Faustina II Copper As, RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1652

Monetary Context and Denominational Function

During the mid-second century AD, the Roman imperial monetary system functioned as an integrated trimetallic structure consisting of gold aurei, silver denarii, and token base-metal fractions struck in orichalcum (brass) and copper. Within this framework, the as represented the fundamental copper accounting denomination, tariffed at four asses to the sestertius and sixteen asses to the silver denarius. The dupondius, minted in golden-hued orichalcum, was valued at two asses, yet it shared a very similar physical diameter with the copper as. While radiate crowns usually distinguished the portraiture of male rulers on dupondii, the coinages of empresses lacked radiate diadems, relying instead upon metal composition and subtle module differences to separate the orichalcum dupondius from the pure copper as. Catalogue entries such as RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1652 reflect these copper fractions struck in the name of Faustina the Younger under Marcus Aurelius. As issues served primarily as everyday transactional currency across the empire, facilitating small retail commerce, local market purchases, and daily allowances for soldiers and urban plebeians. Unlike heavy bronze sestertii, which served as prominent visual vehicles for imperial public relations while maintaining significant domestic buying power, the as bore high circulation velocity and suffered rapid abrasive wear. The production of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1652 provided necessary low-denomination volume to the central Italian economy and the provinces while projecting ideological messages regarding the imperial household.

Mint Location and Technical Production

The entire regular bronze output for the imperial family in this era, including RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1652, was struck exclusively at the central imperial mint in Rome. No auxiliary branch mints in the Western provinces were authorized to strike base-metal issues for the central dynasty during this stage of the Antonine period. The mint at Rome operated under structured administrative control, coordinated through bureaucratic departments staffed by imperial freedmen and enslaved mint laborers, including engravers (scalptores), flan casters, and hammer men (suppostores and malleatores). Flans for the as were prepared by casting copper alloy in gang moulds, producing circular discs that were occasionally adjusted before striking. Striking was performed manually using hardened iron or bronze dies. Obverse portrait dies were typically set as the lower (anvil) dies to maximize their operational lifespan and maintain crisp aesthetic quality for the imperial likeness, while reverse dies were secured in the handheld upper (trussell) punches, which absorbed greater direct concussive force and fractured more frequently. Weight standards for the copper as during Marcus Aurelius's reign averaged approximately 9 to 12 grams, with diameters commonly spanning 24 to 27 millimetres, although substantial weight fluctuations occurred within single production batches because Roman mints struck base metals al marco (a fixed number of coins per pound of metal) rather than al pezzo (adjusting every flan to an exacting individual weight).

Obverse Iconography and Portrait Typology

The obverse of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1652 features the draped bust of Faustina the Younger facing right. Her hair is rendered in one of the intricate, evolving arrangements that characterized her numismatic profile during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. The specific design displays hair parted symmetrically, dressed in deep, nearly vertical waves that run downward past the ear and temple, forming undulating curls along the cheek before being drawn backward into a heavy, woven chignon situated low at the nape of the neck. In numerous die variants, the coiffure is further embellished with a single or double strand of pearls circling the crown, highlighting her status as Augusta. Chronological studies of Antonine empress portraiture classify this coiffure among the mature hairstyles adopted by Faustina following the accession of Marcus Aurelius in AD 161. Engravers at the Rome mint captured a dignified maturity distinct from the youthful portraits struck under her father, Antoninus Pius. The naturalistic rendering of her facial contours, coupled with the soft folds of drapery covering her shoulders, presented Faustina as the archetype of Roman female virtue, embodying modest dignity, aristocratic refinement, and imperial authority.

Reverse Iconography: Juno Regina and the Peacock

The reverse iconography of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1652 depicts the goddess Juno Regina standing facing left, dressed in a traditional long stola and flowing palla that drape down to her feet. In her extended right hand, she holds a broad patera, the circular libation bowl employed in formal Roman religious sacrifice, poised as if pouring an offering. In her left hand, she holds a tall, slender sceptre positioned vertically, signifying her majestic sovereignty as the queen of the Capitoline Triad and paramount female divinity of the Roman pantheon. At her feet to the left stands a peacock, her traditional avian companion and symbolic attribute, oriented toward the goddess or looking upward. Within the religious and political ideology of the Antonine dynasty, Juno Regina stood as the celestial protector and counterpart of the reigning empress. Just as Jupiter Optimus Maximus legitimized and safeguarded the emperor, Juno Regina watched over the empress, presiding over lawful marriage, marital concord (concordia), and fertility. For Faustina the Younger, who bore at least fourteen children and secured the biological succession of the dynasty, Juno Regina was an essential patron deity. The peacock, celebrated in classical mythology for its vigilance and incorruptibility, also functioned as a visual harbinger of eventual imperial apotheosis, as consecration coins would later portray deceased empresses ascending to heaven upon the wings of Juno's sacred bird.

Inscriptions and Epigraphy

The obverse legend reads FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, struck in a continuous clockwise circle starting from the lower left field. In contrast to her earliest issues under Antoninus Pius, which styled her as FAVSTINA AVG ANTONINI AVG PII FIL, the legend here is concise, omitting paternal references in favor of her independent imperial dignity as Augusta alongside Marcus Aurelius. The lettering employs formal Roman imperial epigraphy, characterized by pronounced serifs, balanced letter-spacing, and clear vertical stems. The reverse legend is inscribed as IVNONI REGINAE, positioned circumferentially along the upper and lateral margins of the die. Rendered in the dative case ('to Juno the Queen'), the legend denotes an explicit votive dedication offered by or on behalf of the empress to the goddess. In the lower left and right fields, flanking the standing figure of Juno, sits the prominent abbreviation S C, standing for Senatus Consulto ('by decree of the Senate'). This formulaic inscription appeared on virtually all regular brass and copper denominations produced at Rome, confirming that the striking of base-metal coinage remained formally sanctioned by the Roman Senate in accordance with traditional constitutional procedure, even as absolute executive control rested with the princeps.

Typological Classification and Chronological Placement

In the standard reference catalog Roman Imperial Coinage, Harold Mattingly and Edward Sydenham catalogued this bronze issue as RIC III 1652 under the coinage of Marcus Aurelius for Faustina the Younger, assigning it a broad date range from the death of Antoninus Pius in AD 161 to Faustina's death at Halala in Cappadocia in late AD 175 (with consecration issues beginning in AD 176). Because Faustina's lifetime coins rarely feature numbered tribunician years or consulships, dating relies on stylistic evolution, hoard associations, and coiffure transitions. Modern die-link research by Martin Beckmann has refined the internal chronology of Faustina's coinage, demonstrating that the IVNONI REGINAE reverse type paired with mature waved-hair portraits was initiated in the earlier half of Marcus Aurelius's reign, around AD 161 to 164, but remained an enduring type struck across several production phases down to the early 170s AD. Typologically, RIC III 1652 corresponds directly to the sestertius RIC 1651 and the silver denarius RIC 696, demonstrating that the mint at Rome systematically rolled out the Juno Regina motif across gold, silver, brass, and copper denominations to form a comprehensive, multi-metal visual campaign.

Circulation, Wear Patterns, and Archaeological Context

As base-metal fractional currency, coins of the RIC III 1652 type circulated extensively throughout Italy, the European provinces along the Rhine and Danube frontiers, and parts of Roman Britain. Unlike imperial silver denarii and gold aurei, which were frequently hoarded in times of military emergency or exported beyond the imperial frontiers to trade for luxury goods, copper asses stayed predominantly within the domestic monetary circuits of the empire. Excavations at military camp vici, urban market squares, and sanctuary deposits regularly uncover Antonine copper asses exhibiting heavy circulation wear. Due to their daily use, surviving specimens of RIC III 1652 often exhibit softened facial features, smoothed lettering, and dark green, brown, or variegated cuprous patinas resulting from burial in mineralized soils. Many examples remained in active circulation for several decades after their initial release, occasionally passing through commerce into the Severan era until the progressive debasement of the silver coinage and inflationary pressures of the third century AD prompted significant monetary realignments and diminished the purchasing utility of the base copper as.

References

1. Faustina the Younger: Coinage, Cult, and the Transformation of the Imperial Family. Chapter 4
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. pp. 538-539, nos. 980-983
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1652. ric.3.m_aur.1652
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 345, no. 1652