Principal Coins of the Roman Republic
Part 15 RRC 440 to RRC 462, 49BC to 46BC, Civil War between Pompey the Great, Cato, Scipio and Julius Caesar: Rubicon, Pharsalus, Utica

Interpretation of Republican coinage becomes increasingly difficult in the civil wars of the late Republic due to the multiplicity of issuing authorities and locations. The coinage separates into the different administrations of Pompey, Caesar, Antony, Octavian, Brutus, Cassius and their followers. No single sequence makes sense. How can one relate an emergency coinage struck by different governments at a camp mint in Africa, Greece or Spain with coincident coinage struck at Rome? Pompey was accompanied by the Consuls and most of the Senate yet it was Caesar who caused the 'normal' magistrate coinage at Rome to be resumed. Even when Antony and Octavian were on the verge of war they continued to issue coins in both their names, and that of their silent partner Lepidus. Both Mark Antony and Sextus Pompeius cite Senate-awarded titles on their coinage (Triumvir for the protection of the Republic, and Prefect of the fleet and sea-coasts, respectively) long after their opponents considered them lapsed. As always, it was the victors who got to write the history and to define who were the bandits and who the forces of law and government.

Michael Crawford makes the best of this confusing and irregular situation by laying out a chronological sequence of coinage. But such an arrangement is vulnerable to dating uncertainties. As an example RRC says that Sextus Pompeius' RRC 479 bronzes precede Julius Caesar's last dictatorships, and his RRC 511 silver issues postdate the fall of Brutus and Cassius. Bernhard Woytek's new scholarship on the era (see two paragraphs down) proposes alternate dates. Considering the extreme range of Crawford and Woytek's dating, RRC 479 ranges from 45BC to 38BC, and RRC 511 ranges from 42BC to 36BC. This overlapping picture is less neat than the RRC story of issues many years apart.

In my own presentation of coinage on Flickr, I partly resolved this by organising the coinage into three major areas, reflecting the three main wars: (1) War between Julius Caesar and Pompey, his sons and followers (2) War between Brutus & Cassius and Antony & Octavian, and their followers (3) War between Antony and Octavian, and their followers. Then within each of these major war periods I divided the coinage according to the issuing authority or Imperator. Finally, for each issuing authority I did my best to arrange the coinage chronologically. I believe this type of arrangement is robust to changes in scholarship. Absolute dates and mints may change, yet coins which evidently relate to each other can remain together. However on these pages, illustrating the Ahala Collection, I have committed to presenting the coins in RRC order.

In 2003, Berhard Woytek published "Arma et Nummi. Forschungen zur römischen Finanzgeschichte und Münzprägung der Jahre 49 bis 42 v. Chr.", i.e. Research on Roman coinage and financial history, 49BC to 42BC. Woytek proposes to redate and relocate many coin issues of the period. Unlike the clear-cut in-or-out evidence provided by the Mesagne hoard of the previous period, in this case each issue had to be argued out on its merits. Woytek's book makes many advances. For example he provides solid evidence to separate Caesar's RRC 443 elephant issue into two easily recognisable variants, likely struck near Marseille and Nîmes, plus some sub-variants, and he reinforced this arrangement in a later article about multiple-parallel-dies that were used in one RRC 443 variant as well as in the coins of Nîmes. Among many other changes he proposes to move RRC 512 through RRC 515, which evidently includes a type bearing the portrait of Brutus, back to 43BC. However Arma et Nummi's publication, whilst bringing new evidence to bear, does not fundamentally change the validity of Crawford RRC proposals for the era: each have to be considered on the merits of the arguments presented. I cannot summarise the arguments from two thick books in one short web-page, but fortunately Michael Crawford reviewed the book in 2012 for the Gnomon Bibliographic Database, which provides an expert view on areas of agreement and difference. I briefly summarise as follows.

Crawford still considers the Sextus Pompey silver coinage to be earlier than Woytek, but bronze may have continued even longer than considered in either book. For other issues Woytek suggests new mint locations consistent with the movement of the Imperators, whilst Crawford considers it better to think in terms of issues for a given campaign rather than trying to pin down a manufacturing location. Both support moving RRC 458 Aeneas and Anchises to Greece, but for different reasons: Woytek based on technical quality arguments and Crawford based on the campaign - good craftsmen might move anywhere. Woytek relies on hoards as evidence of mint location, but Crawford, citing RRC 441 Neria Q.Vrb that plainly reads as struck in Rome, says coins can be moved. Woytek has precise suggestions for Pompey's RRC 446 and RRC 447, for Caesar's RRC 452, and for the mints of Brutus and Cassius, but Crawford sees no need for the Imperators to be physically where the coins were made, any more than they would have physically supervised their arms factories, and for that same reason he no longer sees a need to place RRC 483 Nasidia in Massilia. Woytek's location in Gaul of the portion of RRC 443 that used multiple parallel dies is supported, but Crawford is ambivalent on the remaining part of the issue. Woytek places RRC 444 Sicinius Coponius in Asia; Crawford thinks minting may have started in Italy, and then moved. Crawford suggests that technical differences in the RRC 475 Clovius and RRC 550 Oppius orichalcum do not necessarily place them in the same time and place. Crawford agrees with Woytek's moving RRC 467 to Sicily to finance the Africa campaign, for which RRC 457 Allienus was evidently insufficient, assuming RRC 458 is relocated to Asia. On Woytek's placing RRC 512 to RRC 515 in 41BC, Crawford prefers the status quo and is not convinced by arguments relating Brutus' portrait.

Woytek and Crawford's arguments evidently both have merits. In some cases they now agree on Woytek's new proposals, whereas in other cases each holds their own position. So, for the coinage from 49BC to 41BC, covering parts 15, 16, 17 and 18 of the Ahala collection, I will give dates and mints prefaced with C (Crawford's RRC) or W (Woytek's Arma et Nummi) only for cases of difference, example RRC 441 NERI Neria 49BC W:Illyria; C:Rome. The prior paragraph should be consulted when considering the relative merits of the arguments.

RRC 440 Q.SICINIVS Sicinia 49BC Rome denarius,
RRC 441 NERI Neria 49BC C:Rome, W:Illyria denarius with the Consuls Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Crus, Gaius Claudius Marcellus Maior.
RRC 442 MN.ACILIVS Acilia 49BC Rome denarii

RRC 443 CAESAR Julius Caesar C:49-48BC W:49BC C:moving with Caesar, W:Narbo,Spain denarius. Caesar RRC 443 denarii occur in one common variant, that shown at left, one less common variant, that shown at right, and some other scarcer sub-variants that relate to the coin at right. The Caesar denarius at left has a natural form elephant with legs at an angle, serif lettering and thick reverse devices. The variety at right has a pig-shaped elephant with parallel legs, sans-serif lettering and thin reverse devices. Woytek showed that the variant at right was struck from multiple parallel dies, a known feature of the Nemausus mint, and the variant at left was probably struck further west, perhaps in north Italy or Marseille; other variants may have been struck in the course of the expedition to Spain. Caesar's expedition to Gaul and Spain was from March to October 49BC.

RRC 443 CAESAR Julius Caesar C:49-48BC W:49BC C:moving with Caesar, W:Narbo denarius. Winckless coll.

RRC 444 Q.SICINIVS Sicinia 49BC C:moving with Pompey, W:Asia denarius
RRC 445 L.LENT COS C.MARC COS Cornelia, Claudia 49BC Apollonia, then Asia denarii. The RRC 445/3 denarius with Artemis of Ephesus is a very rare type.

RRC 444 Q.SICINIVS Sicinia 49BC C:moving with Pompey, W:Asia denarius. Davis coll. This is the rare RRC 444/1b variant with a facing lion's head.

RRC 446 MAGN PRO COS Pompey C:49BC W:early 48BC, C:moving with Pompey, W:Illyrian coast, Corcyra? denarius
RRC 447 MAGN PRO COS VARRO PRO Q Pompey C:49BC W:early 48BC, C:moving with Pompey, W:Illyrian coast, Dyrrachium? denarius

RRC 448 L.HOSTILIVS SASERN Hostilia 48BC Rome denarii. Davis coll. (448/1 at left) and Winckless coll. (448/2 at right). Two superb examples from world-class collections of this finely engraved series. The usual magnificent male portrait is generally taken to be Vercingetorix.

RRC 448 L.HOSTILIVS SASERN Hostilia 48BC Rome denarii. The Hostilia types are not shy in their celebration of Caesar's success in Gaul.

RRC 449 C.VIBIVS PANSA Vibia 48BC Rome denarii.

RRC 450 ALBINVS BRVTI F Postumia 48BC Rome denarii.
RRC 451 C.PANSA ALBINVS BRVTI Vibia Postumia 48BC Rome denarius

RRC 452 CAESAR LII Julius Caesar C:mid 48BC to 47BC, W:late spring to mid 48BC, C:moving with Caesar, W:Illyria, Apollonia? denarius and quinarius. RRC 452 includes the number LII or 52 indicating Caesar's age. Whilst Crawford and Woytek both opt for 48BC, Woytek reads it as his 52nd year, hence preceding his 52nd birthday on 13th July 48BC, whilst Crawford reads it as his 52nd birthday, i.e. after 13th July.

RRC 452 CAESAR LII Julius Caesar C:mid 48BC to 47BC, W:late spring to mid 48BC, C:moving with Caesar, W:Illyria, Apollonia? denarius and quinarius. The RRC 452 types with single male or female captive are extremely rare.
RRC 453 L.PLAVTIVS PLANCVS Plautia 47BC Rome denarius. The Plautia with the facing quadriga is possibly the most artistic Roman coin of any era.

RRC 453 L.PLAVTIVS PLANCVS Plautia 47BC Rome denarius.
RRC 455 C.ANTIVS Antia 47BC Rome denarii

RRC 455 C.ANTIVS Antia 47BC Rome denarius
RRC 456 CAESAR DICT ITER Julius Caesar 47BC Eastern mint aureus

RRC 457 A.ALLIENVS C.CAESAR Julius Caesar 47BC Sicily denarius
RRC 458 CAESAR Julius Caesar W:48BC to 47BC, W:Asia denarius. RRC 458 indicates Africa, 47BC to 46BC, but Woytek's proposal to relocate the type to Asia a year earlier is not contested by Crawford in his review of Arma et Nummi, albeit for different reasons.

RRC 458 CAESAR Julius Caesar W:48BC to 47BC, W:Asia denarius. Winckless collection.

RRC 459 Q.METEL PIVS SCIPO Caecilia 47BC to 46BC Africa denarius
RRC 460 Q.METEL PIVS SCIPO CRASSVS IVN Caecilia 47BC to 46BC Africa denarii.
RRC 461 Q.METEL SCIPIO EPPIVS LEG Caecilia 47BC to 46BC Africa denarius
The types of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio Imperator in Africa are of great interest, especially that with the lioness goddess Sekhet or Sekhmet standing facing, holding an Ankh. Many eastern gods were adopted over time into the Roman Pantheon, Aphrodite (in forms distinct from Venus), Isis and Cybele being three that appear from time to time on Roman coins, but the ancient Egyptian Sehket is an outlier that never reappears. Whilst RRC 460 types are best known as celebrating Scipio, a scion of the famous Africanus family, the other name on the coin Crassus Junior was the grandson of the wealthy first Triumvir (Pompey and Caesar's colleague) and was a brave soldier who supported Metellus Puis Scipio, then Sextus Pompey, then later Mark Antony, and was consul for 30BC under Octavian in the year after Actium. Scipio struck by himself as well as with Marcus Crassus, the grandson of the great first triumvir, and with the legate Marcus Eppius.

RRC 462 M.CATO PRO.PR Porcia 47BC to 46BC Africa denarius, quinarius. The quinarius of Cato is an attractive brockage. These types are easily confused with RRC 343 - the Pro-Praetor title on both these coins confirms them as the later Utica issues. This is invariably a poorly struck coinage.

RRC 462 M.CATO PRO.PR Porcia 47BC to 46BC Africa denarius. Davis coll. The engraving quality and strike on RRC 462 denarii is in general poor, contrasting with the superb quality of the pieces struck for Scipio. This denarius is an unusually fine example.

Part 1           RRC 1 to RRC 27     300-225BC Early Roman Coinage Part 2         RRC 28 to RRC 43     230-213BC Quadrigatus coinage Part 3         RRC 44 to RRC 66     214-207BC Italy Sardinia Part 4         RRC 67 to RRC 96     212-207BC Sicily Apulia Part 5       RRC 97 to RRC 111     212-207BC Luceria Etruria Part 6     RRC 112 to RRC 138     206-190BC Conquest of Spain Part 7     RRC 139 to RRC 172     190-170BC Macedonian wars Part 8     RRC 173 to RRC 198     170-155BC Bronze-only currency Part 9     RRC 199 to RRC 235     155-137BC Carthage, Greece Part 10   RRC 236 to RRC 279     137-121BC The Gracchi brothers Part 11   RRC 280 to RRC 335     120-93BC Scaurus, rise of Marius Part 12   RRC 336 to RRC 358     92-83BC Social War, rise of Sulla Part 13   RRC 359 to RRC 404     83-70BC Sulla's dominance Part 14   RRC 405 to RRC 439     69-50BC First Triumvirate Part 15   RRC 440 to RRC 462     49-46BC Caesar versus Pompey Part 16   RRC 463 to RRC 482     46-44BC Julius Caesar as Dictator Part 17   RRC 483 to RRC 497     43-41BC Second Triumvirate Part 18   RRC 498 to RRC 515     43-42BC Brutus and Cassius Part 19   RRC 516 to RRC 543     41-32BC Antony versus Octavian Part 20   RRC 544 to RRC 550     35-27BC Actium

Specialist Supplements:
1. Roman Coins of Luceria and Canusium
2. Anonymous Struck Bronze Coins of the Roman Republic
3. Anonymous Roman Republican Denarii and Victoriati (Steve Brinkman's site)