Lucius Verus Dupondius, RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1329

Monetary and Political Context

The monetary system of the high Roman Empire operated on a tri-metallic standard consisting of gold, silver, and copper-alloy denominations, whose relative values had been formalised during the Augustan monetary reforms. Within this hierarchy, the dupondius represented a middle base-metal denomination equal to two copper asses, half of a brass sestertius, and one-eighth of a silver denarius. While the sestertius served as the flagship medium for detailed imperial visual propaganda and fiscal accounting, the dupondius provided an essential unit for routine mid-level transactions across urban and regional markets. Unlike the as, which was struck in pure reddish copper and portrayed the emperor with a laurel wreath or bare head, the dupondius was minted from orichalcum, a golden-toned zinc-copper brass alloy. To prevent confusion in daily circulation as the shiny alloy aged and acquired a patina, Nero instituted the radiate solar crown as the consistent diagnostic marker of the dupondius for male rulers, a convention that remained standard throughout the second century AD. Struck during the third tribunician year of Lucius Verus between late AD 162 and 163, RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1329 belongs to the early joint reign established after the death of Antoninus Pius in March AD 161. While both rulers held equal constitutional standing as Augusti, Marcus Aurelius functioned as the senior administrative head, retaining the title of Pontifex Maximus. Following the Parthian invasion of Roman client kingdoms and the destruction of Roman legions in the East, the imperial court determined that Lucius Verus would travel to Syria to lead the counter-offensive. The emission of bronze coinage celebrating Verus's naval crossing occurred against the background of military mobilisation, rising provincial supply demands, and the logistical redeployment of imperial troops.

Production and Mint Organization

All official senatorial copper-alloy coinages bearing the names and portraits of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus during this era were produced by the central imperial mint in Rome. Production of large-format base-metal planchets required dedicated metallurgical preparation. The mint staff prepared orichalcum flans through molten alloy casting into moulds or sheet hammering followed by blank cutting, creating heavy, rounded flans designed to absorb deep die strikes. The dies for the dupondius series were cut by the same skilled engravers who prepared the dies for sestertii and asses, maintaining high stylistic coherence across the base-metal denominations. The striking was conducted manually between a fixed lower die mounted in an anvil and a handheld mobile upper die struck with a heavy hammer. Coin weights for dupondii during the Antonine period clustered between 11.5 and 14.5 grams, with typical diameters spanning 24 to 27 millimetres, though striking variations and planchet filing yielded noticeable individual tolerances. The production of the FELIC AVG galley type spanned multiple denominations, appearing concurrently on sestertii, dupondii, and asses, illustrating a coordinated emission program designed to introduce this military and naval motif across all tiers of base-metal currency issued from the capital.

Obverse Iconography and Style

The obverse of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1329 presents a right-facing portrait bust of Lucius Verus wearing a radiate crown. Antonine portraiture under the court sculptors and die engravers was marked by dramatic, drill-accented curls and carefully articulated full beards, creating an image of Hellenic philosophical elegance combined with imperial martial dignity. On this issue, Lucius Verus is shown with his distinctive luxuriant hair arranged in multiple tiers of voluminous ringlets, framing a sharp profile and a neatly trimmed full beard. The radiate crown sits securely atop the hair, its sharp points projecting outwards to signal both the divine solar associations of the ruler and the practical tariff value of the coin as a double-as. Die variations documented in museum collections capture slight differences in bust termination, occasionally depicting the truncation bare or with faint drapery on the far shoulder, though the predominant catalogue form exhibits a bare neck truncation. The engraving reflects the youthful vigor of the junior Augustus, who was roughly thirty-two years old at the time of striking.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse of the dupondius displays a dynamic maritime scene featuring a war galley travelling to the left. The vessel is rendered in fine nautical detail, showing the hull resting upon stylized parallel water lines. Along the flank of the galley, a bank of rowers is depicted in seated posture, often with their oars extending into the water below. At the stern, a steersman or pilot is positioned beside the steering oar (gubernaculum), overseeing the navigation of the craft. Rising from the stern deck are two military standards (signa) alongside an acrostolium, the curved ornamental crest terminating the ship's stern. At the prow, a mast tilts forward, bearing either a gathered sail or an imperial vexillum depending on the particular die engraving. The galley motif is an established Roman numismatic vehicle for communicating the safe passage (felicitas) of magistrates and emperors across dangerous seas. In the specific historical setting of AD 162 to 163, the scene directly commemorates the eastward voyage of Lucius Verus from Italy, through the Corinthian Gulf and across the Aegean to Syria, where he established his headquarters for the Parthian War. The combination of military standards and an active warship emphasised that the voyage was a strategic imperial expedition conducted under divine protection.

Inscriptions and Epigraphic Analysis

The obverse legend reads IMP CAES L AVREL VERVS AVG, written continuously along the outer rim. Transcribed and expanded, the inscription denotes Imperator Caesar Lucius Aurelius Verus Augustus. This formula represents the standard early imperial titulature adopted by Verus following his elevation in AD 161, affirming his status as Augustus alongside Marcus Aurelius while using the praenomen imperatoris and the shared nomen gentilicium Aurelius derived from their adoption by Antoninus Pius. The reverse carries the circumscription FELIC AVG TR P III COS II, completed in the field by the letters S C. The opening formula FELIC AVG abbreviates Felicitati Augusti, dedicating the coin to the 'felicity' or auspicious good fortune of the Augustus during his maritime journey. The chronological elements follow: TR P III denotes Tribunicia Potestate III, marking his third annual tenure of tribunician power (renewed in December AD 162 and continuing through December AD 163), while COS II records his second consulship, assumed on January 1, AD 161. The letters S C, an abbreviation for Senatus Consulto ('by decree of the Senate'), occupy the lower left and right fields or the exergue, reflecting the traditional constitutional sanction governing base-metal coinage struck at Rome.

Typology and Chronological Placement

Catalogued in Roman Imperial Coinage under volume III as Marcus Aurelius 1329, this issue forms part of a dedicated commemorative emission produced during the second full year of the joint reign. Because bronze coinage of this period was authorised under the overarching senatorial prerogative coordinated with the senior Augustus, the volume indexes Verus's bronze types within the wider cataloguing structure of Marcus Aurelius's reign. The precise chronological anchor for the type is provided by the combination of TR P III and COS II on the reverse. Lucius Verus entered his third tribunician year in December AD 162 and entered his fourth in December AD 163; thus, the type was produced exclusively within this twelve-month window. Parallel issues sharing the identical galley design and legend formula were produced across the other base-metal denominations: as a brass sestertius (RIC III 1325) and as a copper as (RIC III 1331). On the as, Verus appears bare-headed or laureate rather than radiate, confirming the intentional typological separation between the single and double as. Minor engraving variants on the dupondius involve the presence or absence of a sail versus a vexillum at the prow and slight differences in the positioning of the S C letters, but the core design remains uniform across the series.

Circulation and Archaeological Context

Dupondii minted under the Antonine emperors circulated widely across the western and Danubian provinces of the Roman Empire, as well as throughout the Italian peninsula. Due to their robust brass fabric, dupondii maintained purchasing power and physical durability over decades of hand-to-hand transactions. Hoard evidence and site finds from Roman Britain, the Rhine frontier, and the Upper and Lower Danubian military zones demonstrate that coins of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus frequently remained in circulation well into the third century AD, often recovered alongside later Severan base-metal issues. While silver denarii and gold aurei moved rapidly along military supply corridors toward the eastern front during the Parthian War, base-metal denominations like RIC III 1329 served primarily to meet civic commercial needs and military base expenditure in regions where the imperial bronze standard was standard tender. Wear patterns on recovered specimens of this type vary from lightly circulated examples retained in domestic hoards to heavily smoothed pieces that experienced prolonged market circulation across multiple generations.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. pp. 550-552
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1329. ric.3.m_aur.1329
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 317, no. 1329
4. Die Münzprägung der Kaiser Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus und Commodus (161-192). MIR 18, Verus issue AD 162-163