Marcus Aurelius Orichalcum Sestertius, RIC III Marcus Aurelius 998

Monetary Context and Denominational Function

During the joint and sole reigns of the Antonine dynasty, the sestertius served as the premier large-denomination base-metal coin of the Roman Empire, tariffed at four asses or one quarter of a silver denarius. Traditionally struck from orichalcum, a golden-hued brass alloy predominantly composed of copper and zinc, the denomination served an indispensable civic and commercial function. Unlike low-denomination copper asses and semisses, which handled small retail transactions, the sestertius possessed substantial purchasing power and circulated widely across civic, fiscal, and military sectors. Its generous surface area also transformed it into the imperial administration's foremost medium for public communication and political ideology. When RIC III Marcus Aurelius 998 was minted in AD 170 to AD 171, the Roman state confronted severe economic strains provoked by the Antonine Plague and prolonged multi-front conflicts along the northern Danube frontier. In response to financial pressure, imperial administrators gradually adjusted alloy compositions; however, the sestertius retained its status as a trusted credit coin with a face value legally maintained above its intrinsic metal worth.

Production Technology and Mint Organization

All regular imperial aes coinage for Marcus Aurelius in this period was produced exclusively by the centralized imperial mint at Rome. Production involved preparing thick disc-shaped flans, commonly cast in gang molds before being hot-struck between engraved bronze or iron dies. The substantial physical thickness of sestertius blanks required considerable striking force, often administered with heavy sledges, which occasionally produced minor edge cracks, irregular planchet perimeters, and slight radial stress marks visible on surviving specimens. The imperial mint operated under sophisticated organizational hierarchies, dividing labor among die engravers, flan casters, heaters, and hammerers. Dies for RIC III Marcus Aurelius 998 were executed in high relief by master celators whose stylistic conventions characterized the later Antonine period, marked by deep sculptural modeling of imperial curls, finely detailed laurel ties, and balanced lettering. Like most contemporary Roman imperial bronze struck at Rome, this issue typically maintains a strict six o'clock die axis, reflecting rigorous operational standardization within the urban mint workshops.

Obverse Design and Portraiture

The obverse of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 998 displays the mature portrait of Marcus Aurelius facing right. The emperor is shown bare-necked with a laureate wreath tied at the occiput, with two ribbon ends falling behind the nape. By AD 170, the imperial portrait had transitioned fully from the philosophical youth of his early co-reign into that of a weathered, burdened commander-in-chief. Engravers carefully rendered his characteristic thick, curly hair and full, deeply channeled beard, reflecting both his commitment to Stoic intellectualism and the gravitas required of an emperor campaigning along the frozen limes. The profile exhibits prominent facial contours, deep-set eyes, and furrowed brows that convey solemn imperial authority. The design is framed along the beaded rim by the primary imperial legend, beginning from the lower left and continuing clockwise around the periphery.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse iconography centers on Fides, the divine personification of trust, fidelity, and sworn oaths. She is depicted standing draped in a long stola that cascades to her feet, facing left in a commanding yet reassuring posture. In her outstretched right hand, Fides supports a small figure of Victory, who offers a triumphal wreath toward the viewer or the absent troops. In her left hand, Fides holds a vertical legionary eagle, the aquila, resting firmly on the groundline. This specific pairing of attributes unites the divine assurance of victory with the sacred standard that embodied the honor and spiritual cohesion of the Roman legions. The traditional formulaic letters S C appear across the lower fields, divided on either side of the standing figure. The visual synthesis communicated an urgent political truth during the Marcomannic Wars: imperial triumph depended entirely on the steadfast loyalty and discipline of the Danubian legions defending Roman soil.

Inscriptions and Epigraphy

The inscriptions on this type provide exact chronological markers and explicit ideological messaging. The obverse legend reads IMP M ANTONINVS AVG TR P XXV, an abbreviation for Imperator Marcus Antoninus Augustus, Tribunicia Potestate quinta vicesima. This text records his formal imperial title alongside his twenty-fifth renewal of tribunician power, an office conferring civil inviolability and sacrosanctity that renewed annually every December. The reverse inscription reads FIDES EXERCITVVM COS III, which continues into the fields with S C. The phrase Fides Exercitvvm translates directly as 'Loyalty of the Armies', invoking the reciprocal bond between sovereign and soldiers. COS III denotes the emperor's third consulship, first assumed in AD 161 with his adoptive brother Lucius Verus and retained as a permanent titular distinction since he accepted no subsequent ordinary consulships. Finally, S C stands for Senatus Consulto, signifying that the copper-alloy coin was struck by decree of the Roman Senate, fulfilling the traditional division of monetary authority in imperial Rome.

Typology and Chronological Classification

Within the system established by Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham in The Roman Imperial Coinage, this issue is classified precisely as RIC III Marcus Aurelius 998. The primary chronological anchor is the tribunician date TR P XXV, which places its production securely between December 10, AD 170 and December 9, AD 171. In Wolfgang Szaivert's specialized classification of the Antonine mint, the type belongs to the emission phase designated as MIR 18, issue 209. The motif formed part of a coherent thematic group struck across multiple denominations in gold, silver, and bronze during AD 170 and AD 171. While related contemporary types feature Fides holding cornucopiae, military vexilla, or paired standards, RIC III 998 is uniquely defined by the specific combination of a right-facing laureate head on the obverse and Fides holding both Victory and a legionary eagle standard on the reverse.

Circulation, Hoarding, and Archaeological Context

As an essential unit of high-value base-metal currency, sestertii of Marcus Aurelius circulated throughout the Mediterranean basin and the European provinces. Archaeological findspots show substantial concentrations of Antonine sestertii along the Rhine and Danube river systems, where regular military pay and civilian commerce sustained large volumes of heavy bronze coinage. Because orichalcum possessed significant intrinsic value, sestertii often circulated for several generations, frequently remaining in active use until the monetary crises and rapid debasements of the mid-third century AD. Wear patterns on recovered examples commonly show prolonged circulation, with legend edges smoothed and portrait high points softened. Hoard evidence from western Europe confirms that coins of this type were frequently integrated into mixed-period bronze savings deposits alongside earlier Trajanic and Hadrianic pieces, demonstrating their persistent purchasing power and slow velocity of withdrawal from circulation.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 617, no. 1395
2. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 293, no. 998
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Marcus Aurelius 998. RIC III Marcus Aurelius 998
4. Die Münzprägung der Kaiser Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus und Commodus (161/192). MIR 18, 209-6/30