Commodus Dupondius RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1591

Monetary Context and Denominational System

During the joint reign of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus (AD 177 to 180), the Roman imperial monetary system maintained the traditional Augustan denominations. The system was anchored by the gold aureus and silver denarius, supplemented by a token base-metal currency structured in brass (orichalcum) and copper. Within this hierarchy, the dupondius occupied a critical intermediate position, valued at two copper asses, half of a brass sestertius, and one-eighth of a silver denarius (sixteen asses to the denarius). As a token currency with an intrinsic metallic value below its official tariff, the dupondius relied on the fiscal backing of the imperial state and senatorial endorsement, indicated by the standard formula Senatus Consulto (S C). Struck in orichalcum, the dupondius was physically distinguished from the similar-sized copper as not only by the golden tint of fresh brass but crucially through imperial portraiture conventions: since the reign of Nero, male imperial portraits on dupondii typically bore a radiate crown, whereas asses presented the emperor laureate or bare-headed. RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1591 served an important transactional role in civilian everyday trade, market purchases, and urban commerce throughout Rome and the western provinces, where base-metal denominations constituted the lifeblood of retail exchange.

Mint Production and Metallurgical Standards

The central imperial mint in Rome held an effective monopoly over the production of official senatorial copper-alloy coinage during the late Antonine period. Dupondii such as RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1591 were manufactured through manual striking using two engraved dies. Blank planchets were cast using stone or clay moulds, often prepared in strips or individually, resulting in slight variations in thickness, centering, and diameter, which typically averaged around twenty-five to twenty-seven millimeters. By the late second century AD, the zinc content in Roman orichalcum had declined from the high levels seen during the early Julio-Claudian era due to the routine remelting of recycled brass scrap. Nevertheless, the mint continued to produce orichalcum blanks recognizable for their distinct yellowish hue. Official target weights for the dupondius during this era hovered between eleven and thirteen grams, although individual surviving examples exhibit broader weight distributions typical of ancient batch-based minting techniques (al marco), where a specified number of coins was struck from a given pound of metal rather than individually adjusted.

Obverse Design and Iconography

The obverse of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1591 displays the youthful portrait of Commodus, facing right. He wears the radiate crown, the rays projecting outward from his hair, which denotes the coin as a dupondius. Commodus, born in AD 161, was approximately seventeen years old when this coin was struck in AD 178. The portraiture executed by the Rome mint die-engravers captures his transition into early adulthood, showing soft facial features, curled locks of hair typical of the Antonine court style, and a nascent beard or smooth jawline depending on the specific die pair. The radiate crown, originally associated with Helios-Sol and assimilated into imperial coinage under the early Principate, carried both denominational utility and solar connotations of imperial majesty and divine protection. The portrait is framed by a continuous Latin legend arranged along the outer beaded border, asserting his formal status as Augustus alongside his father.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse depicts Libertas, the personification of liberty, standing facing left. In her outstretched right hand, she holds the pileus, the conical felt cap awarded to newly emancipated enslaved individuals upon their formal release from bondage. In her left hand, she holds a long vertical rod or staff, known as the vindicta (or festuca), which was used in formal Roman legal ceremonies of manumission before a praetor. The iconography of Libertas was a long-standing motif in Roman imperial propaganda. Under Marcus Aurelius and Commodus, the representation of Libertas Augusta emphasized the preservation of constitutional legality, the benevolence of the Antonine dynasty, and the civic freedoms enjoyed by Roman citizens under an enlightened imperial administration. Flanking Libertas in the lower field are the large letters S and C, denoting Senatus Consulto ('by decree of the Senate'), marking the constitutional sanction under which the base-metal coinage of Rome was officially issued.

Inscriptions and Epigraphic Analysis

The inscriptions on RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1591 provide precise administrative and chronological milestones. The obverse legend reads L AVREL COMMODVS AVG TR P III, expanding as Lucius Aurelius Commodus Augustus, Tribunicia Potestate Tertia. Commodus received the tribunician power for the first time in early AD 177; his third tenure (TR P III) commenced in December AD 177 and extended through December AD 178. Notably, his praenomen is rendered as Lucius, the name he used during the joint reign before adopting Marcus after his father's death. The reverse inscription reads LIBERTAS AVG IMP II COS P P, with S C placed across the lower left and right fields. The legend expands to Libertas Augusti, Imperator Secundum, Consul, Pater Patriae, Senatus Consulto. The title IMP II references Commodus's second imperatorial acclamation, earned in late AD 177 or early 178 during the northern frontier campaigns, while COS reflects his first ordinary consulship, assumed in AD 177. The presence of P P (Pater Patriae) reflects the formal honours shared between the joint Augusti.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the standard typological framework established by Harold Mattingly and Edward Sydenham in The Roman Imperial Coinage (RIC III), catalogue entry 1591 is categorized among the bronze issues struck under Marcus Aurelius for Commodus during their joint reign. Parallel issues displaying the Libertas reverse were struck in silver (denarii) and brass (sestertii), forming a coordinated multi-denomination propaganda emission in AD 178. In Wolfgang Szaivert's Moneta Imperii Romani (MIR 18), these issues are arranged within the chronological sequence of the fifth emission of the joint reign. The absolute dating of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1591 to AD 178 is securely established by the convergence of TR P III on the obverse and IMP II COS on the reverse. Commodus entered his second consulship (COS II) on January 1, AD 179; any coinage struck after that date necessarily adjusted the titulature to COS II, providing a strict terminus ante quem for this specific type.

Circulation, Hoarding, and Archaeological Context

Once released by the mint in Rome, dupondii of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus circulated across the empire, with the heaviest concentration in Rome, Italy, and the military frontiers of the northern and western provinces (Britain, the Rhine, and the Danube). Base-metal denominations rarely traveled in single-deposit bullion hoards; instead, they appear predominantly in site finds, urban settlement debris, river deposits, and mixed bronze hoards that accumulated over decades of everyday retail transactions. Because orichalcum and copper coinage remained legal tender for extended periods, late second-century dupondii frequently continued in active circulation into the third century AD, until the rapid currency debasements of the Severan and mid-third-century crises prompted their withdrawal or hoarding for metal value. Archaeological wear patterns on surviving specimens often show moderate to heavy smoothing, reflecting prolonged transactional velocity before final burial.

References

1. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1591. ric.3.m_aur.1591
2. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 337, no. 1591
3. Die Münzprägung des Kaisers Marcus Aurelius nebst Lucius Verus und Commodus (MIR 18). Emission 5 (AD 178)
4. The Metrology of the Roman Silver Coinage, Part II: From Nerva to Commodus. BAR Supplementary Series 22, Oxford