Vespasian Bronze As, RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Vespasian 1172

Monetary and Political Context

The monetary landscape of the early Flavian period was profoundly shaped by the political collapse and financial devastation of the Year of the Four Emperors in AD 68 to 69. The swift succession of Galba, Otho, and Vitellius, coupled with wide-scale military clashes in Italy and the western provinces, had disrupted traditional mint operations, disrupted tax collection networks, and drained cash liquidity across regional army camps and urban markets. Upon consolidating authority in Rome by late AD 69 and early AD 70, Vespasian faced the dual imperative of restoring imperial solvency and re-establishing trust in the continuity of the Principate. Base-metal coinage played an indispensable role in daily market transactions, regional troop remuneration, and fiscal exchanges across the Western Roman provinces. While gold aurei and silver denarii addressed elite banking, large-scale commerce, and major state payments, the copper-alloy as formed the foundation of low-value, day-to-day transactions. In the western provinces, where the influx of Rome-minted aes had been erratic during the preceding decades, local shortages often spurred the circulation of worn Julio-Claudian issues or contemporary irregular imitations. To counteract this currency deficit and reassert official control over the western circulation pool, Vespasian reopened or heavily reorganized several western mint operations, foremost among them the venerable mint of Lugdunum in Gaul. Type 1172 belongs directly to this revitalizing phase of monetary administration, serving practical retail needs while projecting an unmistakable message of restored order to provincial populations.

Production and Mint Attribution

This specific issue is securely assigned to the mint of Lugdunum, the administrative capital of Gallia Lugdunensis. Lugdunum had served as an essential imperial mint under Augustus and the early Julio-Claudian emperors, possessing seasoned metallurgical infrastructure, skilled engravers, and an established distribution hub connected by the Rhône and Saône river networks. In the opening years of Vespasian's reign, Lugdunum resumed large-scale coining in bronze and brass to supply Gaul, the Rhine limes, and parts of Roman Britain. Numismatists identify western provincial issues of Vespasian primarily through stylistic criteria and mintmarks that differentiate them from the contemporary output of the central mint in Rome. Chief among these distinguishing features is the presence of a small globe placed at the base of the emperor's neck truncation on the obverse. First extensively documented in standard imperial corpora, this globe terminal is an emblematic signature of the Lugdunum workshops during the Julio-Claudian and early Flavian periods. In addition to the globe marker, the dies of Lugdunum display a distinct provincial style, including a somewhat broader, flatter head modeling, an arched or upright laurel tie, and slightly larger, well-spaced lettering around the perimeter. The metallurgical composition of the as during this period generally consisted of unalloyed copper or a low-tin bronze, differentiating it visually and metallurgically from the golden-hued orichalcum (brass) reserved for sestertii and dupondii.

Obverse Design and Portraiture

The obverse of type 1172 features a right-facing, laureate head of Vespasian, rendered in the distinctive realistic portraiture championed by early Flavian die-engravers. Departing from the stylized, youthful, and idealized classicism cultivated under the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Vespasian's coinage embraced a veristic tradition reminiscent of Roman Republican ancestral bust sculpture. Engravers depicted the emperor with mature, rugged facial features, including a deeply lined brow, a broad jawline, a firm mouth, and realistic signs of aging, projecting an image of an unpretentious, experienced military commander capable of steady administration. The laurel wreath adorning the imperial head represents the corona triumphalis, evoking military victory over rival factions and external enemies, while ribbon ties fall neatly behind the nape of the neck. Positioned discreetly at the lowest point of the neck truncation is the small globe characteristic of the Lugdunum mint. In imperial iconography, the globe symbolized universal dominion and the global reach of Roman authority, while serving the workshop as a diagnostic mark to identify western mint production.

Reverse Iconography: Securitas Augusti

The reverse iconography of type 1172 represents Securitas, the personification of security and imperial peace, seated facing right. The figure is draped in classical robes that fall around her frame, conveying stability and ease. Her posture is deliberately relaxed and reflective: her right arm rests upon the back of her chair or a support, with her right hand raised to support her head in an attitude of unconcerned repose. In her left hand, she holds a long sceptre diagonally across her body, an emblem of sovereignty, majesty, and legitimate rule. flanking the central figure in the lower fields are the capital letters S and C, representing Senatus Consulto ('by decree of the Senate'). This formula, standard on Roman imperial base-metal coinage from the Augustan monetary reform onward, affirmed senatorial sanction for the issue, even when struck at an auxiliary provincial facility such as Lugdunum. The depiction of Securitas Augusti carried profound political resonance in AD 71. Having barely emerged from a devastating civil conflict that shook the foundations of the empire, the Roman populace sought reassurance that stable governance had returned. By representing Securitas in an attitude of absolute ease, the coin reassured citizens and soldiers alike that the state was secure under the protective vigilance of the emperor.

Inscriptions and Epigraphy

The obverse legend reads IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG COS III, rendered as a continuous curved inscription running along the border of the coin. Each element of the imperial titulature reflects Vespasian's formal constitutional standing during the issue period. The title Imperator (IMP) appears as a praenomen, affirming his supreme military imperium and commander-in-chief status. Caesar (CAES) links the new dynasty to imperial legitimacy, while Vespasianus (VESPASIAN) identifies his personal family name. The title Augustus (AVG) asserts his supreme civil and religious authority. The chronological marker COS III signifies that Vespasian was serving his third consulship, a magisterial office he held during AD 71. The reverse legend is SECVRITAS AVGVSTI, accompanied by the senatorial formula S C in the fields. The inscription translates directly as 'The Security of the Augustus' (or 'Imperial Security'). In Roman political thought, the personal well-being and fortune of the emperor were intrinsically linked to the collective safety of the Roman commonwealth (Securitas Publica). The lettering exhibits the clean, well-proportioned epigraphy typical of the Lugdunum die-cutters, with clear serif terminations and balanced spacing framing the seated figure.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the revised second edition of The Roman Imperial Coinage (RIC II, Part 1), Harold Mattingly's original 1926 classification was thoroughly updated by Ian Carradice and Ted Buttrey in 2007. Under this modern scheme, the issue is assigned the precise type number 1172, situated within the Lugdunum mint series for AD 71 under Vespasian's third consulship. The presence of COS III provides a secure terminus post quem and terminus ante quem, constraining the issue specifically to AD 71, before Vespasian assumed his fourth consulship in AD 72. Within the broader typology of the Lugdunum aes coinage, type 1172 forms part of a coordinated release of base-metal denominations produced during the massive minting campaigns of AD 71 to 72. During these two years, Lugdunum struck parallel issues of sestertii, dupondii, and asses featuring a recurring repertoire of ideological types, including Pax, Aequitas, Victoria, and Securitas. Type 1172 is distinguished from other Lugdunum asses by the specific combination of the seated Securitas holding a sceptre with head supported on her hand, the obverse legend terminating in COS III, and the globe positioned at the neck truncation.

Circulation and Archaeological Context

Bronze asses struck at Lugdunum under Vespasian enjoyed broad distribution across the northwestern provinces of the Roman Empire. Archaeological finds and hoard deposits demonstrate that the products of the Lugdunum mint were the primary source of fresh aes currency for the legions stationed along the Rhine frontier in Germania Inferior and Superior, as well as auxiliary garrisons and civilian settlements throughout Gaul and Roman Britain. Because transport along maritime and river corridors was highly cost-effective, bulk shipments of new coinage traveled up the Rhône-Saône axis directly toward military centers on the frontier. Hoard analyses and site-find data from Britain, France, and Germany indicate that asses of AD 71 continued to circulate for several decades, frequently remaining in active use through the reigns of Domitian, Nerva, and Trajan until large-scale bronze recoinages in the second century AD gradually displaced them. Many surviving examples recovered from archaeological contexts exhibit moderate to heavy surface wear, attesting to long operational lives in daily retail exchange. Countermarks from military units are occasionally noted on western asses of this era, reflecting administrative measures to validate or re-tariff currency in frontier zones.

References

1. Coinage and Finances in the Reign of Domitian, A.D. 81-96 (BAR International Series 178). Chapter 1: Flavian Monetary Background
2. Le Monnayage de l'Atelier de Lyon: De Claude Ier a Vespasien (41-79 apres J.-C.). Atelier de Lyon, emissions de 71
3. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. II: Vespasian to Domitian. Lugdunum mint, Vespasian, AD 71
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. II, Part 1: From AD 69 to 96 (Vespasian to Domitian), second edition. p. 153, no. 1172