Domitian Dupondius, RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 372

Monetary Context and Denominational Role

Under the monetary system established during the early Principate and maintained under the Flavians, the dupondius occupied a vital intermediate position in everyday transactions throughout the Roman world. Valued at two asses, or half of a sestertius, the dupondius was minted in orichalcum, a copper-zinc alloy known in antiquity for its golden color and higher market valuation relative to unalloyed copper. This metallurgical distinction was essential to the functioning of the token bronze coinage, because a dupondius and an as shared nearly identical physical diameters. To prevent confusion in circulation, imperial mint masters implemented two complementary signals: the chemical composition of the planchet and the distinctive radiate crown worn by the emperor on the obverse. While the radiate solar crown originally carried dynastic and deifying associations during the Julio-Claudian era, under Nero and the Flavian emperors it served primarily as a functional mark of denomination on base-metal issues, separating the two-as piece from the laureate as. The year AD 85 represented a period of marked fiscal and administrative reordering under Domitian. Early in his reign, Domitian pursued a conservative monetary policy characterized by an increase in the fineness and weight of the silver denarius and a tighter regulation of aes issues. While gold and silver were heavily utilized for state expenditures, military pay, and elite taxation, aes denominations such as the dupondius met the immense demand for small change across urban markets, legionary encampments, and provincial trading centers. Type 372 participated directly in this everyday market sphere, combining practical civic utility with explicit imperial messaging regarding the stability and security of the empire under Flavian rule.

Production Standards and Mint Attribution

The production of RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 372 is attributed securely to the principal imperial mint at Rome. Under the Flavian emperors, the vast majority of official aes coinage for the Western empire was centralized in the capital, following the cessation of the major secondary western aes mints such as Lugdunum that had operated under Vespasian. The urban workshops at Rome were organized into officinae operating under the oversight of imperial procurators, ensuring uniformity in alloy preparation, flan casting, and die engraving. Dupondii of this period were struck on cast flans made from orichalcum. Contemporary metallurgical analyses of Flavian aes demonstrate that zinc content in the orichalcum alloy was subject to gradual diminution compared to early Augustan issues, often supplemented by trace levels of tin and lead to improve the castability and flow of the molten metal into the coin molds. Target weight standards for Domitianic dupondii generally centered around 12 to 14 grams, with diameters commonly falling between 27 and 29 millimeters. However, individual specimens show considerable dispersion around these medians due to the Roman practice of striking base-metal coinages al marco, adjusting total weight output per batch of alloy rather than weighing individual planchets prior to striking. Die axes for this Rome issue conform to standard imperial practice, exhibiting a predominantly regular twelve-o'clock or six-o'clock alignment.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Regalia

The obverse of this issue presents a portrait of Domitian facing right, crowned with the radiate spikes of the sun god Sol. Flavian portraiture from AD 85 exhibits the mature, realistic style characteristic of the Rome mint: the emperor's neck is thick, the jawline heavy and resolute, and the facial profile features the slightly hooked nose and prominent forehead typical of the younger son of Vespasian. The hair is arranged in tight, carefully drilled curls framing the forehead and crown. A crucial iconographical attribute on RIC 372 is the inclusion of the aegis draped over the bust. The aegis, traditionally associated with the goddess Minerva and Jupiter, consists of a protective animal skin, often bordered with serpents and bearing the central motif of the Gorgon's head. Domitian maintained an extraordinary personal and religious devotion to Minerva, viewing the martial and intellectual goddess as his divine patron and protectress. While standard radiate portraits on Flavian dupondii frequently terminate simply at the truncation of the neck or display a standard cuirass or paludamentum, the depiction of the aegis elevates the sovereign's representation, visually merging imperial authority with divine guardianship.

Reverse Design and Chattan War Iconography

The reverse of type 372 displays an elaborate military ensemble consisting of crossed oval shields placed over crossed spears and carnyx-like war trumpets, centered beneath an upright military standard or vexillum. In the field, the large letters S and C flank the military composition. This design represents a complex display of captured barbarian arms, celebrating the submission of frontier enemies and the restoration of military security along the northern borders. The motif directly references Domitian's military campaigns against the Germanic Chatti, conducted along the Rhine frontier between AD 82 and 83. Following these operations, Domitian organized the Agri Decumates and advanced the Roman frontier line, an achievement commemorated through an extensive series of victory types struck between AD 84 and 86. The oval shields, long spears, and curved trumpets depicted on the coin specifically evoked the barbarian armaments seized during the campaign, presented in the stylized form of a trophy or spoil heap. The upright vexillum represents Roman discipline and presence planted triumphantly over the vanquished arms. Flanking the design, the letters S C record the traditional formula 'Senatus Consulto', signifying that the base-metal issue was produced under the formal sanction of the Senate, maintaining the constitutional convention established at the inception of the Augustan principate.

Epigraphy and Titulature

The obverse inscription on this type reads IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM COS XI CENS POT P P. Transcribed and expanded, the legend stands for 'Imperator Caesar Domitianus Augustus Germanicus, Consul Undecimum, Censoria Potestate, Pater Patriae'. Each element reflects an explicit constitutional milestone in Domitian's reign. The title Imperator functions as his hereditary praenomen of victory, followed by his dynastic family names Caesar and Domitianus, and the revered imperial title Augustus. The agnomen Germanicus commemorates his triumph over the Chatti, assumed late in AD 83 or early in AD 84. The dating formulas provide the exact chronological boundary for the issue. Domitian entered his eleventh consulship (COS XI) on January 1, AD 85. The inclusion of CENS POT indicates his initial tenure of censorial authority ('censoria potestate'), an office he assumed in the spring of AD 85 before declaring himself censor perpetuus (censor for life) later in the autumn of the same year. The title Pater Patriae ('Father of his Country') completes the formal imperial titulature. On the reverse, the legend is reduced strictly to the initials S C, allowing the dense arrangement of military arms and the vexillum to dominate the central field without textual crowding.

Typological Sequences and Chronological Placement

Within the chronological framework established by modern numismatists, RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 372 is positioned precisely in the middle of AD 85. In the revised edition of Roman Imperial Coinage Volume II, Part 1, authors Ian Carradice and Theodore Buttrey reconstructed Domitian's mint issues into rigorous chronological phases defined by his consulships and censorial titles. During AD 85, Domitian's bronze coinage passed through distinct epigraphic stages: issues from early in the year bear COS XI without censorial titles, followed by issues bearing COS XI CENS POT, and culminating in issues reading COS XI CENS PER or CENSOR PERPETVVS. Type 372 belongs strictly to the intermediate phase marked by CENS POT, dating its striking to mid-AD 85. It forms part of a coordinated emission of aes denominations that shared reverse imagery of Germanic arms, including companion sestertii and asses featuring captive Germans, trophies, and personifications of Germania Capta. Closely related dupondius varieties feature the same reverse composition with slight portrait modifications, such as portraits without the aegis or with alternative bust truncations. Type 372 represents the specific variety in which the radiate right-facing bust is distinguished by the aegis.

Distribution and Circulation Patterns

Base-metal dupondii struck at Rome under Domitian circulated widely across the western provinces of the Roman Empire, including Italia, Gallia, the Rhine-Danube frontier zones, and Britannia. In these regions, the presence of large military garrisons generated high local demand for low-denomination bronze coinage to support the payment of soldiers and local camp markets. Excavation data from frontier legionary forts along the German limes and in Roman Britain regularly reveal Domitianic aes issues dating to the middle and late 80s AD. Because dupondii were struck in durable orichalcum, they possessed a prolonged commercial lifespan. Hoard evidence and site finds indicate that coins of this series remained in active circulation for decades, often circulating alongside Trajanic, Hadrianic, and Antonine bronze pieces until well into the late second century AD. Over prolonged periods of wear, the yellow orichalcum color would gradually darken and patinate, making the radiate crown the primary visual indicator that enabled shopkeepers and consumers to identify the piece as a double as long after the fine surface details and legends had eroded.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. II: Vespasian to Domitian. pp. 370-385
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 372. ric.2_1(2).dom.372
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. II, Part 1: From AD 69 to 96 (Vespasian to Domitian). pp. 297-302, no. 372