The largest Roman gold coin, a medallion of the emperor Libius Severus

Gold medallion of Libius Severus

Technically this is not a coin, but a medallion. Nevertheless, it has the record of being the largest Roman piece minted in gold that has survived to this day. There was another even larger medallion of the emperor Justinian, but it was stolen and molten in the 19th century.

The splendor of this gold medallion hides the unexpected story of a weak emperor that was only a puppet in the hands of a powerful general of Germanic origin, Ricimer, the true power behind the throne of the Western Roman Empire.

An empire in crisis and a puppet emperor

By the middle of the 5th century A.D., the situation of the Roman Empire differed radically from that of earlier times. It was de facto divided into two states, the Eastern Empire with capital in Constantinople and the Western Empire with capital in Ravenna. The former faced a difficult situation, but the latter was immersed in a deep crisis that threatened its very survival, with large tracts of its territory under the control of Germanic Kings.

After the emperor Majorian was executed by the Master of Soldiers Ricimer on August 461, the western throne lay vacant for several months. His barbarian origin made it impossible for Ricimer to ascend the imperial throne himself. Thus, at his instigation, the Roman senate proclaimed Libius Severus emperor. He was a complete nonentity destined to fulfill only a symbolic role while Ricimer held firmly the reins of power in his hands. Severus should take care of the relationship with the Italian elites and the Christian church, without interfering with the real exercise of power.

It was probably to mark the occasion of Severus’ coronation at Ravenna that this huge gold medallion was minted, a multiple of 12 solidi (53.62 gr.), with a diameter of 52 mm.

solidus of Libius Severus

The obverse and reverse types

On the obverse we find the legend DN LIBIVS SEVE-RVS AVG (Dominus Noster Libius Severus Augustus) and a bust of the emperor with the head to the right and the body in three-quarter profile. An oversized eye occupies a large part of his face. The emperor wears armor and a military cloak attached with a large clasp on the right shoulder. He wears a headband adorned with a large rosette in the center consisting of a broad band divided into square fields, each with a large circular dot that surely represents a jewel. Under the headband, just above the eyebrow, it is possible to see a laurel wreath.

The legend of the reverse is PI-E-TAS AVG N-OSTRI (Pietas Augusti Nostri, "the mercy of our emperor"). In the exergue, the mintmark COMOB indicates that this medallion was struck by the comitatensian mint that accompanied the imperial court. The place of minting is not indicated but it was probably Ravenna. The emperor is represented standing and looking to the left in military clothing, he holds a scepter or an inverted spear with in left hand and with the right hand he holds the hand of a kneeling female figure. On the left, another female figure in military suit presents the kneeling woman to the emperor; she holds a large round shield on her left arm. To the right, a winged Victory carries a palm branch and with her right hand places a wreath of flowers on the emperor's head.

As we can see, in the mid-fifth century Western Empire the figure of the emperor was only an empty shell with no real power. Roman numismatic art, on the other hand, had not yet lost any of its expressive potential.

Online Coins of the Roman Empire complete

OCRE (Online Coins of the Roman Empire) is a joint project of the American Numismatic Society (ANS) and the Institute for theStudy of the Ancient World at New York University. OCRE launched in July 2012 with the aim of creating a digital corpus of Roman imperial coins that could replace the old volumes of the RIC (Roman Imperial Coinage).

At the time of its launch, the catalog only included the coins minted from Augustus to Hadrian. At the end of 2012, it had already incorporated those minted until the reign of Antoninus Pius. Now, at the end of 2016, the catalog is complete and encompasses more than 500 years of Roman monetary history between Augustus and Zeno (31 BC - 491 AD).

The catalog offers a complete record of each issue. In many cases, it also includes images from coins in some of the most important numismatic collections in the world, such as those of the American Numismatic Society, the British Museum or the Münzkabinett in Berlin, among many others. More images will be incorporated in the future until all coin types are illustrated.

The great advantage of OCRE over the RIC volumes is that it allows users to search using a wide variety of criteria, such as issuing authority, mint, obverse and reverse legend, type, metal, denomination, place of discovery, etc.

One of the most useful features of OCRE is its mapstool, which allows you to locate coins from the mint in which they are minted, see the mints active in the reign of each emperor and much more. It also includes information on the place of discovery of some coins.

In short, OCRE is an indispensable assistant for both researchers and collectors of Roman imperial coinage.

One of the most beautiful and mysterious coins of the ancient world

Aureus of Augustus,  photo of Joe Geranium

In 19 BC the monetalis M. Durmius struck one of the most interesting and captivating coins of those produced under the long reign of Emperor Augustus. It was an aureus, a gold coin of nearly 8 grams, the most valuable in the Roman monetary system, equivalent to 25 silver denarii. In the obverse, we see the face of a young Augustus with a crown of oak leaves and the legend CAESAR AUGUSTUS. Nothing surprising there. But the reverse features a stunning crab holding in its claws a graceful butterfly, accompanied by the legend M • III • VIR DVRMIVS designating the magistrate responsible for the minting, the monetalis Durmius. The interpretation of the reverse has been discussed by experts since the times of Joseph Eckhel (1737-1798).

Cassius’ denarius - Crawford 505 / 3

We find a similar representation of a crab in the reverse of a denarius of C. Cassius (one of the Caesar’ murderers), minted in 42 BC, probably in Sardis. The crab holds in its claws an aplustrum (a piece of ornament that was placed in the stern of ancient ships and a common symbol of naval power). Below the crab, we can recognize a diadem and a rose. In this case, however, there is a reliable interpretation of the motif. Cassius had just won a major naval victory against the Rhodian fleet and the crab represented the city of Kos, while the rose symbolized Rhodes. The historian Karl Galinsky sees in the aureus discussed here an example of Augustus’ ability to appropriate motifs used by his predecessors, but his argument is unconvincing. There are significant differences between the aureus of Augustus and this denarius and, at least to me, that makes direct imitation unlikely.

In a paper in the Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, W. Deonna proposed an astrological interpretation, seeing the crab as a representation of Cancer, the sign of the Zodiac, and an allusion to the concepts of happiness, prosperity, and worldly conquest, while the butterfly symbolizes the immortality of the soul. A complex and unconvincing interpretation.

Aureus of Augustus,  photo of Joe Geranium

Before the establishment of what might be called "scientific" numismatics by Eckel in the eighteenth century, it was common to interpret Roman coins allegorically. During this period, Durmius’ aureus was seen as a clear reference to the motto festina lente (make haste slowly), that according to Suetonius was one of Augustus’ favorites adages. This can be seen, for example in the emblem book Imprese Heroiche, by Gabriele Simeoni (1509-1575) where the coin and the phrase are expressly connected. In the absence of more convincing answers by modern experts, should we return to this interpretation?