Lucius Verus Copper-Alloy As, RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1448

Monetary Context and Denominational Function

During the joint reign of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus (AD 161 to 169), the Roman monetary system maintained the traditional Augustan denomination structure, comprising gold aurei, silver denarii, and base-metal aes denominations. The as occupied the foundational level of state-issued copper-alloy coinage, functioning as one quarter of a sestertius and one half of a dupondius. In daily transactions, the as served essential retail functions, facilitating routine purchases of food, modest commodities, and standard municipal fees across the central empire and its military frontiers. The coinage reform enacted earlier in the second century sustained a stable bimetallic base-metal hierarchy, where dupondii were customarily struck in golden-hued brass (orichalcum) and distinguished by radiate imperial crowns, whereas the as was struck on slightly lighter blanks, typically of pure red copper or leaded bronze, depicting the emperor with a laureate wreath or bare head. Base-metal coinage produced at Rome retained the traditional senatorial mark S C (Senatus Consulto), reflecting the enduring constitutional fiction that bronze and copper denominations were minted under senatorial decree, even as overall financial policy and imperial imagery were directed strictly by the emperors and the imperial administration.

Production Standards and Mint Operation

The entire regular production of base-metal coinage bearing imperial titulature for Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus was centralized at the primary mint of Rome. Operating under the supervision of imperial procurators and technical staff known collectively as the moneta, the Rome mint executed large-scale coin production organized into distinct workshops (officinae). Striking bronze asses required careful blank preparation. Copper or bronze alloys were cast into rounded blanks, trimmed, heated, and struck between hand-carved iron dies. Under the Antonine monetary standards of the mid-160s AD, base-metal asses typically conformed to an average weight standard clustering between 9.5 and 12.0 grams, with flan diameters commonly ranging from 24 to 27 millimeters. However, because ancient base-metal production focused primarily on tally standards (producing a fixed number of coins from a Roman pound of metal) rather than strict weight control for each individual coin, individual specimens of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1448 exhibit normal variance in weight and flan thickness. Die axes for this series are predominantly aligned in the customary Roman upright or slightly offset vertical orientations (commonly 6 o'clock or 12 o'clock).

Obverse Portraiture and Iconography

The obverse of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1448 features the mature portrait of Lucius Verus, depicted as a laureate head facing right. Verus had been elevated as full co-emperor alongside Marcus Aurelius upon the death of Antoninus Pius in AD 161, and official imperial portraiture emphasized both his elevated status and his distinctive personal attributes. Official sculptors and die-engravers at Rome rendered Verus with his characteristic voluminous, curly hair arranged in detailed, cascading locks, paired with a well-groomed, full beard. The laureate wreath, an enduring symbol of imperial victory and religious sacrality, binds his hair and terminates in ribbons falling down the nape of his neck. This specific portrait style belongs to the emperor's triumphant phase following the eastern campaigns, where his likeness projects vigor, commanding majesty, and martial accomplishment. The truncation of the neck is neatly modelled, reflecting the high technical standards of Antonine relief carving at the capital mint.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse iconography of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1448 features Victory (Victoria), the divine personification of Roman triumph, standing and facing left. She is depicted winged and clad in a flowing, draped chiton that catches the breeze, embodying the dynamic arrival of military success. Victory rests her right hand upon an imposing military trophy erected before her. The trophy consists of captured enemy arms, armor, and garments mounted upon a wooden trunk, a visual convention derived from classical Greek and Republican Roman triumph monuments. At the base of the trophy rests a captive's shield, indicating the complete subjugation and disarming of the eastern adversaries. Across the lower field, the letters S and C are placed symmetrically to the left and right of the central design. This visual program served as an explicit celebration of the Parthian War (AD 161 to 166), during which Roman legions under the supreme regional command of Verus and generals such as Avidius Cassius captured Seleucia and Ctesiphon, burned the royal palace, and forced the Parthian king Vologases IV to cede territory.

Epigraphy and Titulature Analysis

The legends on RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1448 provide precise legal and chronological documentation for the issue. The obverse legend reads L VERVS AVG ARM PARTH MAX, an abbreviated Latin inscription expanding to Lucius Verus Augustus, Armeniacus, Parthicus Maximus. The titles Armeniacus (victor in Armenia) and Parthicus Maximus (greatest victor over the Parthians) commemorate Verus's successive triumphs in the East; the title Armeniacus was accepted around AD 163 or 164, while Parthicus Maximus was adopted in late AD 165 upon the decisive conclusion of the major Mesopotamian campaigns. The reverse legend reads TR P VI IMP III COS II, accompanied by S C in the field. This expands to Tribunicia Potestate Sexta, Imperator Tertium, Consul Secundum, Senatus Consulto. The recording of the sixth renewal of Verus's tribunician power confirms the emission date between late AD 165 and late AD 166. His third imperial salutation (IMP III) reflects acclamations awarded by the army following Parthian victories, while his second consulship (COS II) marks his tenure originally assumed in AD 161. The senatorial formula Senatus Consulto underscores the formal constitutional sanction of the bronze emission.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the standard reference corpus The Roman Imperial Coinage (Volume III), Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham arranged the coinage of the joint principate under the heading of Marcus Aurelius, grouping issues struck in the name of Lucius Verus within his colleague's overarching catalogue structure. RIC III 1448 represents an as struck within the sixth tribunician year of Verus, precisely aligning with late AD 165 to autumn AD 166. This type forms part of a coordinated victory emission struck across all metals, sharing obverse titles and reverse motifs with companion sestertii (such as RIC III 1444 and 1446), dupondii, silver denarii, and gold aurei. Parallel types from the same tribunician period present minor iconographic variations, such as Victory holding a palm branch, inscribing a votive shield resting on a palm tree (VIC PAR), or trampling captive personifications. RIC III 1448 is distinguished specifically by the combination of the laureate bust, the standing Victory placing her hand on the trophy with a shield at its base, and the reverse legend ending in COS II.

Circulation Patterns and Monetary Life

Base-metal asses of the mid-second century AD circulated widely throughout the western and Danubian provinces of the Roman Empire, as well as the Italian peninsula. Coin finds from military camps, frontier forts along the Rhine and Danube rivers, urban centers, and rural villa sites frequently include asses of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. Because copper-alloy coinage possessed a low intrinsic-to-nominal value ratio compared to silver or gold, asses rarely travelled as long-distance bullion; rather, they entered regional markets through the expenditures of legionary garrisons and imperial administrative outposts. Asses of this era remained in active circulation for decades. Archaeological find contexts show that second-century bronze coins routinely circulated through the Severan period and well into the third century AD, frequently suffering substantial surface wear, countermarking, or corrosion before final loss or deposition. The victory imagery on RIC III 1448 ensured that long after the conclusion of the Parthian War, provincial and urban populations continued to encounter visual reminders of Antonine military hegemony in daily economic life.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. pp. 600-605
2. Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. pp. 215-230
3. A Catalogue of the Roman Coins in the British Museum. Introduction to Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1448. ric.3.m_aur.1448
5. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 326, no. 1448