Philip II Bronze As, RIC IV Philip I 265B

Monetary Context

By 248 AD, the monetary system of the Roman Empire was undergoing profound structural transformation driven by severe inflationary pressures, currency debasement, and military expenditures. The double denarius, or antoninianus, introduced earlier in the century, had expanded to dominate precious-metal currency, drastically displacing the traditional silver denarius. In the realm of base-metal coinage, the large bronze sestertius continued to be struck in substantial quantities for everyday commerce, but smaller fractional denominations, notably the dupondius and the as, experienced marked declines in regular production. Within this contracting environment for minor copper-alloy denominations, special festival emissions provided a rare stimulus for striking asses. The arrival of Rome's thousandth anniversary of its legendary founding by Romulus in 753 BC provided the regime of Philip the Arab with an unparalleled propaganda platform. Rather than serving purely routine retail transactions, bronze asses bearing the Saeculares typology functioned as ceremonial small change and tangible souvenirs distributed during the lavish public games, beast hunts, and religious rites held in the capital.

Production and Mints

The manufacture of RIC IV Philip I 265B is securely assigned to the imperial mint of Rome. In 248 AD, the Rome mint operated with an organized system of distinct officinae, or workshops, mobilized to produce the complex and extensive Saecular series. The commemorative issues encompassed a wide array of reverse types depicting various exotic beasts, deities, and monumental structures celebrating the imperial dynasty and the Roman state. The bronze as of this specific type was struck on cast copper-alloy flans using manual die striking techniques. Die alignment was predominantly upright or slightly variable, adhering to standard Roman imperial mint practice. Metallurgical analyses of mid-third-century aes demonstrate that asses were cast from copper-rich compositions with varying levels of zinc, tin, and lead, contrasting with the more heavily brass or orichalcum alloys traditionally reserved for sestertii and dupondii. Production volumes for asses during this emission were noticeably smaller than those for contemporary antoniniani and sestertii, reflecting their specialized, ceremonial place within the overall output of the Rome workshops.

Obverse Design and Portraiture

The obverse of RIC IV Philip I 265B features a right-facing portrait bust of the junior Augustus, Philip II. The portrait depicts the young co-emperor laureate, draped, and cuirassed, combining military and civil symbols of supreme imperial rank. Philip II was elevated from Caesar to full Augustus alongside his father in 247 AD, and his portraiture on this issue reflects his transition to co-ruler. The laureate wreath signifies imperial victory and divine sanction, while the paludamentum (military cloak) draped over the breastplate underscores dynastic authority and standing within the Roman military. The stylistic rendering by the Rome mint engravers balances youthful facial features with the solemn, blocky conventions characteristic of mid-third-century imperial portraiture, ensuring a visual symmetry with the simultaneous emissions of his father.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse iconography centers on a low, broad monumental column or cippus inscribed with the characters COS II, indicating the second consulship of the co-emperors in 248 AD. Such inscribed cippi held deep religious and historical significance in Roman state cults, harkening directly back to the earlier Saecular Games held under Augustus in 17 BC, Claudius in 47 AD, Domitian in 88 AD, and Septimius Severus in 204 AD. On these momentous occasions, the dates and rituals of the games were officially recorded and preserved for posterity upon sacred pillars erected across Rome. Flanking the column in the fields are the large letters S C (Senatus Consulto), confirming the nominal authority of the Roman Senate over base-metal coinage. The composition is austere and architectural, offering a permanent epigraphic monument in miniature that commemorated the opening of Rome's second millennium.

Epigraphy and Legends

The legends on RIC IV Philip I 265B are rendered in standard Roman imperial capitals and follow rigid epigraphic protocols. The obverse legend reads IMP M IVL PHILIPPVS AVG, expanding to Imperator Marcus Iulius Philippus Augustus. Because both father and son shared the identical legal name Marcus Iulius Philippus upon the son's elevation to Augustus, the attribution of this type to Philip II rests on the distinctive youthfulness of the portrait bust. The reverse inscription reads SAECVLARES AVGG, with the double 'G' explicitly advertising the plural Augusti (Saeculares Augustorum), denoting the joint celebration of the Saecular Games under both emperors. The inscription on the cippus itself, COS II (Consul iterum), dates the issue securely to their shared second consulship in 248 AD, while S C reiterates senatorial concurrence with the commemorative distribution.

Typology and Chronological Sequence

Within the typology established in Roman Imperial Coinage, RIC IV Philip I 265B belongs to the extensive Saecular series produced in 248 AD. In the catalogue arrangement of RIC IV, part III, certain coins depicting Philip II as Augustus are grouped alongside parallel issues of Philip the Arab. The cippus reverse type was struck across multiple denominations, appearing on aurei, silver antoniniani, bronze sestertii, and asses. While antoniniani featured a wide array of wild animals corresponding to specific mint officinae (such as lions, stags, antelopes, and wolves), the cippus type served as the primary epigraphic and ritual statement within the series. Struck exclusively within the calendar year 248 AD, RIC IV Philip I 265B occupies a well-defined chronological window, terminating prior to the sudden overthrow of the dynasty by Trajan Decius in 249 AD.

Circulation and Archaeological Context

Bronze asses from the late 240s AD circulated under very different patterns than their early imperial predecessors. By the mid-third century, smaller bronze fractions rarely traveled far from their areas of primary distribution in massive numbers, and hoard evidence demonstrates that currency pools were dominated by billon antoniniani and older, worn sestertii. RIC IV Philip I 265B is frequently documented in excavations from Rome and the central Italian peninsula, consistent with its distribution during the millennial festivities in the capital. Occasional stray finds in western and Danubian provinces indicate that some specimens traveled with soldiers or merchants, but the low production volume of late asses ensured they remained far less common in general circulation than contemporary antoniniani. In archaeological strata, third-century asses often exhibit considerable circulation wear, as base-metal coinage remained in informal local use for decades following its official striking.

References

1. Coinage in the Roman World. Chapter 8: The Third-Century Crisis
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume VI: Severus Alexander to Balbinus and Pupienus. Introduction to third-century bronze coinage
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Philip I 265B. ric.4.ph_i.265B
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IV, Part III: Gordian III - Uranius Antoninus. p. 92, no. 265B
5. Roman Coins and Their Values, Volume III: The Third Century Crisis and Recovery, AD 235-285. Philip II bronze coinage