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| dupondius | |
|---|---|
| Name | Dupondius |
| Country | Roman Empire |
| Composition | Bronze, Orichalcum |
| Years of minting | Roman Republic–Roman Empire |
| Denomination | Two asses |
dupondius The dupondius was an ancient Roman bronze coin valued at two asses and used from the late Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. It circulated alongside the as, sestertius, denarius, and aureus, and featured portraits, deities, and imperial symbols that reflected shifts in Roman art, imperial propaganda, and monetary policy. Its material, iconography, and legal status illuminate reforms associated with figures such as Augustus, Claudius, and Nero and connect to debates among modern numismatists and historians at institutions like the British Museum, American Numismatic Society, and Bibliothèque nationale de France.
The term derives from Latin roots meaning "two-pound" or "two of the as" and is attested in classical sources connected with lexicographers and writers like Varro, Cicero, Pliny the Elder, and Festus (linguist). Later usage appears in medieval commentaries and Renaissance catalogues compiled by scholars such as Pierre Catteau and Johann Joachim Winckelmann, and the coin's name has been standardized in modern numismatic literature from publications by Gaius Velleius Paterculus commentators to catalogues at the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation.
The dupondius evolved from the Republican bronze coinage reforms linked to magistrates and moneyers including C. Cassius Longinus and L. Aemilius Lepidus, and it grew in prominence during the transition from Republic to Empire associated with Octavian and Mark Antony. Augustus's reforms of the coinage system and the introduction of standardized weights tied the dupondius to broader fiscal measures implemented under administrators drawn from families like the Julii and Claudius. Imperial portraiture on dupondii reflects programs of public representation used by emperors such as Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero, while hoards discovered in contexts linked to events like the Battles of Teutoburg Forest and regional crises recorded by Tacitus provide archaeological evidence for circulation patterns.
Dupondii were typically struck in bronze or orichalcum, featuring obverse portraits of emperors such as Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, and Commodus and reverse motifs including deities like Jupiter, Roma, Victoria, and iconography tied to institutions like the Legio X Equestris or public works such as Aqua Claudia. Weight standards varied across periods, with Republican precursors, Augustan reforms, and later Antonine debasements producing measurable differences noted by researchers at Oxford University, University of Cambridge, and the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. Edge, diameter, and metallurgical composition have been analyzed using techniques developed by scientists at University College London, the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, and the Smithsonian Institution.
Minting of dupondii occurred at municipal and imperial mints including facilities in Rome, Lugdunum, Antioch, Alexandria and provincial centers such as Carthage and Cologne. Moneyers and mint officials drawn from senatorial families, equestrian administrators, and freedmen appear in inscriptions catalogued by the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, while mint marks, control symbols, and die links help numismatists attribute issues to workshops associated with magistrates recorded by Suetonius, Dio Cassius, and Josephus. Technological practices such as hand-struck dies, annealing, and metal alloying are reconstructed through studies by the Institute of Archaeology (UCL), the French National Centre for Scientific Research, and museum conservation departments at the Louvre.
As a denomination equaling two asses, the dupondius functioned in everyday transactions, paying wages, market purchases, and municipal levies; its role is attested in papyri from Oxyrhynchus, accounts preserved in Herculaneum, and legal texts cited by jurists like Gaius (jurist) and Ulpian. Price edicts, imperial annona distributions, and military provisioning recorded under administrations of Vespasian, Domitian, and Septimius Severus influenced demand for bronze coinage, while coin hoards linked to events such as the Bar Kokhba revolt and the Crisis of the Third Century illuminate shifts in metal usage and regional liquidity. Fiscal policies chronicled by historians like Appian, Cassius Dio, and economic reconstructions by scholars at Princeton University and Yale University analyze the dupondius in the broader monetary system alongside the sestertius and denarius.
Survival rates of dupondii vary by issue, portrait type, and mint, with rarities prized by collectors and institutions such as the British Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Hermitage Museum, and private numismatic firms like Classical Numismatic Group. Auction records from houses including Sotheby's, Christie's, and specialist sales catalogued by Baldwin's document price trends, provenance chains involving collections of Heinrich von Sybel and Lord Elgin, and repatriation debates engaged by stakeholders such as the ICOM and national heritage agencies. Contemporary scholarship published in journals like Numismatics (American Numismatic Society), Revue Numismatique, and proceedings of conferences at the British School at Rome continues to reassess attribution, hoard contexts, and conservation methods developed by curators and scientists at institutions including the Natural History Museum, London and the Getty Conservation Institute.
Category:Roman coins