Faustina the Younger Bronze As, RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1647

Monetary Context and Imperial Ideology

During the mid-second century AD, the Roman monetary system rested upon a stable trimetallic foundation comprised of gold aurei, silver denarii, and a tiered series of base-metal denominations including the sestertius, dupondius, as, and semis. The as represented the foundational unit of retail currency, actively circulating in high volumes to facilitate everyday market commerce, petty trade, and municipal transactions. Under the Antonine emperors, base-metal coins carried distinct religious and domestic messages specifically tailored to female members of the imperial family. Faustina the Younger, daughter of Antoninus Pius and consort of Marcus Aurelius, was granted the title Augusta in AD 146, but her coinages evolved dramatically after Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus ascended the throne in AD 161. While imperial men were frequently depicted through martial victories, consular jubilees, and public benefactions, the public image of Faustina Minor was inextricably linked to female virtues: fertility (Fecunditas), marital fidelity (Concordia), modesty (Pudicitia), and divine protection (Juno). In this ideological framework, RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1647 situated Faustina as the earthly counterpart to Juno, the divine queen and guardian of legitimate marriage and family order.

Mint Organization and Physical Production

The entire regular lifetime base-metal output for Faustina the Younger during the reign of Marcus Aurelius was struck at the central mint in Rome. Operational structures at the imperial mint divided production into distinct officinae (workshops), each tasked with preparing flans, engraving dies, and striking designated denominations. The as of this period was typically cast as a flan from copper or a low-tin copper alloy, distinguishing it from the brass (orichalcum) used for sestertii and dupondii. Although individual flans varied in thickness and diameter, normal weight standards for the Antonine as clustered around 9.5 to 11.5 grams, with module diameters averaging between 24 and 27 millimeters. Die alignment was predominantly upright or slightly offset, characteristic of the controlled mechanical practices of the Rome mint. Engravers at Rome cut dies in high relief, capturing delicate textural nuances in the drapery folds and the intricate waves of the empress's hair. Striking was performed manually between an anvil die (obverse) and a hand-held punch die (reverse), with the letters S C added to the reverse die field to signal compliance with traditional senatorial prerogative over base-metal currency.

Obverse Portraiture and Style

The obverse of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1647 presents a right-facing bust of Faustina the Younger, draped in standard Roman matronly attire. Her hair represents one of the most distinctive and carefully classified elements of Antonine numismatics. The coiffure is parted centrally and combed down the side of the head in deep, undulating vertical waves that frame the cheek and ear before being gathered low at the nape into an elaborate braided bun or chignon. Minor stylistic variants exist within the catalogued type: while the majority of dies depict the hair natural and unadorned, certain dies introduce a diadem or small stephane set into the crest of the hair. Engravers portrayed Faustina with mature, rounded facial contours, large almond-shaped eyes, and a calm, composed expression that harmonized with the Stoic dignity projected on contemporary portraits of Marcus Aurelius. The bust is truncated neatly at the lower neck and shoulder, with fine striations articulating the folds of the mantle.

Reverse Iconography of Juno

The reverse iconography centers on Juno, the supreme goddess of the Roman pantheon and protector of women. Juno stands facing left, robed in a full-length stola and mantle that cascade to her feet. In her outstretched right hand, she holds a patera, a shallow libation dish used in Roman sacrificial rituals, symbolizing active piety and the empress's reciprocal covenant with the divine. Her left hand grasps a tall sceptre, the conventional attribute of celestial majesty and sovereign dominion. At her feet to the left stands a peacock, Juno's sacred bird, rendered with tail feathers trailing downward. The peacock reinforced themes of heavenly grace and, in the context of the imperial house, served as an emblem of imperial women and future apotheosis. Flanking Juno in the lower fields are the large letters S and C. The composition mirrors long-established Capitoline iconographic models, conveying stability, divine sanction, and imperial majesty in a clear visual language easily decoded by literate and illiterate subjects alike.

Epigraphy and Legends

The epigraphy of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1647 is notable for its brevity and elegance. The obverse legend reads FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, curving clockwise along the beaded border from the lower left to the lower right. Unlike her earlier coinages under Antoninus Pius, which frequently carried the patronymic formula FAVSTINA AVG ANTONINI AVG PII FIL, this issue dispenses entirely with family lineage, relying solely on her supreme imperial title. This transition reflects her established status as senior Augusta and empress-consort following Marcus Aurelius's accession in AD 161. On the reverse, the legend reads IVNO, placed either across the upper field or split around the figure of the goddess, accompanied by the senatorial formula S C in the left and right fields. The lettering is executed in classic Roman square capitals, with precise serifs and consistent proportional spacing, representing the mature calligraphic style of the Rome mint during the high empire.

Typology and Chronological Classification

Catalogued in Roman Imperial Coinage as RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1647, this type shares its primary design elements with parallel emissions in gold (aurei), silver (denarii), and larger base metal (sestertii and dupondii). In Paul Strack's and Wolfgang Szaivert's specialized chronological frameworks, Faustina's lifetime issues under Marcus Aurelius are arranged into sequential phases primarily governed by hairstyle evolution and imperial milestones. The specific coiffure exhibited on RIC 1647 corresponds to Szaivert's later hairstyle phases, which dominated Rome's production between AD 161 and the empress's death at Halala in Cappadocia late in AD 175 or early AD 176. Following her death, Marcus Aurelius secured her consecration by the Senate, initiating the massive DIVA FAVSTINA PIA posthumous series. Consequently, RIC 1647 can be securely bounded within her lifetime under Marcus Aurelius, distinct from both the earlier Antoninus Pius issues and the subsequent divinization issues.

Circulation, Hoards, and Archaeological Context

Copper asses of the Antonine era circulated widely and intensely throughout Italy and the western Roman provinces, including Gaul, Britannia, the Germanies, and the Danube frontier. Because bronze coins were non-precious fiduciary tokens, they were rarely hoarded in large savings deposits in the manner of silver denarii or gold aurei. Instead, asses are predominantly recovered as single site finds in military camps, urban fora, civilian vici, and rural villas, or within mixed base-metal hoards intended for petty market liquidity. Due to their prolonged velocity in everyday exchange, specimens of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1647 frequently exhibit considerable surface wear, softening the fine lines of Faustina's hair and the subtle contours of Juno's peacock. Corrosion, river patination, and soil calcification are common features of surviving examples, reflecting diverse depositional environments across the Roman world.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. pp. 535-538
2. Die Münzprägung des Kaisers Marcus Aurelius nebst Lucius Verus und Commodus (MIR 18). Series 18, Faustina II
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1647. ric.3.m_aur.1647
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 345, no. 1647