Tacitus Antoninianus RIC V Tacitus 183

Monetary Context and Aurelianic Heritage

The antoninianus designated as RIC V Tacitus 183 was struck in the immediate aftermath of the monetary reorganization initiated by Aurelian in AD 274. Throughout the middle of the third century AD, runaway inflation, rapid military turnover, and severe debasement had reduced the radiate antoninianus to a meager bronze flan containing less than two percent silver. Aurelian's reform established a normalized billon radiate tariffed at twenty sestertii or one-twentieth part silver, typically marked on central imperial issues with the value formula XXI or KA in the Greek-speaking East. Although cataloged within classic nineteenth- and twentieth-century typologies under the heading of silver, specimens of RIC V Tacitus 183 share the post-reform metallurgical composition of roughly five percent silver balance bronze, finished at the mint with a blanching treatment or chemical silver wash that gave freshly struck coins the appearance of fine silver. Marcus Claudius Tacitus succeeded Aurelian following an interregnum in late AD 275. Faced with imminent incursions by barbarian tribes along the Rhine and across the Black Sea into Asia Minor, the imperial administration preserved Aurelian's newly fortified weight and alloy standards. The production of antoniniani under Tacitus served urgent fiscal imperatives, primarily the payment of donatives and daily stipends to the legionary forces concentrated in the Balkans.

Production and the Siscia Mint

Production of RIC V Tacitus 183 was concentrated exclusively at the imperial mint of Siscia, modern Sisak in Croatia. Situated near the confluence of the Kupa and Sava rivers, Siscia held immense strategic value for Roman monetary logistics. It stood at the crossroads linking northern Italy, the Danubian limes, and the overland highway leading through the central Balkans to Thrace and Byzantium. Originally opened under Gallienus to supply the mobile field armies, the mint of Siscia operated at high capacity under Aurelian and continued its operations without interruption under Tacitus. Antoniniani of type 183 were prepared from cast flans shaped to an average diameter ranging between 21 and 23 millimeters, with typical weights centered around 3.5 to 4.2 grams, consistent with Aurelianic reform parameters. Siscia operated several distinct workshops, or officinae, which differentiated their output using sequence letters and mintmarks in the reverse exergue or field. While some related Siscia emissions omit field marks, issues corresponding to this specific reverse typology regularly bear control letters such as P, S, T, Q, V, or VI, or the XXI mint signature, indicating the specific workshop responsible for striking the coin and attesting to rigid administrative accounting.

Obverse Portraiture and Iconography

The obverse of RIC V Tacitus 183 displays the right-facing portrait of Marcus Claudius Tacitus. Because the coin represents a double-denomination radiate, the emperor wears the radiate crown, the rays of the sun god Sol symbolizing augmented imperial majesty and denoting the antoninianus denomination. In accordance with the realistic stylistic traditions developed at Siscia during the mid-270s AD, die engravers rendered Tacitus with a mature profile, characterized by a closely cropped beard, a receding hairline, and prominent facial features conveying senatorial gravitas and seasoned command. The type encompasses three documented bust drapery variations: radiate, draped, facing right; radiate, cuirassed, facing right; and radiate, draped and cuirassed, facing right. The cuirassed variant showcases detailed anatomical lorica scales or leather shoulder straps, underscoring the emperor's active martial role, while the draped variety drapes the paludamentum over the shoulder, presenting an image of civil authority and imperial majesty. These variations reflect the concurrent operation of multiple engravers across the Siscian officinae during Tacitus's brief emission sequence.

Reverse Iconography of Imperial Harmony

The reverse of RIC V Tacitus 183 bears the allegorical scene of the emperor clasping right hands with Concordia, an act known as the dextrarum iunctio. The emperor stands on the left or right, facing his counterpart, depicted in military dress holding a spear or parazonium, while Concordia stands opposite him in long drapery. Concordia represents the divine personification of harmonious agreement, mutual trust, and political unity within the state. The mutual clasping of hands was an ancient Roman iconographic gesture traditionally associated with marriage alliances and political pacts, here transposed to the relationship between the supreme commander and his soldiers. By displaying the emperor directly interlinked with Concordia, the motif reassured the provincial population and the armed forces that the interregnum had concluded smoothly and that the succession was validated by military assent. In the turbulent political climate of late third-century Rome, when sudden troop rebellions routinely led to the assassination of emperors, invoking Concordia Militum was a vital formula for consolidating administrative legitimacy across the volatile Illyrian frontier.

Inscriptions and Epigraphic Formulas

The legends on RIC V Tacitus 183 employ standard imperial epigraphy designed for clarity and legibility. The obverse inscription reads IMP C M CL TACITVS AVG, abbreviating the formal titulature Imperator Caesar Marcus Claudius Tacitus Augustus. The prefix Imperator asserts supreme military command, Caesar connects the ruler to the lineage of the principate, Marcus Claudius Tacitus provides his personal nomenclature, and Augustus confirms supreme sovereign authority. On the reverse, the legend reads CONCORDIA MILITVM, rendered in the nominative or genitive case, translating as The Harmony of the Soldiers or Agreement of the Military. The epigraphic style of Siscia during this emission is distinguished by neat, deeply engraved lettering with pronounced serifs and regular letter spacing, contrasting with the cruder letterforms produced at western provincial workshops such as Lugdunum. Minor die variations exist in legend breaks, though the obverse sequence remains unbroken around the upper circumference of the coin, framing the radiate portrait.

Typology and Emission Chronology

Within the relative chronology established by Karl Pink and updated by Sylviane Estiot, the coinage of Tacitus at Siscia spans three main emission phases during his brief reign from late autumn AD 275 until his death in mid-AD 276. RIC V Tacitus 183 belongs to the middle to late phase of this production sequence. The earliest Siscian issues for Tacitus utilized reverse themes focused on divine preservation, such as PROVIDENTIA DEORVM, before introducing the CONCORDIA MILITVM type to accompany the mobilization of regional armies. The type is categorized within Roman Imperial Coinage Volume V, Part 1, compiled by Percy H. Webb in 1927, where it is classified alongside complementary types struck for Florianus and Probus. While earlier numismatic literature debated whether Tacitus was elevated immediately upon Aurelian's demise, modern hoard evidence and papyrological documents indicate that an interregnum of several weeks or months preceded his accession, compressing his total coinage production into less than a single calendar year. RIC V Tacitus 183 was issued in parallel with similar reverse types at Ticinum, Rome, and Serdica, but the Siscian issues remain distinct in their die style, workshop punctuation, and specific bust treatments.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Deposition

Antoniniani of RIC V Tacitus 183 circulated extensively throughout the Danubian provinces, northern Italy, and Gaul, as demonstrated by extensive European hoard records. Notable concentrations appear in late third-century coin hoards such as the Venera hoard in northern Italy, the Cunetio and Normanby hoards in Roman Britain, and numerous smaller deposits across Pannonia and Moesia. Although struck at Siscia, these radiates moved rapidly along military supply corridors as soldiers were redeployed to meet barbarian incursions along the Rhine or marched southeast toward Asia Minor to counter Herulian and Gothic raiders. In circulation, the thin silver plating on the billon flan was prone to rapid abrasive wear, revealing the darker copper alloy underneath. Following the monetary reforms of Diocletian in AD 294 and the introduction of the nummus, Aurelianic and post-Aurelianic radiates like RIC V Tacitus 183 were gradually demonetized, although hoard data confirms that many remained in informal localized circulation until the first decade of the fourth century AD.

References

1. The Cunetio Treasure: Roman Coinage of the Third Century AD. pp. 64-68
2. Monnaies de l'Empire romain XII.1: D'Aurélien à Florien (275-276 après J.-C.). pp. 285-320
3. Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. pp. 140-152
4. Coining Images of Power: Patterns in the Representation of Roman Emperors on Imperial Coinage, A.D. 193-284. pp. 145-168
5. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC V Tacitus 183. RIC V Tacitus 183
6. Der Aufbau der römischen Münzprägung in der Kaiserzeit VI/1: Probus. pp. 12-25
7. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume V, Part I. p. 343, no. 183