Nero Copper As, RIC I (second edition) Nero 313

Monetary Reform and Base Metal Coinage Under Nero

For the first ten years of Nero's principate, beginning in AD 54, the imperial administration ceased regular struck issues of aes coinage in Rome, relying instead on pre-existing Julio-Claudian bronze and copper denominations already in circulation. Around AD 64, Nero initiated a sweeping restructuring of the Roman monetary system that affected all three metallic tiers. Alongside reductions in the weights and purities of gold and silver coinages, the imperial mint resumed mass production of base metals. The reform was marked by bold experiments, notably the temporary introduction of orichalcum (brass) across all subsidiary denominations, complete with explicit mark-of-value indicators. However, public resistance to unfamiliar tariffing and metal compositions soon prompted a return to the dual-metal convention established under Augustus, wherein the sestertius and dupondius were struck in golden-hued orichalcum while the as and its divisions were manufactured from red copper. RIC I (second edition) Nero 313 belongs to this restored pure copper standard, circulating alongside orichalcum counterparts without tariff confusion.

Mint Organization and Physical Manufacture

RIC I (second edition) Nero 313 was struck exclusively by the imperial mint at Rome. During Nero's later reign, aes production was distributed between Rome and an auxiliary branch mint operating at Lugdunum (modern Lyon, France). While Lugdunum issues are typically distinguished by an engraved globe at the truncation of the emperor's neck, coins from the Rome workshop omit the globe and display the distinctively sophisticated, deeply modelled portrait style executed by capital engravers. The flans for these copper asses were cast in round molds before being hammered between heavy iron dies. The standard weight target for Neronian copper asses hovered around 10.5 to 11.5 grams, with an average module diameter ranging between 27 and 29 millimeters. Die alignment on these issues is overwhelmingly regular, adhering tightly to a vertical or inverted vertical axis.

Obverse Typology and Imperial Iconography

The obverse of RIC I (second edition) Nero 313 presents a left-facing head of Nero crowned with a laurel wreath. While right-facing portraits predominate across Roman imperial numismatics, left-facing dies were systematically commissioned at Rome to provide compositional variety within the denomination. The portrait captures the mature iconography of Nero's final years: a fleshy throat, full cheeks, and carefully crimped hair curling over the forehead and down the nape of the neck in the fashionable comatus style inspired by Hellenistic fashion. The laurel wreath symbolizes imperial imperium and triumphal distinction, with ribbon ties trailing neatly down the back of the truncation.

Reverse Iconography of Victory and Shield

The reverse design features the personification of Victory (Victoria), winged and draped, advancing briskly toward the left. She supports in both hands an oval or round shield inscribed with the letters S P Q R, an abbreviation for Senatus Populusque Romanus ('The Senate and People of Rome'). The composition evokes the classical Augustan motif of the clipeus virtutis (shield of virtue), which celebrated imperial prowess and divine sanction. The active gait and billowing drapery convey swift divine favor and successful military action, particularly referencing the diplomatic and military resolutions achieved in Armenia and Parthia under the generalship of Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo during the mid-60s AD.

Epigraphic Conventions and Inscriptional Content

The obverse legend reads continuously clockwise as NERO CAESAR AVG GERM IMP, presenting a compressed titular formula typical of the post-reform coinage struck at Rome. The inscription gives his individual name Nero, the dynastic titles Caesar and Augustus, his hereditary victory cognomen Germanicus (abbreviated GERM), and the military title Imperator (abbreviated IMP) placed as a cognomen rather than a praenomen. On the reverse, the shield bears the incuse or raised letters S P Q R, while the main field is flanked by large letters S and C (Senatus Consulto). This legislative formula formally acknowledged that base metal coins were struck under senatorial decree, preserving the traditional constitutional fiction of joint senatorial and imperial administration over copper and brass issues.

Typological Sequences and Chronological Attribution

Modern scholarship, pioneered by David MacDowall and refined in the second edition of Roman Imperial Coinage Volume I by C. H. V. Sutherland, places the striking of RIC 313 between roughly AD 64 and AD 68, with peak production concentrated around AD 65. Within Sutherland's arrangement, this specific catalogue entry distinguishes itself strictly from companion asses: it requires the left-facing laureate bust (as opposed to right-facing busts or bare-headed varieties), lacks the neck globe of Lugdunum, and carries the obverse legend terminating in IMP. Neighboring entries in RIC catalogue parallel issues bearing alternative legend breaks, differing bust orientations, or identical reverses struck in orichalcum rather than copper.

Circulation Patterns and Archaeological Context

As the primary workhorse fraction for everyday urban commerce, the copper as of Nero saw vigorous monetary circulation across Roman Italy, the Danubian frontier, and the western provinces. Excavation data from Rome, Ostia, and Pompeii indicate that Neronian asses remained heavily in use long after Nero's death, frequently circulating through the Flavian era and into the second century AD until natural wear obliterated their legends. Due to their durable copper composition and high intrinsic metal value relative to local fiduciary tokens, western hoards frequently aggregate Neronian asses with subsequent issues of Vespasian, Domitian, and Trajan.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume I: Augustus to Vitellius. pp. 243-245, nos. 241-248
2. The Western Coinages of Nero (Numismatic Notes and Monographs 161). pp. 85-98
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC I (second edition) Nero 313. ric.1(2).ner.313
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume I: From 31 BC to AD 69 (Revised Edition). p. 176, no. 313