The Imperial Eastern Bronze Coinage of CA/AVGVSTVS, SC, OB CIVIS SERVATOS Types Issued under Augustus. Chronology and Political, Economic, Propaganda Contexts / Wschodni cesarski pieniądz brązowy typu CA/AVGVSTVS, SC, OB. CIVIS SERVATOS za panowania Augusta. Chronologia oraz konteksty polityczny, gospodarczy i propagandowy

Abstract

For over a century, Roman eastern bronze coins of the types CA/AVGVSTVS, SC and OB CIVIS SERVATOS, issued under emperor Augustus, have been the subject of numerous papers and studies which have led to divergent conclusions regarding their chronology, provenance, and function. While the main topic of this paper is their chronology, accurately establishing this entails the need for multi-faceted research encompassing historical data, art, archaeological artefacts, as well as insights into economy and geostrategy. This allows us to see how much that coinage reflects changes in the various aspects of the reality of the time, connected with the instauration of a new political system, namely the principate. Changes in legends, propaganda content and style of performance of imperial busts on the coins compared to the full-bodied portraiture testify not only to the solidification of Augustus’s power, but also reflect current events of that time, propaganda drives, and the role of the army in the economy. They also reveal to some extent how the state administration was organized. The objective of the present paper is to review and analyse the material available and to provide a fresh outlook on the question, corroborating the existing conclusions and hypotheses or proposing new ones, wherever these appear more probable and are more convincingly substantiated.