Volusian Copper-Alloy Sestertius

Monetary Context and Denominational Role

During the mid-third century AD, the Roman currency system was undergoing profound structural transformation. The reign of Trebonianus Gallus and his son Volusian (AD 251 to 253) occurred against the backdrop of catastrophic military setbacks on the Danube and eastern frontiers, alongside the devastating Plague of Cyprian. In the imperial monetary economy, the double denarius or antoninianus had become the primary vehicle of state expenditure, minted in massive quantities with progressively degraded silver fineness. Within this framework, the traditional brass and bronze denominations, led by the sestertius, occupied an increasingly precarious commercial position. Once the backbone of Roman civic transactions and the standard unit of imperial accounting, the sestertius had lost its purchasing power relative to day-to-day inflation. Despite these economic headwinds, the administration of Gallus and Volusian maintained the striking of bronze denominations to supply base-metal change for domestic markets and preserve traditional fiscal forms. The sestertius was nominally valued at four copper asses or two dupondii, but market realities and the diminishing availability of newly struck fractional bronze meant that the sestertius frequently functioned as the sole practical bronze denomination circulating in substantial volume. By the early 250s AD, the metal alloy used for the sestertius had also shifted away from the bright golden orichalcum of the early Principate toward a more heterogeneous copper alloy containing varying amounts of lead, tin, and zinc. Consequently, Volusian's sestertii bear physical witness to the twilight of the Augustan denomination scheme, appearing just a few years before production of traditional large base-metal coins virtually ceased during the sole reign of Gallienus.

Production, Mints, and Metrology

The overwhelming majority of imperial sestertii for Volusian were produced at the primary imperial mint in Rome. While provincial cities across Greece, Asia Minor, and Syria issued civic bronzes bearing Volusian's portrait and Greek legends, these civic issues operated under distinct local weight systems and are cataloged separately from the regular imperial sestertius series. Certain silver radiates of Gallus and Volusian have been assigned by modern numismatists to eastern facilities such as Antioch or an uncertain Italian mint, but official copper-alloy sestertii carrying the mark S C (Senatus Consulto) were struck almost exclusively by the officinae of the urban mint at Rome. Metrologically, the sestertii of Volusian reflect a continuing standard degradation that had accelerated under the Severan and Gordianic dynasties. Whereas the first-century and second-century sestertius maintained an average weight between 25 and 28 grams, Volusian's sestertii typically range between 12 and 18 grams, with occasional outliers extending slightly higher or lower. Die diameters commonly measure between 26 and 30 millimeters, but flans were frequently undersized, unevenly thick, or clipped prior to striking. The mechanical preparation of the flans demonstrates significant haste: casting sprues, flan cracks, and irregular contours are common across the surviving corpus. Dies were executed by experienced institutional engravers at Rome, but the speed of issue required to keep pace with state output resulted in frequent die clashes, off-center strikes, and visible die wear.

Obverse Typology and Imperial Iconography

The obverse of the Volusian sestertius consistently presents the bust of the young ruler, distinguishing him iconographically from his father, Trebonianus Gallus. In imperial portraiture, the sestertius observed strict denominational conventions: whereas the radiate crown was reserved for the double denarius (antoninianus) and the dupondius, the sestertius featured a laureate head or bust. For Volusian, obverses present a clean-shaven or lightly stubbled young man with closely cropped hair, an elongated jawline, and prominent facial features typical of the third-century veristic portrait style. Several distinct bust draperies are attested across the Rome issues. The most common variety displays the bust laureate, draped, and cuirassed, viewed from behind or from the side. Less frequent variations include the bust laureate and draped only, or laureate and cuirassed with minimal drapery visible at the shoulder. As Caesar, a status held briefly in AD 251 before his elevation to Augustus following the demise of Hostilian, Volusian was portrayed bare-headed on extremely scarce preliminary patterns; however, the canonical imperial sestertius corpus belonging to his active circulation belongs almost entirely to his tenure as Augustus. The imperial portraiture projects juvenile authority subordinated to the dynastic partnership, with style and execution closely mirroring the contemporary issues of Gallus.

Reverse Designs and State Propaganda

The reverse designs of Volusian's sestertii broadcast standard imperial virtues, religious piety, and dynastic stability during a period of immense public anxiety. Because Gallus and Volusian shared power, many reverse types were issued jointly in the names of the two Augusti, reflecting collegiality and mutual military and political responsibility. A prominent motif is Pax, depicted standing left holding an olive branch and transverse scepter, accompanied by the inscription PAX AVGG. Another widespread design features Concordia, shown seated left holding a patera and double cornucopiae, stressing harmony within the imperial family and between the co-rulers. Public health and divine protection were central thematic concerns of the reign due to the raging pestilence. This context inspired remarkable reverse types such as Apollo Salutaris, represented holding an olive branch and lyre, and Juno Martialis. The Juno Martialis type is particularly distinctive for the coinage of Gallus and Volusian, featuring the goddess seated within an elaborate round distyle or tetrastyle temple, or standing holding ears of grain and a spear. Other common reverse motifs encompass Salus feeding a serpent rising from an altar, Felicitas holding a caduceus and cornucopiae, Pietas standing by an altar with raised hands, Virtus holding a shield and spear, and Liberalitas presiding over imperial distributions. Across all these types, the letters S C appear prominently in the field or exergue, reiterating the traditional senatorial authorization of bronze coinage.

Inscriptions, Formulas, and Imperial Titles

The epigraphy of Volusian's sestertii is regular and follows standard mid-third-century formulaic conventions. On the obverse, the standard legend as Augustus reads IMP C C VIB VOLVSIANVS AVG, expanding to Imperator Caesar Caius Vibius Volusianus Augustus. Minor legend variants appear across specific emissions, such as IMP CAE C VIB VOLVSIANO AVG (frequently in the dative case on honorary or initial series) or IMP CAES C VIB VOLVSIANVS AVG, but the standard nominative formula predominates across the bulk of the Rome mint output. Reverse legends are dominated by invocations of personified virtues and deities, usually concluding with the dual plural abbreviation AVGG to denote the joint rule of the two Augusti. Key inscriptions include CONCORDIA AVGG, PAX AVGG, FELICITAS PVBLICA, SALVS AVGG, PIETAS AVGG, VIRTVS AVGG, and AEQVITAS AVGG. Inscriptions tied to specific cults include APOLL SALVTARI and IVNONI MARTIALI. Historical donations to the Roman populace are commemorated through the legend LIBERALITAS AVGG, often accompanied by numeral designations indicating the specific imperial largitio. The senatorial formula S C (Senatus Consulto) remains a mandatory element of the reverse design field on virtually all regular issues.

Typological Sequence and Chronological Issues

The chronological arrangement of Volusian's sestertii spans late AD 251 to the summer of AD 253. Following the accession of Trebonianus Gallus in June AD 251, Volusian was initially named Caesar alongside the young Augustus Hostilian, son of Decius. Sestertii struck for Volusian with the title Caesar (bearing legends such as C VIBIO VOLVSIANO CAES) are extraordinarily rare, suggesting that bronze die preparation for the new prince had barely commenced before Hostilian died in the autumn of AD 251, precipitating Volusian's immediate elevation to Augustus. From late AD 251 through AD 252, the Rome mint produced its first major substantive wave of sestertii for Volusian as Augustus, focusing on themes of familial harmony, health, and imperial peace. In AD 252 and 253, emissions continued alongside numbered tribunician series (such as TR P II or TR P III on rare specimens, though dated bronze types for Volusian are far less common than undated allegorical issues). Numismatic scholars organize the typology primarily through officina distribution at Rome, where parallel emissions were struck simultaneously for Gallus and Volusian. Production abruptly ceased in the middle of AD 253 when both emperors marched north to confront the usurper Aemilian and were murdered by their own troops at Interamna.

Circulation, Hoards, and Archaeological Context

The circulation pattern of Volusian's sestertii illustrates the declining role of base-metal coinage in regional markets. Sestertii of the 250s AD are found primarily in site finds and excavation strata across Italy, southern Gaul, and parts of the western provinces, where older copper-alloy denominations continued to change hands alongside newer billon radiates. However, their representation in hoard evidence differs markedly from both earlier Antonine bronzes and contemporary silver hoards. Mid-third-century hoards dedicated solely to bronze coinage are comparatively uncommon; instead, sestertii of Volusian occasionally appear as worn, residual components in mixed deposits or localized market losses. Because of their reduced metallic weight and the ongoing debasement of the antoninianus, sestertii of Gallus and Volusian were frequently subject to rapid physical wear or melted down for utilitarian bronze casting. In many western frontier zones, the supply of fresh sestertii from Rome had slowed to a trickle, leading communities to continue circulating heavily worn coins of the second and early third centuries alongside sparse contemporary issues. By the AD 260s, the official imperial sestertius had effectively ceased regular production under Gallienus and Postumus, leaving the issues of Volusian and his contemporaries as the final substantial phase of the monumental Roman bronze coinage tradition.

References

1. I Grandi Bronzi Imperiali: Vol. VIII (Treboniano Gallo - Volusiano). pp. 55-98
2. The Coinage of the Roman Empire AD 235-284: Production, Circulation, and Hoards. pp. 87-114
3. Coins of the Roman Empire. pp. 102-108
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part III: Gordian III to Uranius Antoninus. pp. 174-190