Tiberius Copper As, RIC I (second edition) Tiberius 64

Monetary Context and Denominational Function

Under the currency system established by Augustus around 23 BC, the monetary hierarchy in Rome relied on a multi-tiered bimetallic and base-metal framework designed to service both high-level state expenditure and day-to-day petty commerce. Within this structure, base-metal denominations were differentiated not only by size and mass but also by metallurgical composition. Orichalcum, a golden-hued zinc-copper alloy, was reserved for the sestertius and dupondius, while pure red copper was selected for the as and its fractional divisions. The copper as represented the functional core of daily market transactions across Italy and the western provinces, serving as the benchmark denomination against which everyday goods, soldiers' minor expenditures, and basic subsistence foodstuffs were routinely priced. By the final phase of Tiberius's reign in AD 36 to 37, the production of base-metal coinage at the capital resumed with considerable vigor following periods of reduced civic output earlier in the decade. The emission catalogued as RIC I (second edition) Tiberius 64 was struck during a period marked by fiscal consolidation and recovery following the severe financial panic that gripped the Roman financial markets in AD 33. In providing an ample volume of fresh copper asses, the administration met persisting demands for low-value circulating media, preserving the liquidity required by ordinary urban commerce and military stipends while continuously displaying the symbolic legitimacy and ideological authority of the princeps to every level of Roman society.

Mint Location and Technical Production

The manufacture of RIC I (second edition) Tiberius 64 was centered exclusively at the principal mint of Rome. Operating under imperial oversight alongside nominal senatorial coordination, the metropolitan mint maintained high technical standards in die engraving, flan preparation, and metal purity. The flans for these asses were cast as individual copper blanks or clipped from cast plates, followed by annealing to soften the metal before striking between heavy iron dies. Surviving specimens exhibit the characteristic characteristics of Julio-Claudian copper: a distinct reddish surface tone when stripped of natural patina, relatively thick flans with bevelled or slightly irregular edges, and axis alignments that predominantly adhere to an inverted or near-inverted orientation, typically at six o'clock or twelve o'clock, reflecting careful manual die positioning by the mint workers. Metrological surveys of the issue show a median weight clustered tightly between 10.40 and 11.20 grams, matching the traditional uncial standard for Augustan and Tiberian copper asses, with standard diameters falling within the 27 to 29 millimeter range. The engraving style of the dies reflects the mature classical manner of the Rome workshop, featuring carefully modeled portraiture with fine linear treatment of the laurel wreath ties and crisp, squared lettering across both the obverse and reverse fields.

Obverse Iconography and Modeling

The obverse of RIC I (second edition) Tiberius 64 features a left-facing, laureate head of Tiberius. The choice of a leftward portrait orientation distinguishes this specific type within the broader sequence of late Tiberian copper asses, as many preceding and contemporary issues alternatively adopted right-facing busts. The portrait presents an idealized yet mature profile of the aging emperor, characterized by an aquiline nose, broad forehead, deeply set eye, and a firm, slightly receding chin. The laurel wreath encircling the head is executed with meticulous botanical clarity, terminating at the back of the cranium where two ribbon ties or lemnisci cascade downward toward the base of the neck. This iconography maintains the official Julio-Claudian portrait tradition pioneered by Augustus, balancing realistic physiological traits of the ruler with an impression of timeless, civic gravitas. The imperial head is positioned comfortably within the field, leaving a balanced margin for the circumferential inscription that frames the composition without crowding the beaded border.

Reverse Design and Allegorical Interpretation

The reverse design presents a complex and evocative cosmological and political allegory: a large steering rudder placed vertically against a central banded globe, accompanied by a small secondary globe placed beside the rudder's lower base on the left side. The entire composition is flanked by the expansive letters S and C in the left and right fields respectively, representing the senatorial sanction Senatus Consulto. The central globe is delineated with crossing horizontal and diagonal bands, depicting the celestial sphere or the terrestrial ecumene ruled by Rome under divine cosmic order. The rudder, an ancient maritime instrument essential for navigation and steering, symbolizes the prudent governance and guidance of the empire by the princeps. The presence of the smaller globe positioned at the base of the rudder has generated extensive scholarly debate among numismatists. While some early commentators viewed it as an artistic balance weight or naval fixture, modern scholars generally interpret the paired globes as an emblem of cosmic harmony and the universal extent of Roman dominion across land and sea. Together with the senatorial formula, the visual arrangement conveyed an explicit message of stability, divine providence, and guided tranquility under the auspices of Tiberius's long-standing administration.

Inscriptions and Epigraphic Analysis

The inscriptions appearing on RIC I (second edition) Tiberius 64 are executed in the classic Roman monumental capital script, characterized by clear serifs and uniform letter heights. The obverse legend reads TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVST IMP VIII, an unbroken epigraphic string beginning low on the left and encircling the portrait clockwise. This formula expands to Tiberius Caesar, Divi Augusti Filius, Augustus, Imperator Octavum, explicitly identifying Tiberius as the son of the deified Augustus, acknowledging his titles of Caesar and Augustus, and noting his eighth imperatorial acclamation, which had been awarded in AD 16 following Germanicus's military successes in Germania. The reverse legend carries the vital chronological and constitutional titles of the princeps: PONTIF MAXIM TRIBVN POTEST XXXIIX, framed around the upper margin, accompanied by S C in the lower and mid-field. This legend resolves to Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate duodequadragensimum, confirming Tiberius's supreme religious office as chief pontiff and dating the issue precisely to his thirty-eighth annual renewal of the tribunician power. The abbreviation XXXIIX utilizes a subtractive numeral form for thirty-eight, a common epigraphic practice in imperial Rome, ensuring unambiguous dating for the struck series.

Typology and Chronological Classification

Within the typology established by C. H. V. Sutherland in the revised second edition of Roman Imperial Coinage, RIC 64 belongs to the final chronological cluster of Tiberian base-metal coinage struck at Rome. The tribunician dating TRIBVN POTEST XXXIIX establishes that the issue was struck between the summer of AD 36 and Tiberius's death on 16 March AD 37. Tiberius originally received the tribunician power in 6 BC, but following an extended lapse during his self-imposed retirement in Rhodes, it was renewed annually from AD 4 onward, placing the commencement of his thirty-eighth tribunician year in approximately June or July AD 36. Typologically, RIC 64 is closely allied with RIC 58, which features a virtually identical rudder-on-globe reverse but dates to the thirty-seventh tribunician year, TR P XXXVII, struck in AD 35 to 36. It also relates directly to RIC 63, which bears the same thirty-eighth tribunician count but pairs it with an obverse head of Tiberius facing right rather than left. The deliberate change of bust orientation between RIC 63 and RIC 64 indicates concurrent or closely sequential production within the mint's officinae during the final operative months of the reign, providing scholars with a narrow and secure chronological bracket.

Circulation, Hoards, and Archaeological Context

Copper asses of the rudder-on-globe series circulated extensively throughout the western provinces of the Roman Empire, including the Italian peninsula, Gallia Narbonensis, the Rhine frontier garrisons, and the Iberian provinces of Baetica and Tarraconensis. Archaeological discoveries across legionary encampments, urban settlements, and river deposits reveal that these late Tiberian issues remained active in general circulation for decades after their emission. Because base-metal coinage was not routinely hoarded in the same manner as gold aurei or silver denarii, individual finds of RIC 64 predominantly occur in domestic contexts, stray market losses, and mixed site-find assemblages alongside worn Augustan copper and earlier Tiberian bronzes. Many surviving specimens display moderate to heavy surface abrasion, attesting to prolonged circulation through the reigns of Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. During the monetary adjustments and countermarking periods of the middle first century AD, these durable copper asses served as indispensable low-value currency, helping to maintain regular marketplace transactions throughout the western imperial provinces until superseded by the massive copper emissions initiated during the later reign of Nero.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume I: Augustus to Vitellius. pp. 138-139, nos. 136-138
2. Catalogue des monnaies de l'Empire romain, II: De Tibère à Néron. pp. 52-54, nos. 117-121
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC I (second edition) Tiberius 64. ric.1(2).tib.64
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume I: From 31 BC to AD 69 (Revised Edition). p. 97, no. 64