Vespasian As, RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Vespasian 1176

Monetary Context and Historical Setting

The accession of Vespasian in AD 69 brought an end to the destructive civil conflicts that followed the fall of Nero and the brief, turbulent reigns of Galba, Otho, and Vitellius. Upon securing undisputed rule, Vespasian faced depleted state treasuries and a disrupted monetary system. Bronze and copper-alloy denominations, which were vital for daily commerce, military disbursements, and local market operations, had experienced irregular production during the civil wars. To re-establish economic stability and assert political control over the western provinces, the Flavian administration initiated large-scale base-metal minting. The as, struck in copper or bronze and valued as the fourth part of a sestertius, stood at the foundation of everyday transactions across the western empire. Type RIC 1176 reflects both the practical necessity of injecting reliable base currency into circulation and the ideological requirement of validating Vespasian's legitimacy through martial victory and senatorial cooperation.

Mint of Lugdunum and Technical Production

This coin was produced at Lugdunum, the administrative capital of Gallia Lugdunensis and a historic center for Roman imperial coin production. Reopened for imperial bronze striking under Vespasian, Lugdunum relieved the Rome mint of the burden of supplying currency to the western legions and provincial markets. The mint operated under high technical standards, employing skilled celators whose portrait styles were distinct from their Roman counterparts. A recognized stylistic hallmark of the Flavian Lugdunum mint on base-metal denominations is the presence of a small globe placed at the lower truncation point of the emperor's neck, a device observed consistently on type RIC 1176. Coins of this denomination were typically struck on prepared copper or bronze planchets with a target weight hovering around 10 to 11 grams and diameters ranging generally between 26 and 29 millimeters, although individual specimens show normal variations resulting from ancient flan manufacture and striking tolerances.

Obverse Design and Portraiture

The obverse displays the laureate head of Vespasian facing right. His features are rendered in the characteristic Flavian realistic style, depicting the emperor with a broad cranium, pronounced brow, deep-set eyes, and a firm, weathered expression that broke sharply with the idealized classicism of the Julio-Claudian era. At the pointed truncation of the neck rests a minute globe, a characteristic mintmark or engraver's device specific to the Lugdunum workshops during this period. The laurel wreath encircling his head serves as a traditional imperial symbol of military triumph, civic authority, and divine favor. The surrounding inscription frames the portrait tightly within a neat border of dots, integrating Vespasian's public titles with his physical representation.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse iconography features Victoria, the personification of Roman military triumph, draped in a flowing chiton and advancing left. In her outstretched right hand, she extends a laurel wreath, an enduring symbol of victory presented to emperors or victorious generals. Over her left shoulder, she balances a palm branch, symbolizing endurance, triumph, and peace born of martial success. Flanking the lower fields to her left and right are the large letters S and C, denoting Senatus Consulto. The type celebrated the victorious culmination of the civil conflicts of AD 69 and the campaigns of the Jewish War, which culminated in the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. By attributing victory directly to the Augustus, the imagery legitimized Vespasian's elevation from general to princeps and promised imperial security.

Epigraphy and Legends

The obverse legend reads IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG COS III, rendered continuously along the circumference. The formula begins with the praenomen Imperator (IMP), followed by Caesar (CAES), the emperor's personal name Vespasian (VESPASIAN), and the august title Augustus (AVG). It concludes with his third consulship, COS III (Consul Tertium), a vital chronological marker that securely dates the striking of this issue to AD 71. The reverse legend, VICTORIA AVGVSTI, translates as 'The Victory of the Emperor', accompanied by S C in the field. This traditional epigraphic pairing reconciled the military realities of Flavian power with republican constitutional forms, affirming that the bronze currency was struck with the formal concurrence of the Roman Senate.

Typology and Chronological Classification

Type RIC 1176 belongs to the comprehensive reorganization of Flavian bronze coinage in AD 71, catalogued in the second edition of Roman Imperial Coinage Volume II, Part 1 by Carradice and Buttrey. It is distinguished from contemporaneous Rome mint issues with identical legends primarily by its western stylistic execution and the presence of the neck-globe marker. Related Lugdunum asses of the same year display alternate reverse figures, such as Aequitas, Pax, or Securitas, forming a coordinated series of base-metal issues designed to broadcast themes of civic revival and administrative recovery. The third consulship of Vespasian places the commencement of this series firmly in AD 71, during which production reached a peak before successive issues recorded later iterations of his consulship.

Distribution and Circulation Patterns

Coins of RIC 1176 circulated predominantly in the western provinces of the Roman Empire, where the output of Lugdunum provided the monetary backbone for everyday market trade. Excavation reports and hoards demonstrate a substantial presence of Lugdunum-struck Flavian bronze across Gaul, northern Italy, the German frontier, and Roman Britain. Because copper-alloy asses possessed modest intrinsic value relative to silver denarii or gold aurei, they tended to circulate intensively within regional economies for decades. Many surviving examples exhibit considerable wear, reflecting prolonged commercial utility through the reigns of Titus, Domitian, and into the second century AD, until subsequent bronze reformations and re-coinage operations gradually retired the series.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. II. Introduction to Flavian Lugdunum Issues
2. Le Monnayage de l'Atelier de Lyon: De Claude Ier a Vespasien (41-79 apres J.-C.). Numismatique Romaine, 1983
3. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume II: Vespasian to Domitian. Lugdunum bronze of AD 71
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Vespasian 1176. Type record ric.2_1(2).ves.1176
5. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume II, Part 1: From AD 69 to AD 96 (Vespasian to Domitian). Page 156, no. 1176