Faustina the Younger Silver Denarius, RIC III Marcus Aurelius 676

Monetary Context and Imperial Policy

The denarius catalogued as RIC III Marcus Aurelius 676 functioned as the core silver denomination of the High Roman Empire, maintaining the fundamental structural role established by the reforms of Augustus and Nero. Under Marcus Aurelius, who reigned jointly with Lucius Verus from AD 161 to 169 and subsequently as sole Augustus until Commodus was elevated, imperial minting continued to serve both fiscal obligations and ideological dissemination. The Antonine monetary system depended on the denarius as the principal medium for state disbursements, administrative expenses, and military pay. Denarii struck for the imperial women, particularly the Augusta Faustina the Younger, daughter of Antoninus Pius and wife of Marcus Aurelius, represented a significant portion of the total precious metal output of the capital. During this era, the denarius possessed a nominal silver fineness that sat between seventy-five and eighty percent, having experienced a minor standard reduction relative to the early Antonine peak under Antoninus Pius. Metallurgical analyses confirm that although Marcus Aurelius adjusted silver content slightly during the fiscal pressures of the Marcomannic Wars, denarii produced for Faustina early in the reign maintained reliable standards, ensuring widespread acceptance in both civilian markets and border military garrisons across the empire.

Mint Organization and Production Techniques

This coinage was manufactured exclusively at the principal imperial mint situated in Rome, which operated under strict administrative supervision managed by imperial freedmen and moneyers. The production of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 676 followed the traditional manual striking process utilizing engraved iron or bronze dies. Circular silver blanks were cast, adjusted to target weights, and heated before being struck between an anvil die and a punch die. The obverse die carried the high-relief portrait of the empress, while the reverse die featured the intricate multi-figure composition of Fecunditas and four children. Operating across multiple operational workshops (officinae), mint staff paired dies flexibly; obverse dies frequently outlasted reverse dies due to the uneven mechanical stress of hammer blows. The target weight for these denarii sat typically between 3.20 and 3.40 grams, with typical diameters ranging between 17 and 19 millimeters. Flans exhibit the characteristic beveling and gentle oval irregularities caused by free striking without an outer retaining collar. Die axes tend to cluster predominantly at six o'clock or twelve o'clock, reflecting the regularized alignment habits of Roman mint workers in the mid second century AD.

Obverse Portraiture and Style

The obverse of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 676 presents a right-facing portrait of Faustina the Younger, modeled in a classicizing naturalistic style typical of mid-second-century Roman court art. The empress is depicted bare-headed, without the stephane or diadem found on certain contemporary issues. Her hair is rendered in soft, undulating waves running horizontally across the cranium and gathered behind into a neatly woven chignon or bun resting at the lower nape of the neck. This hairstyle corresponds to what modern art historians and numismatists classify as Faustina's mature or late-dynastic coiffure, which evolved away from the high, braided nest favored by her mother, Faustina the Elder. The bust is carefully draped, with the folds of the palla and stola gathering delicately across the truncation and shoulder. The facial features convey quiet dignity, showing large eyes, a straight nose, and a gentle jawline, harmonizing maternal sobriety with imperial majesty. Engraving variations reflect different die-cutters within the Rome mint, manifesting slight differences in the density of hair waves, the size of the chignon, and the fullness of the neck.

Reverse Iconography: Fecunditas and Imperial Offspring

The reverse design constitutes an explicit programmatic celebration of dynastic fertility, featuring the personification Fecunditas draped and standing facing left. In this ambitious multi-figure composition, Fecunditas holds two infants cradled in her arms while two slightly older children stand at her feet, one on each side, reaching upward toward her robe. This complex iconographical schema was specifically developed to publicize the extensive progeny of Faustina the Younger and Marcus Aurelius. In Roman state religion and imperial ideology, the imperial family served as an exemplar of traditional Roman virtue and cosmic blessing. While Fecunditas was sometimes depicted holding a single child, a scepter, or a cornucopia on other Antonine issues, the specific presentation of four distinct children on RIC 676 provided immediate visual confirmation of dynastic security. The presence of twin infants in her arms directly resonates with the birth of the imperial twins Commodus and Antoninus in August of AD 161. By presenting the Augusta as the mother of living heirs, the reverse visually assured citizens and soldiers alike that the empire possessed legitimate successors, thereby averting the perils of civil instability.

Epigraphy and Legend Structure

The epigraphy on both faces of the coin adheres to the epigraphic conventions of the mid Antonine period, utilizing sharp, well-proportioned Latin capital letters. The obverse inscription reads FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, starting low on the left periphery and continuing uninterrupted or split around the upper profile of the empress. This concise legend omits the earlier filiation references (such as AVG PII AVG FIL) that characterized Faustina's coinages under her father Antoninus Pius, signifying her elevated status as senior Augusta and full consort to Marcus Aurelius. The reverse legend reads FECVND AVGVSTAE, abbreviating Fecunditati Augustae, framed in the dative case to signify a dedication to the fertility of the empress. The lettering wraps around the standing figure of Fecunditas, carefully positioned so as not to obscure the raised heads of the flanking children. Die variations display occasional shifts in letter spacing, particularly around the infants held in the arms of the personification, but the textual formulation remains strictly uniform across the type.

Typology, Dating, and Chronological Debates

Within the typology of Roman Imperial Coinage, RIC III Marcus Aurelius 676 represents a distinct denarius type distinguished from related issues by its specific reverse legend and four-child design. Neighboring catalog entries include RIC 677, which shares the FECVND AVGVSTAE legend but renders Fecunditas seated with children, and RIC 679, which utilizes the alternative inscription FECVNDITAS. While RIC assigns a broad chronological envelope spanning from the accession of Marcus Aurelius in AD 161 to the death of Faustina in late AD 175 or early 176, specialized studies have refined this window. Wolfgang Szaivert, in his comprehensive study of the coinage of Marcus Aurelius (MIR 18), places the introduction of the Fecunditas standing with four children series to the early months of the joint reign of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, intimately connected to the widely publicized birth of the royal twins on August 31, AD 161. The two older children at her feet represent Faustina's surviving elder daughters, Lucilla and Faustina, while the two babes in her arms signify the newborn brothers Commodus and Antoninus. While striking may have continued into subsequent years, the thematic genesis of the type belongs firmly to the celebratory output of AD 161 to 162.

Circulation Patterns, Hoard Evidence, and Longevity

Denarii of Faustina the Younger struck under Marcus Aurelius saw extensive, long-term circulation across all provinces of the Roman world. Hoard evidence from Roman Britain, the Rhine-Danube frontier, Gaul, and the eastern Mediterranean confirms that RIC 676 circulated freely alongside contemporary denarii of Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus, and Antoninus Pius. Due to the high intrinsic silver value of Antonine issues relative to later debased coinages, specimens of RIC 676 remained in active circulation for decades. Hoards buried during the Severan period and throughout the third-century crisis regularly contain worn examples of this issue, proving that they continued to fulfill currency transactions for half a century or more after production. Surviving specimens in modern collections and archaeological contexts often show moderate to heavy wear on high-relief points, particularly on Faustina's hair bun and the delicate torsos of the infants on the reverse. Over time, progressive debasement of the currency under Septimius Severus and Caracalla gradually drove these earlier, purer Antonine denarii into private hoards or the melting pot, terminating their prolonged active lifecycle.

References

1. The Metallurgy of Roman Silver Coinage: From the Reform of Nero to the Reform of Trajan Decius. pp. 215-224
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Marcus Aurelius 676. ric.3.m_aur.676
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. pp. 268-270
4. Die Münzprägung der Kaiser Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus und Commodus (161-192). MIR 18, nos. 10-12