features a mature, right-facing portrait of Domitian wearing the laurel wreath. The imperial portraiture of Domitian's later reign differs substantially from the idealized, youthful depictions of his earliest years as Caesar and early Augustus. By the early 90s AD, die engravers at Rome portrayed the emperor with a fleshy neck, pronounced jawline, hooked nose, and a furrowed brow beneath tightly arranged curls of hair. The laurel wreath rests securely around the head, with two ribbon ties extending down the nape of the neck. This realistic numismatic portrait projected military triumph, imperial gravity (gravitas), and absolute autocratic authority. It mirrored the grand public monuments and official statuary commissioned in Rome during the same period, ensuring visual recognition of the princeps across all levels of Roman society.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse design presents the personification Moneta standing draped and facing toward the left. In her outstretched right hand, Moneta holds a balance or set of scales, an attribute signifying honest measurement, equitable valuation, and standard weight control within the imperial mint. In her left arm, she cradles a cornucopia filled with fruits and agricultural produce, symbolizing the material abundance, prosperity, and civic welfare made possible through sound financial governance. Flanking the lower fields of the figure are the prominent letters S and C, representing Senatus Consulto. The composition was among the most recurrent motifs of the Flavian period, serving as an emblem of monetary stability. By invoking Moneta Augusti, the reverse communicated that the state's coinage was safeguarded by imperial vigilance, directly reassuring users that the copper tokens possessed stable intrinsic and administrative value.

Epigraphy and Titular Inscriptions

The obverse inscription reads IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM COS XVI CENS PER P P, rendered in clean, classical epigraphic capitals that encircle the bust. The legend details Domitian's official titles: Imperator (military supreme commander), Caesar (dynastic designation), Domitianus Augustus (sovereign cognomen and imperial title), Germanicus (victory title earned following the campaigns against the Chatti in AD 83), Consul XVI (designating his sixteenth consulship, assumed on January 1, AD 92), Censor Perpetuus (perpetual censor, assumed in late AD 85), and Pater Patriae (Father of the Country). The reverse legend reads MONETA AVGVSTI, accompanied by S C across the fields. This inscription directly proclaims the concept of imperial money or the guardian deity of imperial coinage, tying the divinity directly to the reigning princeps. Together, the legends combine an exhaustive record of constitutional and martial status on the obverse with a concise civic-economic pledge on the reverse.

Typological Classification and Chronological Placement

Catalogued in modern numismatics as RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 756, this coin forms part of a cohesive series of base-metal types issued during Domitian's sixteenth consulship. Because Domitian assumed his sixteenth consulship on January 1, AD 92, and did not enter his seventeenth consulship until January 1, AD 95, the designation COS XVI securely dates the issue to the period between AD 92 and 94. Within this three-year interval, Rome produced parallel issues across the sestertius, dupondius, and as denominations. Minor die varieties exist in the detailed rendering of portrait features, wreath ties, and drapery folds on Moneta, but the core iconographic program remained uniform throughout the issue. In Harold Mattingly's earlier British Museum catalogue, corresponding specimens were grouped among the middle bronze coinage of Rome for the mid-Flavian period, while the revised second edition of RIC by Carradice and Buttrey established the definitive classification under type number 756.

Circulation Patterns and Archaeological Context

As a workhorse base-metal coin, the as of this type experienced intensive circulation throughout the Roman Empire. Archaeological excavations and hoard analyses show that asses minted at Rome traveled extensively along trade routes and military supply corridors. Significant concentrations of Domitianic asses appear in archaeological layers at legionary fortresses and auxiliary settlements along the Rhine and Danube frontiers, including sites in Britannia, Germania Inferior and Superior, Pannonia, and Moesia. In contrast to precious-metal aurei and denarii, which were frequently hoarded and retained value across monetary debasements, copper asses were rarely buried in long-term savings hoards unless mixed in large domestic site deposits. Most excavated specimens exhibit noticeable abrasion, blunt edges, and worn high points, attesting to decades of daily commercial use. Many asses struck under Domitian continued to circulate well into the second century AD, frequently recovered in contexts alongside issues of Nerva, Trajan, and Hadrian until withdrawn by progressive wear or subsequent reminting.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume II: Vespasian to Domitian. pp. 408-412
2. Coinage and Finances in the Reign of Domitian, A.D. 81-96. pp. 120-135
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 756. RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 756
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume II, Part 1: From AD 69 to 96 (Vespasian to Domitian). p. 317, no. 756