The Encyclopedia of Roman Imperial Coins

By Rasiel Suarez

Copyright © 2005 by Rasiel Suarez. All Rights Reserved. Dirty Old Books™

A tongue-in-cheek subsidiary of: Dirty Old Coins, LLC PO Box 8996 Asheville, NC 28814-8996 USA www.dirtyoldbooks.com FAX 1-612-677-3842 No part of this book may be reproduced mechanically or otherwise without written permission from the Author. Brief excerpts may be published without prior authorization for the purposes of review and evaluation. Quantity discounts of this book are available. Requests to the Publisher should be directed in writing using the contact information provided above. Catalog number cross-referencing permission extended courtesy of Spink & Son, David R. Sear, David L. Vagi & Trustees of the British Museum. Photography credits listed in the end section. Typesetting by Publication Services, Inc. Font conversion provided by Applied Symbols. First Published January, 2005 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Suarez, Rasiel., 1969— ERIC st The Encyclopedia of Roman Imperial Coins / Rasiel Suarez—1 ed. Includes Index and Bibliographical references. 1. Numismatics. 2. Coins: Ancient. 3. Coins: Roman Imperial ISBN 0-9764664-0-6 Printed in Hong Kong, China Regal Printing Co., www.regalprinting.com.hk

For ERIC

Table of Contents Foreword Introduction About Roman Coins Denominations Coins of Other Ancient Cultures Identifying Roman Coins How To Use This Book Mintmarks Mint Map Pricing And Grading Bibliography Reference Catalogs Cited Imperial Catalog Coin Terms Used Glossary Rarity Tables Index of Rulers Photography Credits Additional Web Resources

i ii iii iii viii xiii xiv xv xvii xviii xix xix 1 611 613 614 617 618 618

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Introduction Roman imperial coins are probably the most studied and written about era in the field of ancient numismatics. It might be questioned why another book on the subject is necessary given the lopsided attention this part of history has already received. Many of these books will focus on a limited topic or time period and study it in depth while others attempt to tackle the entire length of the Roman empire. Some appeal to the casual history buff and others are written for and by scholars. And all of them, including this effort, suffer from being quickly outdated thanks to new discoveries of coins, historical data and analyses that constantly reshape old theories. The aim of this book is to provide first and foremost the collector of Roman coins with an easy to use guide to understand in as concise a manner as possible the corpus of money issued from the time of the first emperor to the last; a period in history spanning over half a millennium. Naturally, as user-friendliness is given top priority for the sake of the collector other users may be disappointed. The scholar will lament the exclusion of obscure issues, the historian will find little new research, the investor and others concerned primarily with the worth of their coins will find this book nearly useless and those whose interest lies in any subject not covered will rightfully feel disenfranchised. On the other hand Roman coin collectors will at long last find in a single book a comprehensive account of nearly every variant of legend and type known for each of the over two hundred emperors, empresses and other imperials in whose name coins were minted during this time. In addition, a full-fledged catalog of known coins is also provided with each entry having a unique number to facilitate reference among collectors and students. Traditionally, coin guides for ancient coins tend to have full pages of coin photographs at the end of the book. While a more efficient and cost-effective approach, I have chosen instead to include the photographs at the end of each emperor‟s section to make them more accessible. Every feature, again, has been crafted to make this enormous amount of information as easy to understand as possible in as condensed a format as is practical. Just like with any other reference book, the data herein could not possibly have been compiled without extensive help from many others whose interests and expertise are as diverse as the coins themselves. Of particular importance in this endeavor must be noted The Roman Imperial Coinage series of books which is largely regarded as the most definitive and certainly most consulted work on Roman coins. This 13-volume set took the better part of a century to complete and is, in fact, an ongoing project with the collaboration of many of the world‟s top numismatists. Spink and Son, its publishers, have graciously allowed for the cross-referencing of their catalog numbers to the listings in this book. David Sear, an author who has devoted his life to the study of ancient coins has also allowed for similar cross-referencing rights to his own highly acclaimed books. Many, many friends, too numerous to list have provided photos of their coins and sometimes the coins themselves for inclusion. The Swiss numismatic firm of Leu donated hundreds of dollars worth of old catalogs, always a prime ground for research. The British Museum provided photographs of some of the world‟s rarest coin photographs free of charge. And I am equally indebted to CNG, Numismatik Lanz, Münzen & Medaillen and many other firms and scores of individuals for making a wealth of information accessible over the last two years it has taken to put all of it neatly across the space of a few hundred pages. Rasiel Suarez

Co-founder Dirty Old Coins, LLC

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About Roman Coins One of the most recognizable cultural traits of the Romans was how systematic and methodical they were. In war, politics and art the Romans preferred a strict discipline and adherence to their rules. Naturally, this emphasis on consistency carried over into their currency policies. For hundreds of years millions of coins were handmade by untold numbers of craftsmen and almost every one is instantly recognizable to the collector or student as Roman. It is remarkable that in good times and in bad they could be counted on to make one coin look nearly identical to the next. Even to the bitter end, when coins were little more than metal scraps with scribbled on designs they retained a „look and feel‟ uniquely theirs. Asides from aesthetics the Romans were consistent as well with the content they chose to portray on their coins. From them we inherit the legacy of mating a person‟s face to the obverse, appropriately referred to as „heads‟ informally, with a design on the back. Many of the themes they chose to put on these reverses have also become staple ingredients in modern western culture as well. The Romans were masters of propaganda and learned early on how to exploit every element of a coin‟s design to further the imperial message of a strong and cohesive empire. To this end they employed a vast number of symbols, insignia and inscriptions to drive home the point. Most Roman coins feature religious or military themes. Issues of a civic or purely secular nature are relegated to a secondary role and the few times they appear they are still meant to glorify the pomp and glory of the emperor and, by extension, the Roman people. Ancient coins have been collected since antiquity as ambassadors to the past. Augustus, the first Roman emperor, is said to have amassed a world-class coin collection specimens of which he often gave to dignitaries. So many kings and nobles from the middle ages on collected ancient coins that the collecting of coins itself became known as the “hobby of kings”. Nowadays there are millions of coin collectors the world over and many are discovering that owning an ancient coin need not be hopelessly expensive. European metal detectorists are finding coins in record numbers of every culture that made them. While the silver and gold ones are sold directly to dealers many of the coppers, which are found in the hundreds of thousands every year, are individually too difficult and/or damaged to restore. These are therefore often sold in their as-found state for as little as a dollar or two each. Any would-be archaeologist then has the chance to restore, attribute and value their ancient coin and in the process have a lot of fun learning about ancient history.

Denominations Roman coins came in many different denominations. The weight and metal type of each coin determined how much purchasing power each coin had. Eventually, coin designs would to a certain extent explicitly state the value of the coin but it is uncertain whether these official values were honored by merchants and the public in general. The absolute base unit in Roman coinage is the Uncia, a small copper coin the size of a small button which was never struck in large quantities and is today very rare. 16 Unciae are equivalent to an As which is the first commercially functional coin. In turn, 16 Asses make up the famous Denarius, a silver, U.S.-dime sized coin which circulated for hundreds of years and influenced coinage in just about every successive Western culture up into modern times. Although a fascinating subject, it‟s disappointing to learn that we lack a good understanding of what the actual value of Roman coins were. Necessary food staples were often heavily subsidized by the government to ensure their accessibility. The emperor and his officials understood that a hungry citizenry was a grave liability. What records survive, therefore, tend to point out these set prices but the going rate for other luxuries is largely speculative. For what it‟s worth, a rough sketch of salaries would have a gold Aureus or Solidus as a month‟s pay for an ordinary soldier. And a Denarius or two could be earned in a day by a skilled laborer. In turn, a family meal consisting of bread, olive oil, wine and perhaps some meat would cost a Denarius or one of its equivalents. For early imperial coinage the relative values are as follows: 1 Aureus = 2 Quinarii = 25 Denarii = 100 Sestertii = 200 Dupondii = 400 Asses = 800 Quadrans = 6,400 Unciae Considering the expense in labor and materials that was borne in the production of the small-change Quadrans and Uncia it‟s not hard to see why these denominations existed more as a theoretical currency keystone than as real coins.

iv The first crack in the Roman economical machine appeared under the reign of Nero who cut back the purity of the Denarius from 98% fineness (essentially as pure as could possibly have been refined on a large scale basis back then) to 93%. The debasement did not link up with an official decrease in the nominal value of the coin itself so that the extra 5% silver was clear and free profit for the emperor. However, it took virtually no time for the public at large to see that the old Denarius was intrinsically worth more than the new one. This created an immediate hoarding of the old silver coins which could now be melted and then sold as scrap. In fact, finding today a pre-reform Denarius is considerably more difficult and expensive than Nero‟s new Denarii. From then on each new emperor lowered the fineness of the Denarii a percent or two so that by the time of Gordian III, the last emperor to issue significant quantities of Denarii, a Denarius was actually no more than about 35% silver by weight. Another unintended effect was that as the silver coins became cheaper the copper ones became more expensive. After all, each Denarius was now being made by more and more copper to fill in for the missing silver. What was happening was that a 3 gram silver coin was 2 grams copper but the whole coin was still valued at several multiples more than the Sestertii, Dupondii and Asses which weighed between 10-30 grams a piece. Therefore, rather than the government risk striking copper coins which would only wind up being melted it chose to not strike them much in the first place. Gold on the other hand was considered sacred. As much as it may have pained each emperor to part with his dwindling supplies of its most precious metal no soldier would risk his life unless it was for real gold. Not until the situation had grown into a series of deep crises in the middle of the third century that emperors decided to tinker with the next best thing: their weight. The Aureus which had traditionally weighed between 7-8 grams each went as far down as just over 2 grams under the reign of Gallienus. How the paymasters kept a straight face on pay day is anyone‟s guess and it‟s quite possible that the scam was masqueraded as salary increases by paying two or three of these Aurei while, of course, the total outlay of metal was still below the traditional amount. As the fineness in silver was steadily lowered, and the weight of the Aureus became erratic, new denominations were introduced to further blur the government‟s cost-cutting schemes and attempts to curb rampant inflation. The silver Antoninianus was introduced around the year 215 under Caracalla at a nominal value of two Denarii and, for gold, the Binio was introduced a few years later as a double Aureus. Since gold coins were never a major part of everyday commerce the Binio was a nonstarter but the Antoninianus drove the Denarius into extinction within 30 years of its introduction. And it, too, would suffer severe debasement and reduction in weight. By the mid-250‟s the Ant reached the critical low point in the silver-copper alloy, about 18%, where it no longer resembled a silvery coin even when freshly minted. Debasing this coin further served no practical purpose because it was blatantly obvious it was no longer silver. A decision was therefore made to stop making silver coins altogether and simply apply a silver wash to the Ants as a last processing step of the coin blanks. When new, these coins looked much better than the previous 18% silver Ants. However, shortly after entering circulation the silver coating wore off across the high points of the coin to reveal the copper beneath. Many such coins continued to circulate long after the silvering was fully gone and yet they were still officially considered silver coins! By the early 290‟s the Roman economy was in a state of near-collapse as the old currency value schedules were maintained relative to a silver coinage that existed only as a dim memory. The emperor Diocletian set into motion a series of monetary reforms meant to rectify the situation. The Antoninianus was suspended and new denominations introduced including a new Denarius of high silver content termed “Argenteus” (but officially worth 2.5 Denarii each) and the Follis which had a negligible amount of silver but was as hefty as an old As. The Aureus would be reborn under more predictable weights as well and the whole coinage system was overhauled from top to bottom in the hopes of stabilizing the economy. Some of the denominations caught on and some, specifically the Argenteus, would see a quick demise due to the chronic lack of silver. What little silver was initially breathed into the Follis was pulled and the weight, too, dwindled swiftly from a high of about 10g until it was a small copper coin of about 2-3g each within a few years‟ time. This reduced Follis enters the fourth century as the new de facto standard copper coin to serve the same general purpose as the Denarius of two centuries before (if not the actual buying power). Since it is unclear what the Romans of the time called it today‟s numismatists give it the generic term of a class three bronze or AE3 for short (AE is the abbreviation for Aeratus, Latin for copper).

v Even though during the fourth century the AE3 is king there are several other important denominations. After Diocletian‟s reforms settle into a new swing over the following years, a new gold standard is introduced under Constantine I with the flagship Solidus, a successor to the old Aureus which is now made to unerring precision at 72 to a Roman pound of gold, or about 4.4g a piece. It is so successful that it was still being made 500 years later under Byzantine emperors easily outlasting the Denarius itself and, possibly, any other denomination to this age. While the relationship between bronze coins and their silver and gold cousins are poorly understood the relative values between silver and gold are as follows: 1 Solidus = 2 Semisses = 3 Tremisses = 24 Siliquae The Siliqua is the last major successor to the old Denarius. It is thinner and lighter at only 2-3g each and never approaches the popularity of the Denarius. Except for rare occasions it is the one denomination that is not survived by the fall of the Roman empire itself in 476. While the gold and silver remain stable into the fifth century and beyond the last days of the Western half of the Roman empire see the bronze coinage shrink quickly into a morass of teeny coppers known as AE4‟s. They survive in large quantities today but prove difficult to identify due to careless minting methods and heavily debased alloys which fared poorly in the soil upon their loss or burial. The following table lists the most important denominations with rare fractions and multiples being omitted.

Main Roman Imperial Coin Denominations Denomination Aureus

Metal Gold

Weight 7-8g

Value 25 Denarii

Circ. Dates c.200 BCE – 305 CE 251-310 c.200 BCE – 305 CE 310-c.963

Binio Quinarius

Gold Gold

5.5-6g 2.5-4g

2 Aurei ½ Aureus

Solidus

Gold

4.4g

24 Siliquae

Semissis Tremissis 1-½ Scripulum Denarius

Gold Gold Gold

2.25g 1.5g 1.7g

½ Solidus ⅓ Solidus 9 Siliquae

310-c.867 c.380-c.867 310-c.380

Silver

2.5-4g

4 Sestertii

211 BCE – 244 CE

Cistophoric Tetradrachms

Silver

10-12g

3 Denarii

27 BCE – 138 CE

Antoninianus

Silver

3-5g

2 Denarii

215-285

Argenteus

Silver

3-4g

2-½ Denarii

c.290-c.310

Quinarius

Silver

1.3g-

½

211 BCE –

Notes Weights fluctuate wildly mid-third century Weights fluctuate wildly mid-third century. Very rare The Solidus is reborn as Basil I‟s Histamenon Nomisma with same weight and purity until replaced in the 1040‟s by the Hyperpyron. th Rare prior to 6 century Scripulum is a measure of weight. Ancient name remains unknown. Extremely rare. Weights were never adhered to very strictly but typical Denarius in Augustan times was nd 3.8g dropping to 3.4g by 2 century and sometimes as low as 2g under the Severan dynasty. When first introduced in 211 BCE the Denarius was tariffed at 10 Asses and was retariffed to 16 Asses in 118 BCE. A denomination meant for use in the eastern provinces to mimic traditional silver coinage in the region but using Latin legends and imperial portraits. The name of this coin in antiquity is unknown. Present usage is named after Caracalla whose formal name was Antoninus and who first introduced this coin. The radiate bronze coins under Diocletian may be a separate denomination or simply a size-reduced Antoninianus. A severely debased Argenteus is minted in Trier from c.310-319. Note also that this coin is essentially the same as the light Miliarense. Rare

vi 2g 1.5-3g

Denarius th 1/24 Solidus

c.230 CE 310 – c.650

Siliqua

Silver

Miliarense

Silver

3.5g5.2g

~2 Siliquae

310-c.717

Sestertius

Bronze/ Brass

22-30g

¼ Denarius 2 Dupondii

23 BCE – c.275

Double Sestertius

Bronze

25-40g

2 Sestertii

251-274

Dupondius

Bronze/ Brass

11-15g

½ Sestertius

23 BCE – c.260

As

Copper/ Bronze

10-12g

½ Dupondius

c.280 BCE – c.275

Semis

Bronze

2-3g

½ As

Quadrans

Bronze

2.5-4g

½ Semis

AE1

Bronze

>25mm

?

c.210 BCE – c.180 CE c.210 BCE – c.180 CE 360‟s

Weights were erratic but steadily diminished over time from around 3g early th on to less than 2g by the 5 century. Although sporadically minted during Byzantine times it had been phased out of general production by the 460‟s. The Miliarense comes in three separate weight categories of uncertain value relative to the Siliqua or Solidus except as raw bullion weight. The “light” Miliarense of approximately 3.5g, a regular ~4.5g coin and the “heavy” miliarense of ~5.2g It is possible that the Sestertius continued to be struck in extremely limited quantities until Diocletian‟s reform in or around the year 285. However, after the Severan dynasty the Sestertius became increasingly scarce and underweight, occasionally falling to under 10g. Prior to 23 BCE the Sestertius existed as a rare denomination in silver. Its value however had always been fixed to a quarter of a Denarius. The Sestertius and the Dupondius are typically struck from Orichalcum, a brassy alloy. Using the convention of radiate crowns for double value, the double Sestertius is an exotic denomination begun under Trajan Decius. Some rare pieces have been noted weighing upwards of 44g but typical weights hover around 25g. The last double Sestertii were apparently minted during the reign of Aurelian at a rather emaciated weight of ~17g. From the year 64 forward emperors on the Dupondius are depicted with a radiate crown. This visual aid eases the distinction between it and the larger Sestertius and the smaller As. Empresses do not get a similar distinction until the 220‟s when a bust resting on a crescent was introduced, a feature which was never thoroughly consistent in use. It is often impossible to tell for certain whether a coin is a heavier than usual As or a light Dupondius on those coins that normally lack a radiate crown. Rare and often struck anonymously. Last issues were used in the outer provinces. Julian II introduces a large silvered bronze coin of ~8.5g, quite possibly a rebirth of the Follis. It is continued by Jovian and struck in very limited quantities by Valens & Valentinian I before disappearing. Large copper medals and so-called “contorniates” are minted sporadically from the early 300‟s and well into the 500‟s. They were

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AE2

Bronze

2225mm

2x AE3 (?)

350-c.390

AE3

Bronze

1622mm

?

c.300-430

AE4

Bronze