TRAJAN DECIUS : THE DIVI SERIES

[Qcumbor]

Hi there,

After CT has been down for several days it looks like some of our contributions there might well disappear in a whim for some reason. The following has been one of of the most informative threads I have initiated myself (I'm not a great writer 🙂), hence I would like it to remain available for others to read

As some of you may already know, I’ve been on the process of assembling the series of antoniniani struck by Trajan Decius in honor of the « good emperors » of the past, also called « the Divi series », for some years now. On the occasion of the arrival of the 21st of them out of 22 in my trays (in 2017), I thought it might be entertaining and educationnal to our community to write something on the subject. The following is a translation of an article I wrote 12 years ago for a french numismatic review. Thank you so much to @TIF for reading it and pointing out big mistakes or when my words have failed to express my thoughts and have the whole un- or mis-understandable (I sometimes feel translating from french into english more difficult than writing in english from the begining because I would then use a more basic level of language). All the coins illustrated are from my personnal collection.

Anyway, here’s the coin :

 

Augustus, Antoninianus - Rome mint, 250/251 CE
DIVO AVGVSTO radiate head right
CONSECRATIO Eagle facing with spred wings and head left
3.10 gr
Ref : RIC IV # 77, Cohen # 577, RCV # 9458
reference of dies in qblay's catalog : AU27/A045
Ex Gemini XIII auction, #291

 

CAIVS MESSIVS QVINTVS DECIVS, as the admirer of the emperor Trajan he was (talented general and respected emperor from the 2nd century CE during the reign of whom the Empire experienced its greatest expansion), took the name of TRAJAN DECIUS at his accession to the throne. His short reign, from September 249 CE to June or July 251 CE is known for a revival of conservative values : attempts to reunify the empire to prevent from barbaric invasions, restoration of the prestige of Rome and religious traditions, foundation of a new dynasty. In such a context, the decision to honor the “good” emperors from a glorious past makes sense. However, the attribution of the Divi series to Trajan Decius and when, why, and where they were minted have for long been controversial.

 

TRAJAN DECIUS

 

Decius would be born in 201 CE not far from Sirmium, Pannonia (today Mitrovica, Serbia) in a family from the Senatorial Order. Before his accession to power his cursus isn’t known with certainty. Some historians say he might have been governor in Moesia Inferior under Severus Alexander and governor in Hispania Citerior under Maximinus Thrax. Around 245 CE Philip the Arab named him Praefectus Urbi, among the highest position a member of the Senatorial Order could pretend to.

At this time Philip the Arab had to face invasions and rebellions in several parts of the Empire, in particular usurpations by Jotapian in Cappadocia and Pacatian in the Danube area. Although these ended in being minor events, the usurpers being shortly defeated, Philip found himself unsettled enough that he decided to entrust to Decius the command of an army with mission to restoring order in the provinces of Danube and repelling Goths invaders.

On the occasion of this expedition, after the assassination of Pacatian, the troops of the Danube region acclaimed Decius, who found himself in the uncomfortable position of having to accept the Imperial Purple (under the risk of being killed by his men should he refuse to), while assuring Philip of his loyalty. The confrontation with Philip becoming inevitable, it took place near Verona, and turned to the advantage of Decius. Meanwhile, Philip II, son and co-emperor with Philip the Arab, was being killed in Rome.

 

Philippus I, Sestertius Rome mint, 248 CE
IMP M IVL PHILIPPVS AVG, Draped and laureate bust of Philippus right
P M TRP V COS III PP, Felicitas standing left, holding cornucopiae and caduceus
18.71 gr
Ref : Cohen #149, RCV #9008

 

Philippus II, Sestertius - Rome mint, ca  245/246 CE, 5th emission, 3rd officina
M IVL PHILIPPVS CAES, draped bust of Philippus right, seen from behind
PRINCIPI I VVENT, Philippus II standing left, leaning on spear and holding globe
20.1 gr
Ref : RCV # 9249, Cohen # 49, RIC # 256a

 

Back to Rome, and once his power has been endorsed by the senate, Decius developed a whole system, back to conservative values :

- The imperial cult, from optional became mandatory. The most visible and well-known consequence from a contemporary reading of history was the persecution of Christians.
- Attempt to found a new dynasty, as the Antonines or the Severans, by quickly associating his two sons to power.
- Emphasizing the values of the first century CE such as Pudicitia (modesty) or Pietas (piety).
- Restoration of the central authority of Rome over the provinces of the Empire, in the first rank of which is Dacia, where the Emperor had been able to assert himself.

All these elements are found on the coins of the reign : reverses extolling the values of a glorious past, victories over the Dacians, but also abundant emissions with the effigy of the Empress and her children.

 

Trajan Decius, Antoninianus Rome mint, 250-251 CE
IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind
DACIA, Dacia standing left holding a standard surmounted by an ass's head
3.52 gr - 20/23 mm
Ref : RCV # 9368, RSC # 16, RIC IV-3 # 12b

 

Herennia Etruscilla, Antoninianus Rome mint, 250-251 CE
HER ETRVSCILLA AVG, diademed bust right, with hair ridged in waves
PVDICITIA AVG, Pudicitia standing left holding transverse sceptre and drawing veil from her face
3.78 gr, 21 mm
Ref : RIV IV # 58b, Cohen # 17, RCV # 9494

 

Herennius Etruscus, Antoninianus Rome mint, 250-251 CE
Q HER ETR MES DECIVS NOB C, Radiate bust of Herennius right
PIETAS AVGVSTORVM, Sacrificial implements
4.45 gr
Ref : RIC # 143, Cohen #14, RCV #9521

 

Hostilian, Antoninianus Rome mint, 251 CE. Issued as Caesar with Trajan Decius
C VALENS HOSTIL MES QUINTVS N C, radiate and draped bust right
MARTI PROPUGNATORI, Mars advancing right, holding spear and shield
2.74 gr
Ref : RCV # 9556, Cohen # 15, RIC # 177b

 

The reign has also been marked by a number of originalities in the numismatic field. While the antoninian was experiencing a slow degradation of its silver content, bronze coins became more and more expensive to manufacture so production fell. The lack of low value coins was felt in daily life. Trajan Decius then introduced a new denomination, the double sestertius, and reintroduced the bronze semis, in an attempt to restore legitimacy to this metal.

 

Trajan Decius, Semis Rome mint, CE 249-250
IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG Laureate and draped bust right
Mars standing left, holding spear and shield. S|C in field
19 mm, 4,71 gr
Ref : RIC # 128, Cohen # 102

Decius and his son Herennius Etruscus perished in June or July 251 CE at the Battle of Abrittus, during an offensive against the Goths led by Cniva.

 

THE DIVI SERIES

The series is solely composed of antoninians.The antoninian had been created in 215 CE on the occasion of Caracalla‘s monetary reform. It’s characterized by a radiate portrait of the Emperor, or the presence of a crescent under the bust in the case of an Empress. Its value is of two denarii, for a silver content of one and a half times that of the denarius at the origin.

 

Caracalla, Antoninianus Rome mint, 216 CE
ANTONINVS PIVS AVG GERM, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust of Caracalla right, seen from behind
VENVS VICTRIX, Victory standing left, holding helmet and sceptre, resting on shield set on a captive, another captive at her feet
4.87 gr
Ref : RCV # 6785, RIC # 312c, RSC # 612b

 

The antoninian quickly became the most widespread currency, gradually clearing the other denominations. After the reign of Gordian III, the denarius is only occasionally issued and, as we have seen above, bronze is scarcer due to its production cost too high in comparison to its intrinsic value.

Eleven emperors were honored through the series : Augustus, Vespasian, Titus, Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, Septimius Severus and Severus Alexander. Historians have often considered the presence of Commodus in the series to be intrusive, but we must not forget that Septimus Severus himself, while claiming a connection with Marcus Aurelius, had asked in 197 for the consecration of Commodus despite his damnatio memoriæ. On the other hand, neither Claudius nor Tiberius, who are today considered as "good" emperors, are on the list. It is always difficult to judge of the view taken on the events of a distant past with a modern eye.

Obverses of the coins are stereotyped, most often showing a radiate head the Emperor to the right. On some you can find an obverse bust with the paludamentum on left shoulder. It’s the case for Trajan (half of the obverse dies), Commodus (the sole # CO29 die in Joaquim Blay’s database) and for Alexander Severus (the majority of the obverse dies). Exceptionally one can find a radiate bust, draped and cuirassed to the right (one die depicted and illustrated for Titus (# TI02 in Joaquim Blay's database). The legend is short and to the dative, e.g. DIVO SEVERO (To the Divine Severus) for Septimius Severus.

 

Septimius Severus, Antoninianus Rome mint, 250-251 CE
DIVO SEVERO, Radiate head right
CONSECRATIO Large altar
4.02 gr
Ref : RIC IV # 96, Cohen # 800, RCV # 9483
in qblay's catalog : SE02/P267

 

Two types of reverses exist for each of the eleven emperors : about 2/3 of the specimens show a funeral altar while 1/3 have an eagle with spread wings. The only legend is CONSECRATIO.

In 250-251 CE, the only denomination commonly struck being the antoninian, it was not possible to reproduce in the same way coins with a laurel portrait, which would then have had to be denarii. But the radiate portrait having previously been associated with the consecration of the deceased emperors from the early Empire, the solution was to combine both : strike antoninians which, by their radiate crown, would pay homage to deified emperors.

All types are not seen in the same proportions. Some of the Emperors are very common in the series : Trajan, and it’s obviously not a surprise given the admiration his distant successor had for him ; But also Severus Alexander and even more Antoninus Pius. On the other hand, Nerva, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius and Septimius Severus are scarcer. The question has arisen whether this difference was from the begining, by a different production in quantity, or acquired, by a gradual withdrawal of certain types more than others through History. The parallel study of the number of surviving specimens vs the number of dies used leads in the direction of the first hypothesis.

 

Titus, Antoninianus Rome mint, 250-251 CE
DIVO TITO Radiate head right
CONSECRATIO Large altar
3.60 gr
Ref : RIC IV # 81b, Cohen # 405, RCV # 9465
in qblay's catalog : TI08/P015

 

Nerva, Antoninianus Rome mint, 250-251 CE
DIVO NERVE (sic !) Radiate head right
CONSECRATIO Eagle facing
4.45 gr
Ref : RIC IV # 83b, Cohen # 152, RCV # 9467
in qblay's catalog : NE06/A052
See G&M auction # 170/2123, same dies

 

Trajan, Antoninianus Rome mint, 250-251 CE
DIVO TRAIANO Radiate head right, wearing light drapery on left shoulder
CONSECRATIO Eagle facing
3.12 gr
Ref : RIC IV # 85a, Cohen # 666, RCV # 9470
in qblay's catalog : TR16/A147

 

Marcus Aurelius, Antoninianus Rome mint, 250-251 CE
DIVO MARCO ANTONINO, Radiate head of Macus Aurelius right
CONSECRATIO, Eagle facing, wings open
3.34 gr
Ref : RIC IV # 91b, RCV # 9477, Cohen # 1057
in qblays catalog : MA19/A018

 

Commodus, Antoninianus Rome mint, 250-251 CE
DIVO COMMODO Radiate head right
CONSECRATIO Eagle facing, head left
3.17 gr
Ref : RIC IV # 93, Cohen #1009, RCV #9480
in qblay's catalog : CO01/A023

 

THE ISSUING AUTHORITY

Restoration programs usually copied the original type while adding elements identifying the Emperor who had them issued. That is not the case with these coins, there is no mention of Trajan Decius, so how do we know which emperor issued them?

For a long time, scholars, if they clearly situated these emissions in the middle of the third century, varied them in time, from the reign of Philip the Arab to that of Gallienus. The sumptuous celebrations of the Millennium of Rome in 248 CE under Philip, were the occasion of special monetary issues such as the "Saeculares" series and great was the temptation to associate there the tribute paid to the previous "good" emperors.

A more technical approach consisted, for a certain period of time, in comparing the weight of specimens from these emissions with that of different emperors of that time productions.
Joaquim Blay, in his corpus dedicated to the subject, studied more than 1000 examples of the Divi series, the weight of 600 of them being known. The average weight is 3.78 grams and has not changed after the 400th, assuming it’s the actual average weight of the entire series.

It is also known that weight and fineness of the antoninian went on decreasing throughout the third century, especially around 250 CE. Kenneth Harl works, quoted by Richard Beale, report an average weight of 4.12 grams for the antoninian under Philip the Arab with a silver content of 47.07%, 3.97 grams and 41.12% under Trajan Decius, 3.46 grams and 35.94% under Trebonian Gallus.

Admitting a certain continuity in the lowering of weight and silver content in these emissions, these elements will encourage us to situate the minting of the series during the reign of Trajan Decius.

But we must be careful not to conclude too hastily, for if we consider that in the preceding periods restoration coins were made via massive restrikes (see Titus programs in homage to Galba or those of Trajan for the Roman republic, for example), it’s necessary to take into account the presence of old specimens, at different weights and fineness, overstruck as antoninians in these emissions. These facts are attested by the presence in the Dorchester hoard of an antoninian honoring Augustus (DIVO AVGVSTO), still showing parts of the legend of a Caracalla denarius. Curtis Clay, for his part, reports in his own collection a specimen for Nerva, which also contains fragments of legend on the obverse as well as on the reverse that allow to attribute the undertype to Caracalla.

Moreover, the massive restrikes of 251 CE evidently began during the life of Trajan Decius. They were motivated by the urgent need for cash to meet the considerable expenses incurred by the war against the Goths on the Danube. Still in the Dorchester hoard are 24 coins showing identifiable traces of overstrike, among which 20 are coins of Decius, Etruscilla or their children as Caesars.

The study of treasures can help us to date more accurately this coinage. The Plevna hoard, in particular, contains no coin of the late Decius’ rule, nor of the other members of his family, causing to estimate the date of its burying at the beginning of 251 CE, probably in January (Curtis Clay). This treasure contains two coins of the DIVI series. On the other hand, the British Museum houses a DIVO VESPASIANO / VICTORIA AVG hybrid, the reverse type of which with Victory walking left can only be attributed to the beginning of Trajan Decius’ reign, the legend ending in AVG, excluding a joint reign, which would have imposed the "plural" AVGG (Curtis Clay).

However, the study of later treasures (Dorchester, Clamerey, Smederevo, Gibraltar) finds a somewhat larger proportion of these coins, leading to the conclusion of strikes being continued after the death of Trajan Decius, spilling over the reigns of Trebonian Gallus and his son Volusian. The presence of Divi / Trebonian or Divi / Volusian hybrids featuring a IVNONI MARTIALI reverse is further evidence of this if needed.

The place of issue of the DIVI series has long been attributed to the Milan mint. Nowadays, thanks to the die links study, which connect them with coins undoubtedly struck at Rome, everybody agrees to have them coming from this last mint. So many die links between antoniniani struck for different emperors reinforce the idea of a unique place of striking : the same reverse die is frequently associated with the obverse die of two emperors at least (sometimes up to four), a given obverse die may be associated with both an eagle or an altar (see the two DIVO SEVERO below sharing the same obverse die # AL26 in Joaquim Blay database). Jérôme Mairat pleads for a distribution in six workshops, the first being supposed to strike in the name of Trajan and the other five spreading out the rest of the emperors honored two by two. However, the comprehensive study of the die links tree established by Joaquim Blay reveals so many reverse dies associated with two or more different emperor obverses that more likely a single striking place was used.

 

Severus Alexander, Antoninianus Rome mint,  250-251 CE
DIVO ALEXANDRO Radiate head right
CONSECRATIO Large altar
3.84 gr
Ref : RIC IV # 98, Cohen # 598, RCV # 9485
in qblay's catalog : AL26/P149

 

Severus Alexander, Antoninianus Rome mint, 250-251 CE
DIVO ALEXANDRO Radiate head right
CONSECRATIO Eagle facing
3.38 gr
Ref : RIC IV # 97, Cohen # 599, RCV # 9484
in qblay's catalog : AL26/A146

 

CONCLUSION

By the time of a short reign lasting less than two years, Trajan Decius knew how to use the medium that is coinage in original ways, from the political point of view, with the propaganda of ideas and values which he intended to exalt, economical by the innovations introduced into the monetary system, or even historical by associating his name with the homage paid to the great emperors of the two preceding centuries.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1 - Blay Detrell J., “DIVI SERIES”, Una Emisión Conmemorativa de Antoninianos de Restitución del Siglo III d.C. Gaceta Numismática 165, Barcelona, 2007, pp.69-82.
2 - Mattingly H., Sydenham E. A. and coll., Roman Imperial Coinage Vol. IV. Part 3, London, 1923-1994.
3 - Mattingly H., The Great Dorchester Hoard, Numismatic Chronicle, 1939.
4 - Mattingly H., Salisbury F.S., A Find of Roman Coins from Plevna, Numismatic Chronicle, 1924.
5 - Mattingly, H., The coins of the "DIVI", issued by Trajan Decius, p-p 75-82, Numismatic Chronicle, 1949
6 - Elks K.J.J., Reattribution of the Milan Coins of Trajan Decius to the Rome Mint, Numismatic Chronicle, 1972
7 - Cohen H., Description historique des monnaies frappées sous l’Empire romain, Seconde édition. Paris, 1880-1892.
8 - Giard J-B., Le trésor de Clamerey. Trésors monétaires, T. 2, 1980.
9 - Harl K. W., Coinage in the Roman Economy 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins UP, 1996.
10 - Estiot S., Le troisième siècle et la monnaie: crise et mutations, in Le IIIe siècle en Gaule Narbonnaise, données régionales sur la crise de l'Empire, Antibes, 1996.
11 - Sear D., Roman coins and their values, Vol III. Spink 2005
12 – Mairat J., Prieur M., Schmitt L., Rome IX, Editions les Chevau-légers, 2001. Available on line : www.cgb.fr/monnaies/rome/r09/index.html
13 – Zosso F., Zingg C., Les Empereurs romains 27 av. J.-C. - 476 apr. J.-C., Editions Errance, 1994

ON LINE RESOURCES

14 – The most important work dedicated to the Divi series available online is that of Joaquim Blay : https://www.qblay.com/DiviSeries/English/0-DiviSeries.html
15 – Also of interest is a long thread at Forvm Ancient Coins where Joaquim Blay, Curtis Clay, Richard Beale and many others have had the opportunity of presenting their views on the subject : http://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=22464.0
16–Beale R., Roman Imperial Coins of 249-253 « four bad years » : http://sonic.net/~marius1/mysite/DIVI%20Series.htm

And for those who would like to see my whole Trajan Decius collection you can visit my gallery at CollecOnline

 

ADDENDA

After I had written all this in 2017, two events occured : first, I was able to complete the series with a very rare example of Marcus Aurelius with altar reverse

 

Marcus Aurelius, Antoninianus Rome mint, 250-251 CE
D MARCO ANTONINO, Radiate head of Marcus Aurelius right
CONSECRATIO, Altar
23 mm - 3.84 gr
Ref : RIC IV # 92a, Cohen # 1058
In qblays catalog : MA08-P114
Same dies as the example in the Bibliotheque nationale de France

 

The second event, much more upsetting was when someone spotted a pressed fake in the series, more precisely the Hadrian/eagle. You can read more about this on the Forvm Ancient Coins thread  explaning this. 

The problem is my series is no more complete now 😞 

 

For those who have been reading the entire post, thank you so much.

Please feel free to add everything you might find relevant (or irrelevant as well), comments are of course welcome

Enjoy the rest of the day

Q

Edited August 6 by Qcumbor

[expat]

Fantastic essay @Qcumbor and very informative. Thoroughly enjoyed that, thank you.

antoninian of his wife

Herrenia Etruscilla, wife of Trajan Decius. 249-251 AD.
AR Antoninianus
Obverse: HER ETRVSCILLA AVG. Diademed and draped bust right on crescent.
Reverse: PVDICITIA AVG. Pudicitia seated left holding sceptre and drawing veil from her face.
RIC IV 59b. Hunter 5; RSC 19
 Rome mint, A.D. 250.  3,8 g – 20,5 mm

and a provincial of the man himself

RPC Volume: IX №: 1701
Reign: Trajan Decius Persons: Trajan Decius (Augustus)
City: Antioch  Region: Syria Province: Syria Coele
Denomination: Tetradrachm Average weight: 11.69 g. Issue: Group 3, officina 2
Obverse: ΑΥΤ Κ Γ ΜΕ ΚΥ ΤΡΑΙΑΝΟϹ ΔΕΚΙΟϹ ϹΕΒ; laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Decius, right, seen from rear; below bust: •• (Officina 2)
Reverse: ΔΗΜΑΡΧ ΕΞΟΥϹΙΑϹ, S C; eagle standing on palm, left, spreading wings, holding wreath in beak
Reference: Prieur 578, McAlee 1126b.

26mm, 11.48g.

[The Ant Man]

Thank you! This is one of the topics I loved the most at CoinTalk.

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

It's a nice article, with some admirable coins.

Sadly I have 0 of this series and not many seem to be on vcoins, at least not with the search terms DIVO Antoninianus.

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

@Qcumbor what a great article. It seems very few of the divi series ever come on the market so likely you are kilometers ahead of any present day collectors. 

[Curtisimo]

This is one of my favorite articles and one of the most impressive sub-collections I’ve seen. Truly fantastic @Qcumbor. Thanks for taking the time to post it again!