Marcus Aurelius Silver Denarius RIC III Marcus Aurelius 138

Monetary Context and Imperial Policy

During the mid-second century AD, the silver denarius served as the backbone of Roman state expenditure, military payroll, and interprovincial commerce. Under the joint principate of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, the Roman financial apparatus faced acute demands created by the outbreak of the Parthian War in AD 161. Sustaining multiple legions mobilized across Syria, Cappadocia, and Mesopotamia required a massive and continuous supply of portable silver coin. The issue catalogued as RIC III Marcus Aurelius 138 was produced within this high-pressure fiscal landscape in AD 165. While the Julio-Claudian weight reform instituted under Nero in AD 64 had established the nominal denarius standard at approximately ninety-six to the Roman pound (near 3.4 grams), second-century fiscal obligations caused Antonine authorities to strike denarii with typical observed weights between 3.1 and 3.4 grams. Silver fineness at this stage hovered around seventy-five to eighty percent, reflecting a controlled silver alloy that maintained confidence in retail and institutional exchange while accommodating heightened military expenditures. The type fulfilled state payroll needs while carrying carefully chosen ideological messaging to Roman troops and civilian populations alike.

Mint Attribution and Production Techniques

Numismatic consensus securely attributes RIC III Marcus Aurelius 138 to the primary imperial mint operating in the city of Rome. Throughout the mid-second century, Rome functioned as the central administrative hub for precious-metal coinage, concentrating master die engravers, metallurgical testing offices, and striking workshops (officinae). Production relied on traditional manual striking techniques. Flans were cast in open or two-piece molds to achieve roughly standardized circular blanks, then adjusted to weight before being heated and placed between hand-cut bronze or iron dies. The lower die, set into an anvil, typically bore the imperial obverse portrait, ensuring stability and finer detail, while the upper punch die held the reverse device of seated Roma. Striking was performed by an hammer blow of substantial force, resulting in slight variations in flan thickness, edge cracking, and die alignment across surviving specimens. Die axes were frequently aligned near twelve o'clock or six o'clock, reflecting disciplined workshop practice. Engravers at the Rome mint exhibited exceptional skill in carving Marcus Aurelius's features and intricate mythological regalia on relatively small flans averaging seventeen to nineteen millimeters in diameter.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 138 features a distinguished portrait of Marcus Aurelius facing right, wearing a laurel wreath tied at the nape of his neck with ribbons hanging behind. The imperial portrait represents mature Antonine stylistic conventions, characterized by deeply drilled, curled hair, an elongated and textured beard, and calm, introspective facial modeling. The laurel wreath symbolizes victory, virtue, and imperium, reminding the viewer of the emperor's role as supreme commander of Rome's legions. Rather than depicting the co-emperor in dynamic military armor on this specific type, the portrait relies on the heroic bare-necked bust or head format, emphasizing dignity and civic duty. Subtle variations in portraiture exist across individual dies, with some carvers presenting a fuller facial profile while others render the nose and cheekbones with sharper contours. These stylistic nuances illustrate the concurrent activity of multiple engravers working within the central mint at Rome, all conforming to a centralized master design circulated by the imperial administration.

Reverse Iconography: Roma with Palladium and Parazonium

The reverse design presents Roma, helmeted and draped in classical garments, seated left on a low stool or curule seat. In her outstretched right hand, she supports the palladium, an archaic statuette of Pallas Athena or Minerva carrying a spear and shield, which traditionally symbolized the preservation and eternal safety of the Roman state. In her left hand, Roma holds a parazonium, a short triangular ceremonial sword or officer's baton associated with imperial command and martial virtue. Positioned beside her seat on the right rests a round shield, emphasizing defensive preparedness. This composition draws upon centuries of Roman iconographic tradition, presenting the capital city not merely as a physical location but as the divine patroness of world dominion. By depicting Roma enthroned with both the sacred talisman of Troy and the attributes of victorious warfare, the design conveyed a reassuring message to an empire engaged in major foreign conflict. It signified that Roman victories in the East safeguarded the spiritual heart and physical security of Rome itself.

Epigraphy and Titulature

The legends on RIC III Marcus Aurelius 138 provide precise epigraphic evidence for dating and ideological intent. The obverse inscription reads M ANTONINVS AVG ARMENIACVS, moving clockwise around the portrait. Here, the praenomen and nomen M ANTONINVS (Marcus Antoninus) are joined with AVG (Augustus) and the triumphal cognomen ARMENIACVS. Marcus Aurelius assumed the title Armeniacus in late AD 164 following the capture of Artaxata and the installation of a Roman client king in Armenia, though he had delayed accepting it until after Lucius Verus had celebrated his initial successes. The reverse legend continues the imperial titulature: P M TR P XIX IMP III COS III. This records his religious office as Pontifex Maximus (P M), his nineteenth renewal of the tribunician power (TR P XIX), his third imperial acclamation (IMP III), and his third consulship (COS III). The epigraphy is rendered in clean classical Roman capitals, occasionally exhibiting ligature or slight contraction depending on die spacing. This precise enumeration of administrative and military milestones established the legal basis of Marcus Aurelius's authority while simultaneously publicizing recent martial achievements.

Typology and Chronological Classification

The specific combination of titles on RIC III Marcus Aurelius 138 establishes its production within AD 165. Marcus Aurelius received his nineteenth tribunician year (TR P XIX) starting on 10 December AD 164 and continuing until 9 December AD 165. His third imperial acclamation (IMP III) occurred in AD 165, prompted by subsequent Roman advances deep into Mesopotamia under generals Avidius Cassius and Statius Priscus. Consequently, coins bearing TR P XIX alongside IMP III belong strictly to the middle and later months of AD 165, before the twentieth tribunician renewment and the subsequent assumption of the title Parthicus Maximus. In Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham's Roman Imperial Coinage (RIC III), this denarius is catalogued under number 138. It belongs to a cohesive programmatic issue struck alongside companion aurei and bronze denominations that likewise celebrated the successful phases of the Eastern campaigns through personifications such as Roma, Victory, and Mars. RIC III 138 is distinguished from adjacent varieties by its specific seated posture of Roma, her attribute combination of palladium, parazonium, and round shield, and the precise formulation of the reverse titles.

Circulation Patterns and Archaeological Evidence

As an official silver denarius of the Rome mint, RIC III Marcus Aurelius 138 circulated throughout the provinces, frontier legionary camps, and domestic markets. Hoard evidence from Britain, Gaul, the Rhine frontier, and the Danubian provinces demonstrates that silver issues of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus integrated rapidly into regional currency pools. These coins routinely circulated alongside earlier Antonine, Hadrianic, and Trajanic issues, as well as surviving worn denarii from the Flavian and Neronian periods. Because the silver denarius possessed high purchasing power, it was widely hoarded in periods of regional distress, notably during the Antonine Plague that struck the empire shortly after the Eastern wars, and during the Marcomannic Wars that erupted along the northern borders from AD 166 onward. Wear patterns on recovered specimens range from lightly circulated pieces buried soon after minting to heavily smoothed specimens that remained in monetary circulation well into the third century, prior to the general demonetization and severe debasement of the silver denarius under the Severan and mid-third-century dynasties.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Marcus Aurelius. pp. 427-431
2. Money and Government in the Roman Empire. pp. 100-115
3. Coining Images of Power: Language and Images of Emperors on Roman Coinage, A.D. 193-284. pp. 130-142
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 225, no. 138
5. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Marcus Aurelius 138. RIC III Marcus Aurelius 138
6. Die Münzprägung des Kaisers Marcus Aurelius in Wien (Moneta Imperii Romani 18). MIR 18