Lucilla Silver Denarius, RIC III Marcus Aurelius 789

Monetary Context and the Antonine Denarius

During the joint reign of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus (AD 161 to 169), the silver denarius served as the backbone of Roman imperial currency, facilitating urban commerce, fiscal administration, and the payment of legionary wages across the Mediterranean world. While the Augustan monetary system remained structurally intact, the Antonine era witnessed growing fiscal pressures driven by major military conflicts, including the Parthian War of AD 161 to 166 and the subsequent outbreak of the Marcomannic Wars along the Danubian frontier. In response to these financial requirements, imperial authorities carefully regulated the intrinsic standard of the denarius. Under Marcus Aurelius, the average weight of the denomination clustered between 3.20 and 3.40 grams, while the silver fineness stood typically between 74 and 78 percent, reflecting a modest reduction from earlier second-century peaks under Trajan and Hadrian. Within this broader economic framework, coinage struck for female members of the imperial family fulfilled a dual monetary and political role. Female issues, while completely fungible with regular imperial denarii, were deployed systematically to reinforce the visual program of the imperial dynasty. Following Lucilla's elevation to Augusta upon her wedding to Lucius Verus at Ephesus in AD 164, substantial issues of silver and bronze were struck at Rome in her name. Denarii such as RIC III Marcus Aurelius 789 not only met the state's urgent demand for circulating specie to fund ongoing campaigns and administrative overhead, but also publicized the stability and continuity of the Antonine line to soldiers and citizens alike.

Mint of Rome and Manufacturing Technique

The entire regular production of silver denarii for Lucilla took place at the primary imperial mint in Rome. During the 160s AD, the Rome mint operated an organized network of officinae (workshops), where skilled engravers, flan preparers, and strikers produced millions of coins annually under the supervision of equestrian procurators. The stylistic consistency observed on RIC III Marcus Aurelius 789 confirms that official engravers at Rome followed centralized imperial portrait models, maintaining high standards of sculptural relief and letterform rendering. Production followed standard ancient mechanical techniques. Blanks were prepared by casting silver alloy into globular or disc-shaped flans, which were then precisely adjusted to the prevailing weight standard before being struck between engraved bronze or iron dies. The lower die (obverse) was typically set securely into an anvil, while the upper die (reverse) was mounted into a handheld punch struck with a heavy hammer. Because dies were cut manually, individual die variations occur across the issue, exhibiting subtle differences in the spacing of the legends, the scale of the altar, and the drapery folds of Vesta and Lucilla. Die-axis alignment at Rome during this period predominantly followed a regular upright or inverted orientation (near 6 o'clock or 12 o'clock), indicative of disciplined workshop control.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 789 features a refined right-facing bust of Lucilla, draped and bare-headed. The portrait exemplifies the distinctive court hairstyle established by her mother, Faustina the Younger, but adapted for the youthful princess. Lucilla's hair is parted in the center and arranged in a sequence of deep, wavy horizontal ridges along the temples, drawn back tightly over the ears, and gathered at the nape of the neck into a compact, coiled braided bun or chignon. Unlike portraits of deified empresses or later third-century imperial women, Lucilla wears neither a diadem, stephane, nor veil, presenting her as an earthly Augusta of royal blood. The drapery is rendered with delicate folds across the shoulders and upper chest, framed by the curving inscription. Numismatists and art historians note that this portrait type captures Lucilla during her early twenties, presenting a smooth facial plane, almond-shaped eye, and aquiline nose that conveyed ideal imperial youthfulness and regal decorum. The portrait served as an authoritative visual marker of Antonine dynastic renewal, confirming the transmission of imperial pedigree from Marcus Aurelius to the household of his co-ruler.

Reverse Iconography and the Cult of Vesta

The reverse of the coin portrays Vesta, the ancient Roman goddess of the hearth and domestic religious order, standing facing left. She is depicted draped in traditional Roman matronly dress and wears a long veil (velificatio) covering her head, signifying sanctity, modesty, and ritual purity. In her right hand, extended downward toward a lighted and decorated cylindrical altar, she holds a simpulum, a ladle used by priests and the Vestal Virgins to pour sacred libations during Roman sacrifices. In her left hand, held upright or slightly tilted back, Vesta carries a tall ceremonial torch. The inclusion of Vesta on coinage dedicated to imperial women held profound ideological importance. As the guardian of the eternal flame representing the survival and prosperity of the Roman state, Vesta was intrinsically linked to the imperial house through the role of the Pontifex Maximus. By associating Lucilla with Vesta and her sacrificial instruments, the imperial mint linked the newly married Augusta with the fundamental virtues of pudicitia (chastity), pietas (dutiful religious devotion), and the preservation of domestic and civic harmony. The decorated, lighted altar further underscores an active act of sacrifice, reminding the Roman viewer of the continuous religious intercession undertaken by the imperial family on behalf of the empire.

Epigraphy and Legend Structure

The obverse inscription reads LVCILLAE AVG ANTONINI AVG F, arranged clockwise along the circumference of the flan. The epigraphy uses sharp, classic Roman lapidary capitals with clear triangular serifs. The text is constructed in the dative case (Lucillae Augustae Antonini Augusti Filiae), translating as 'To Lucilla Augusta, daughter of Antoninus Augustus.' In Roman numismatic convention, the dative formula indicates an honorific dedication struck by the authority of the reigning emperor in honour of his daughter. The reference to 'Antoninus Augustus' designates Marcus Aurelius, who had adopted the name Antoninus following his accession in AD 161 to signal direct continuity with his adoptive father, Antoninus Pius. The reverse inscription consists solely of the single word VESTA, placed either in the fields or curved along the upper circumference. Stated in the nominative case, this brief divine invocation clearly identifies the deity and focuses the viewer's attention on the sacred personification and her ceremonial actions. The clarity and brevity of the legends on both faces reflect the conservative design choices typical of the Rome mint during the Antonine period, ensuring that the primary visual message remained immediately legible to the public.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In Roman Imperial Coinage, the denarius of this design is catalogued as RIC III Marcus Aurelius 789. Numismatic scholars classify Lucilla's coinage into chronological groups based on obverse titulature and marital status. The specific obverse legend LVCILLAE AVG ANTONINI AVG F represents her earliest emission phase, commencing directly after her marriage to Lucius Verus in AD 164. The patronymic formula explicitly commemorating her father as Antoninus Augustus was primarily employed between AD 164 and the death of Lucius Verus in early AD 169. Following the death of Lucius Verus and Lucilla's subsequent remarriage to the Roman general Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus, the Rome mint gradually simplified her obverse titles to the shorter formula LVCILLA AVGVSTA, dropping the explicit reference to her father. While broad cataloguing schemas occasionally assign an issue window spanning the remainder of Marcus Aurelius's reign up to AD 180, detailed stylistic and hoard analyses by Wolfgang Szaivert (MIR 18) and Harold Mattingly demonstrate that issues carrying the ANTONINI AVG F legend were concentrated in the years AD 164 to 166/169. RIC III 789 thus belongs securely to the celebrated bridal and joint-reign period of the mid-160s AD.

Hoard Evidence and Monetary Circulation

Denarii of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 789 enjoyed extensive circulation throughout the Roman Empire, as evidenced by comprehensive hoard data from both civilian provinces and military frontier outposts. Well-documented discoveries across Roman Britain (such as the Shapwick and Falkirk hoards), the Rhine and Danube limes, the Gallic provinces, and the Italian heartland consistently feature silver denarii of Lucilla. These hoards demonstrate that denarii struck for imperial empresses circulated freely alongside the primary issues of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, showing identical wear patterns and travel trajectories. Due to the relative purity of silver under the Antonine emperors compared to subsequent third-century debasements, coins of this type remained in commercial circulation for decades. Many specimens continued to circulate well into the Severan era, occasionally surviving in third-century savings hoards deposited during the reigns of Caracalla and Severus Alexander. The high survival rate of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 789 in modern numismatic collections underscores the substantial volume of silver struck during Lucilla's initial marriage emission, reflecting the mint's capacity to disperse imperial messaging alongside mass currency output.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum. Vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. pp. 570-571, nos. 325-327
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Marcus Aurelius 789. ric.3.m_aur.789
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage. Vol. III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 276, no. 789
4. Die Münzprägung des Kaisers Marcus Aurelius (Moneta Imperii Romani 18). Series 16