Bronze As of Augustus RIC 15a

Bronze AS (27mm 10.44g) Struck 25-23 B.C. Emerita mint

Obv: CAESAR AVG TRIB POTEST Barehead right

Rev: P CARISIVS - LEG - AVGVSTI in three lines

RIC I 15a (pg. 42); BMCRE 298 (pg. 54) Sear 1675
ex. Harry Stewart Collection

1. The Front (Obverse): CAESAR AVG TRIB POTEST

The obverse features the bare head of Augustus with the text denoting his title: Caesar Augustus, holding Tribunician Power.

The Context: In 27 B.C., Octavian was granted the title "Augustus" by the Senate, marking the official end of the Roman Republic and the birth of the Empire. However, between 25 and 23 B.C. (exactly when this coin was struck), Augustus fell dangerously, near-fatally ill. Believing he might die, he underwent a massive political realignment in 23 B.C. He stepped down from holding the office of Consul every year and instead took on Tribunicia Potestas (Tribunician Power) as his primary claim to legal authority. This coin is one of the earliest provincial issues to loudly advertise that specific political shift.

2. The Back (Reverse): P CARISIVS LEG AVGVSTI

The back of the coin features three lines of text naming the man who actually minted it: Publius Carisius, Legatus (Propraetor) of Augustus.

The Context: Publius Carisius was a ruthless and brilliant military commander. Augustus had sent him to Hispania (Spain) to deal with the Cantabrian Wars (29–19 B.C.). The Cantabri and Astures tribes in northern Spain were fierce, fiercely independent mountain peoples who refused to submit to Rome.

The war was so brutal and exhausting that Augustus actually traveled to Spain to lead the legions himself in 26–25 B.C., but when he fell ill, he left Carisius in charge to finish the job. Carisius used terrifyingly efficient siege tactics to break the tribes, famously forcing the defenders of the stronghold of Lancia to surrender before they could burn it down.

3. The Mint: Augusta Emerita (Mérida, Spain)

Carisius struck this coin at a brand-new, purpose-built mint in the colony of Augusta Emerita, which he founded in 25 B.C. on Augustus's orders.

The Context: When the heaviest fighting of the Spanish campaigns wrapped up around 25 B.C., Rome faced a massive problem: they had tens of thousands of battle-hardened veterans from the Legio V Alaudae and Legio X Gemina who were ready to retire. Hungry, unpaid, and unoccupied veterans were dangerous—they had a habit of starting civil wars.

To keep them happy, Augustus had Carisius build a grand retirement colony in western Spain. The city was populated entirely by these retired Roman soldiers, or emeriti (hence the name Emerita). This coin was struck right there in the colony to serve as the local currency for these veterans, functioning both as their pocket money and as a piece of propaganda celebrating their victory over the Spanish tribes.