Marcus Aurelius Bronze As RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1463

Monetary Context and Denominational System

The monetary system of the High Roman Empire operated on a bimetallic and base-metal hierarchy established under Augustus and recalibrated during the mid-first century AD. Within this framework, the as represented the primary fractional unit for everyday transactional activity in urban markets and camp vicinities. Formally valued at four asses to one sestertius, two asses to one dupondius, and sixteen asses to one silver denarius, the denomination was struck in unalloyed copper or low-tin bronze, distinguishing it from the brass or orichalcum typically reserved for sestertii and dupondii. Under the joint reign of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus (AD 161 to 169), the mint of Rome maintained strict physical and fiscal separation between the denominations, using radiate crowns to designate dupondii of the emperors and laureate wreaths or bare heads for the as. The issue catalogued as RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1463 appeared during an intense period of military expenditure and public ceremonial distribution following the conclusion of the Parthian campaigns (AD 161 to 166). The co-emperors celebrated a joint triumph in Rome in October AD 166, which was accompanied by imperial donatives (congiaria) and substantial mint output across all denominations to settle military accounts and satisfy domestic monetary demand.

Production Standards and Mint Operation

The centralized imperial mint in Rome held an exclusive monopoly over the official striking of base-metal coinage for the central and western provinces during the mid-second century AD. Production of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1463 was undertaken by skilled die-engravers (scalptores) and mint workers (officinatores) organized within specific workshops (officinae). Blanks were cast in open or bivalve gang moulds, producing flans that were often cleaned and adjusted before striking between manually positioned dies. Metric surveys of mid-Antonine asses demonstrate an intended theoretical weight standard in the range of approximately 10.0 to 11.0 grams, though normal metallurgical variation produces individual specimens ranging from under 9.0 grams to well over 12.0 grams. Typical flan diameters for the as during this sequence measure between 24 and 27 millimeters, struck with an axial die orientation predominantly fixed at either 12 o'clock or 6 o'clock. Chemical analyses of mid-second-century asses demonstrate the continuing use of relatively pure copper (frequently exceeding 95 percent) with minimal intentional additions of zinc, tin, or lead, maintaining the traditional metallurgical distinction between the red copper as and the golden-toned orichalcum dupondius.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Image

The obverse die presents a right-facing portrait head of Lucius Verus wearing a laurel wreath tied at the nape of the neck with two ribbons extending downward. Verus is characterized by the distinctive visual iconography developed by Antonine sculptors and gem-carvers: thick, layered ringlets of hair drilled with deep relief, an elaborately groomed and curled full beard, and prominent aquiline facial features. This portraiture emphasizes athletic vigor and majesty, contrasting subtly with the more ascetic, philosopher-statesman physiognomy standard on contemporary portraits of Marcus Aurelius. The laurel wreath (corona laurea) signifies military triumph, marking the victorious conclusion of the eastern war against Vologases IV of Parthia. The portrait truncation sits directly above the lower circumference line, flanked symmetrically by the inward-facing peripheral inscription. The balance between portrait mass and field space reflects the mature artistic classicism of the Rome mint during the late 160s AD.

Reverse Iconography: Roma and the Victorious Emperor

The reverse design displays a complex multi-figure allegorical tableau commemorating the safe return and military success of Lucius Verus. On the right, the personification of Roma sits facing left on a cuirass, resting her left foot on a helmet or low footstool with an oval or round shield positioned against the side of the seat. She is draped in traditional stola and tunic, wearing a crested Corinthian helmet, and holds a vertical spear (hasta pura) in her left hand, which rests against her shoulder. Roma extends her right hand forward in a clasp of greeting and fellowship (dextrarum iunctio) to Lucius Verus, who stands before her facing right. The co-emperor is depicted in civilian ceremonial dress, holding a rolled document (rotulus) or scroll in his left hand by his side. In the field, the large letters S and C are distributed on either side of the figures, signifying Senatus Consulto. The composition explicitly symbolizes Roma welcoming her victorious commander back into the civic heart of the empire, validating the triumph through divine and senatorial favor.

Inscriptions and Epigraphic Analysis

The obverse legend reads L VERVS AVG ARM PARTH MAX, an abbreviated formulation of Lucius Verus Augustus Armeniacus Parthicus Maximus. Lucius Verus accepted the cognomen Armeniacus in AD 163 following the capture of Artaxata, and Parthicus Maximus in AD 165 after the storming of Seleucia and Ctesiphon by Roman forces under Avidius Cassius. The omission of Medicus (which Verus also accepted in AD 166) was standard on many bronze fractions to prevent crowding of the die field. The reverse legend is continuous around the upper rim: TR POT VII IMP IIII COS III, complemented by S C in the lower lateral fields. Verus's tribunician power (Tribunicia Potestate VII) was renewed on 10 December AD 166 and extended through 9 December AD 167. His fourth imperial acclamation (Imperator IIII) was received during the summer or autumn of AD 166, while his third consulship (Consul III) was assumed on 1 January AD 166. Together, these epigraphic elements date the striking of the type securely between December AD 166 and December AD 167.

Typology and Chronological Classification

Within the typology of Antonine imperial bronze issues, RIC III 1463 represents a well-defined chronological marker published by Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham in The Roman Imperial Coinage. The type was issued under Marcus Aurelius in his role as administrative head of the collegial empire, though struck entirely in the name and image of Lucius Verus. In the chronological framework of Wolfgang Szaivert (Moneta Imperii Romani 18), this emission forms part of the dense fourteenth emission for Lucius Verus at Rome, corresponding to the period immediately succeeding the eastern triumph. The seated Roma and standing emperor type was struck simultaneously across the brass sestertius (RIC III 1460), the dupondius (RIC III 1462), and this as, demonstrating an integrated thematic programme across all copper-alloy denominations. Die links and stylistic comparisons demonstrate that the dies for RIC III 1463 were cut concurrently with parallel Victory issues celebrating the submission of Armenia and Parthia.

Circulation Patterns and Archaeological Context

As an official base-metal coin struck at Rome, RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1463 circulated widely across Italy and the western provinces, including the Rhine and Danube frontiers, Gaul, and Britannia. Bronze asses were rarely hoarded in large savings deposits; instead, they appear predominantly in site finds, urban settlement debris, river crossings, and military camp excavations. The heavy wear observed on many surviving specimens reflects prolonged velocity of circulation, with Antonine asses frequently remaining in active circulation for several decades, sometimes well into the third century AD until the debasement of the silver coinage disrupted the traditional fractional ratios. In the northwestern provinces, these coins supplied the everyday low-value transactions of soldiers, merchants, and local populations, circulating alongside contemporary sestertii and earlier Julio-Claudian or Flavian bronze pieces that had not yet been withdrawn.

References

1. The Metallurgy of Roman Silver Coinage: From the Reform of Nero to the Reform of Trajan. Chapter 2: Base Metal Coinage in the Antonine Period
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. pp. 600-605
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1463. ric.3.m_aur.1463
4. The Coinage of Roman Britain. pp. 45-62
5. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 326, no. 1463
6. Die Münzprägung der Kaiser Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus und Commodus (161-192). MIR 18, Emission 14 (Rome, 166-167)