Trajan Decius Bronze Dupondius RIC IV Trajan Decius 120C

Monetary Context

By the reign of Trajan Decius from AD 249 to 251, the Roman imperial monetary system was experiencing profound structural pressures that altered the role of base-metal coinage. Throughout the early Principate, the Augustan denomination scheme had operated as a bi-metallic and base-metal hierarchy anchored by the gold aureus, silver denarius, and brass or copper denominations including the sestertius, dupondius, as, semis, and quadrans. However, the introduction of the radiate antoninianus under Caracalla in AD 215, combined with persistent silver debasement, dramatically transformed denomination velocity and output. As the silver-washed radiate increasingly became the workhorse denomination of everyday commerce, production of traditional base-metal denominations contracted significantly. Within this contracted production framework, the dupondius occupied a precarious position. Traditionally valued at two asses or half a sestertius, the dupondius historically relied on the use of yellow brass or orichalcum to distinguish it from the pure copper as. By the mid-third century AD, metallurgy had become increasingly erratic, with recycled bronze alloys frequently substituting for clean orichalcum. Consequently, the radiate crown remained the paramount visual diagnostic separating the dupondius from the laureate as, parallel to the relationship between the radiate antoninianus and the laureate denarius. The dupondius RIC IV Trajan Decius 120C represents a targeted strike of secondary change, issued to maintain the transactional liquidity required in civic markets alongside higher-value sestertii and imperial antoniniani.

Production and Mints

The entire regular production of imperial bronze coinage under Trajan Decius, including RIC IV 120C, is universally attributed to the central mint at Rome. Unlike provincial Greek imperial bronze coinages, which were struck abundantly across urban centers in Thrace, Moesia, and the Levant, imperial aes coinage with the senatorial sanction S C was retained exclusively as a prerogative of the capital's workshops. During this period, the mint of Rome was organized into distinct officinae or workshops that divided the striking of gold, silver, and aes denominations among the various members of the imperial family, including Trajan Decius, his wife Herennia Etruscilla, and their sons Herennius Etruscus and Hostilian. Technological aspects of base-metal manufacture at Rome during Decius's reign show consistent workshop conventions. Flans were cast in open or two-part gang moulds before being struck between engraved iron or bronze dies. Because the production volume of dupondii under Trajan Decius was markedly lower than that of sestertii or antoniniani, the number of active die pairs for RIC IV 120C was comparatively modest. The weight standard for the dupondius had drifted downward from its Julio-Claudian benchmark of approximately 13 to 14 grams down to irregular spans generally between 9 and 13 grams, reflecting broader administrative tolerance and metal shortages in the capital.

Obverse Design and Portraiture

The obverse of RIC IV Trajan Decius 120C presents a commanding, naturalistic portrait of the emperor facing right. Decius is depicted with mature, furrowed facial features characteristic of third-century soldier-emperor verism, conveying administrative vigilance and military authority. The bust is fully draped and cuirassed, visible at the truncation and shoulder, signaling his role as supreme commander of the Roman legions. Perpendicular to the head rests the radiate crown, which is the vital iconographic indicator of a double denomination in Roman coinage. The specific bust variety catalogued under the suffix letter C in the Roman Imperial Coinage denotes this complete draped and cuirassed radiate form, distinguishing it from rarer variants that might show a radiate head only or radiate bust with drapery alone. Die engraving for this type demonstrates the refined stylistic discipline of the Roman mint, which retained high levels of portrait realism even while provincial and military styles fluctuated during the mid-third century.

Reverse Iconography

The reverse of RIC IV 120C depicts the standing figure of Liberalitas, the divine personification of imperial benevolence and largesse. Draped in a stola and facing left, Liberalitas holds up an abacus or tessera in her right hand while cradling a cornucopiae laden with fruits in her left arm. In the fields flanking the lower portion of her figure, the large letters S and C denote the formal sanction Senatus Consulto, by decree of the Senate, which remained the traditional hallmark of municipal Roman aes coinage. The abacus depicted in Roman numismatic iconography was a rectangular counting board equipped with a handle, specifically engineered for calculating and distributing monetary allowances during imperial distributions. Coupled with the horn of plenty, the design explicitly celebrated imperial cash distributions, known as congiaria or liberalitates, funded from the fiscus to the citizens of Rome. While some imperial coinages numbered these distributions sequentially, this generic issue proclaims Liberalitas Augusti broadly, reassuring both soldiers and civic populations of the emperor's sustained financial generosity and civic care amidst ongoing barbarian invasions on the Danube frontier.

Inscriptions and Epigraphy

The inscriptions on RIC IV Trajan Decius 120C are executed in standard Roman capital letters, cut deeply into the dies along circular borders. The obverse legend reads IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, an abbreviated formulation expanding to Imperator Caesar Messius Quintus Traianus Decius Augustus. This title captures his adopted nomen Traianus, assumed upon accession to invoke the golden age of the earlier emperor Trajan, together with his praenomen and gentilicium Quintus and Messius. The absence of specific consular or tribunician numbers gives the legend a continuous, non-dated character typical of mid-third-century imperial issues. The reverse inscription reads LIBERALITAS AVG, expanding to Liberalitas Augusti, translating as the generosity of the Augustus. Flanking the figure in the lateral fields, the characters S C reflect the senatorial formula Senatus Consulto. Epigraphically, the lettering is well-proportioned and compact, showing regular serif terminations typical of the central workshops at Rome, with no regional or irregular ligature forms.

Types and Chronological Sequence

Catalogued under the major reference work Roman Imperial Coinage as volume IV part III, page 137, number 120C, this dupondius corresponds directly to an identical reverse type struck in the larger sestertius format under RIC 120a through 120c. Decius's reign was brief, spanning from approximately autumn AD 249 following his victory over Philip the Arab until his death alongside his son Herennius Etruscus at the Battle of Abritus in June AD 251. Because the inscription lacks tribunician or consular designations, precise micro-dating within this two-year window relies on broader hoard associations and stylistic grouping with dated silver types. Most scholars associate the primary Liberalitas emissions with Decius's formal adventus into Rome in late AD 249 or early AD 250, when the traditional accession donative would have been distributed. The dupondius 120C belongs to the first main bronze substantive issue of the reign. Its bust variety C (radiate, draped, and cuirassed right) represents the most standard military presentation of the emperor during this chronological phase, preceding the later emergency issues struck just prior to his departure for the Gothic campaigns.

Circulation, Hoarding, and Survival

In circulation, the dupondius of Trajan Decius had a complex trajectory. Mid-third-century bronze hoards from across the western Roman provinces show that earlier second-century sestertii and dupondii often remained in active circulation alongside newly minted coins due to persistent metal shortages. However, because production numbers for third-century dupondii were modest compared to earlier periods, coins like RIC IV 120C are far less common in site finds and excavation records than contemporary antoniniani. Many aes coins of Decius circulated heavily within Italy and the nearby European provinces, eventually exhibiting considerable surface wear before burial or loss. By the late 250s and 260s AD, hyper-inflation and massive debasement of the silver currency caused regular bronze denominations such as the dupondius and as to be virtually abandoned by the mint of Rome, making this issue among the closing generations of standard Roman imperial dupondii. Extant specimens today are typically preserved in institutional collections or recovered in fragmented mixed-aes hoards from Italy and the western provinces.

References

1. The Coinage of the Roman World in the Late Republic and Empire. pp. 85-98
2. Coining Images of Power: Patterns in the Representation of Roman Emperors on Coinage (A.D. 193-284). pp. 165-178
3. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. VI: Severus Alexander to Balbinus and Pupienus. Introduction on Third Century Aes
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Trajan Decius 120C. ric.4.tr_d.120C
5. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part III: Gordian III - Uranius Antoninus. p. 137, no. 120C