Marcus Aurelius Bronze As RIC III Marcus Aurelius 801

Monetary and Political Context

The accession of Marcus Aurelius in March of AD 161 marked a fundamental development in the administrative structure of the Principate: the creation of a collegiate imperial rule. Following the demise of Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius requested that his adoptive brother Lucius Verus be elevated to the rank of Augustus alongside him. This established the first formal co-rule of two emperors wielding equal imperium, although Marcus preserved distinct religious primacy by serving as the sole Pontifex Maximus. In order to reassure the Roman Senate, the provincial armies, and the civilian populace regarding the cohesion of this novel arrangement, the imperial government promptly directed the Rome mint to produce substantial coin emissions advertising imperial concord.

Production and Mint Organization

RIC III Marcus Aurelius 801 was manufactured at the primary imperial mint located in Rome, which supplied official base-metal civic denominations for the central and western Mediterranean regions. The Rome mint functioned under the supervision of equestrian procurators and experienced imperial freedmen, organized into workshops or officinae capable of synchronizing die engraving and striking across simultaneous issues. Dies for the as were prepared by engravers using tempered iron implements to translate official court-approved portraits and reverse allegorical models into durable steel or bronze die faces. In accordance with Antonine metallurgical conventions, the as was struck in relatively unalloyed copper, distinct from the brass orichalcum reserved for sestertii and dupondii. Flans were cast in molds and struck warm between hand-held reverse dies and anvil-seated obverse dies, with average weight norms falling broadly around ten to eleven grams.

Obverse Iconography and Epigraphy

The obverse of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 801 presents a mature, laureate head of Marcus Aurelius facing right. He is rendered bare-necked with a laurel wreath tied at the occiput, with ribbon ends falling behind. The portrait execution follows the established Antonine aesthetic: articulated curls, naturalistic facial modeling, and a full philosopher's beard reflecting his Stoic discipline. The accompanying legend reads IMP CAES M AVREL ANTONINVS AVG P M. This sequence encapsulates his newly assumed sovereign status: Imperator as supreme military commander, Caesar marking dynastic succession, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus identifying his adopted family name, Augustus as the preeminent civic title, and Pontifex Maximus designating him as chief priest of the Roman state religion.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse composition presents a key political image of early Antonine statecraft: Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus standing face to face in formal Roman togas, clasping their right hands. Marcus stands on the left facing right, extending his right hand to meet that of Lucius Verus, who stands on the right facing left. In his left hand, Marcus Aurelius holds a rolled scroll (rotulus), an emblem of consular authority and constitutional legislation. This reciprocal clasping of right hands, the classical dextrarum iunctio, functioned as a potent legal and civic visual metaphor. Traditionally signifying marriage bonds and diplomatic treaties, on imperial coinage it symbolized unbreakable mutual trust (fides) and harmonious partnership (concordia) between the two Augusti. In the lower field, flanking the standing emperors, are the large letters S C (Senatus Consulto), marking the formal senatorial decree sanctioning bronze coin production.

Epigraphic Structure and Reading

The epigraphy of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 801 provides an exact chronological framework for its production. The reverse legend reads CONCORD AVGVSTOR TR P XV COS III, arranged along the upper margin above the heads of the standing emperors, with S C situated in the lower fields. The text CONCORD AVGVSTOR is an abbreviation for Concordia Augustorum, explicitly using the plural genitive to celebrate the mutual harmony of the joint rulers. The accompanying formula marks the constitutional offices of Marcus Aurelius: TR P XV (Tribunicia Potestate quinta decima) indicates his fifteenth renewal of tribunician power, running from December AD 160 to December AD 161, while COS III (Consul tertium) denotes his third consulship, which commenced on January 1, AD 161. These dating criteria demonstrate that this type was engraved and distributed during the opening months of the dual reign.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the standard classification of Roman Imperial Coinage Volume III, this type is registered as Marcus Aurelius 801 under the bronze issues of Marcus Aurelius struck at Rome. In Wolfgang Szaivert's Moneta Imperii Romani (MIR 18), the Concordia Augustorum issue is placed in the initial post-accession emission dating from spring to late AD 161. The visual motif of the dextrarum iunctio was deployed across all active denominations during this accession phase, appearing on aurei, denarii, sestertii, and dupondii. Within this system, RIC 801 is defined by the combination of Marcus's laureate head facing right, the inclusion of P M in the obverse titulature, the reverse inscription terminating in TR P XV COS III, and the as denomination. Complementary issues struck concurrently featured Lucius Verus on the obverse or depicted a seated personification of Concordia.

Circulation and Archaeological Context

Asses of the Antonine era circulated widely throughout the western territories of the Roman Empire, including Roman Britain, the Gallic provinces, the Germanies, and the Italian peninsula. Archaeological recovery from urban excavations, frontier military installations, and regional votive deposits indicates that middle bronze issues functioned as vital small-change currency. Due to their frequent exchange across retail markets and prolonged periods in circulation, surviving examples of RIC 801 typically exhibit notable mechanical wear. Hoard discoveries dating to the late second and early third centuries demonstrate that early bronze issues of Marcus Aurelius remained in commercial pools alongside later Antonine and Severan pieces long after their initial striking.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. pp. 522-525
2. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. pp. 278-280, no. 801
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Marcus Aurelius 801. Type RIC III Marcus Aurelius 801
4. Moneta Imperii Romani, Band 18: Die Münzprägung des Kaisers Marcus Aurelius. Emissionen des Jahres 161 n. Chr.