AIA-4C: The Development of Roman Colonial Coinages from the Middle Republic to the First Century CE (Colloquium)

Organizers

Robyn Le Blanc, UNC Greensboro; and Melissa Ludke, Florida State University

Discussants

Amy Coles, Illinois Wesleyan University

Through a combination of case studies focused on individual cities or regions and papers assessing larger chronological developments, this panel considers the coins of colonies of the middle to late republic and early principate (roughly third century B.C.E.–first century C.E.) in order to explore the development of a concept of colonial coins, their imagery, and their function. Aulus Gellius famously proclaimed that Roman colonies seemed to be miniatures or copies of the imperial capital (quasi effigies parvae simulacraque; NA. 16.13.9). This view has often been used to interpret colonial coinages as an attempt to assert a special connection to Rome through the adoption and emulation of typically Roman symbols. Less frequently considered is the development of colonial coinages as a distinct numismatic trend and the mechanisms governing the adoption of specific imagery in the early years of colonial issues. The coins of middle republican colonies, which engaged in different types of numismatic positioning than later colonies, have also been typically left out of the larger conversations about the manifestation and function of colonial coins.

The panel’s ten-minute introductory paper provides a framework for the study of colonial coinages, focused on establishing key concepts and questions. The substantive papers are then organized chronologically. “Cosa et Paestum?: A Cross-colonial Coinage Comparison,” suggests that, as sister colonies, Paestum’s long tradition of minting coinage may have inspired certain iconographic decisions for the new colony of Cosa driven by potential familial agendas and connections between the two cities. Considering a similar time frame, “The Earliest Roman Colonial Coinages: Dialogues with Rome” explores the relationship between the coins of Roman colonies and the imperial capital. The next paper, “Colonial Coinages, and the Lack Thereof: Financing Colonial Programs outside Italy (ca.140–70 B.C.E.)” uses coin circulation patterns to investigate the interplay between colonial and noncolonial coinages circulating contemporaneously. “Roman Colonial Types in the First Centuries B.C.E./C.E.: A Reappraisal” explores the development of so-called typical colonial motifs, and considering how and why these early motifs became popular. The panel’s fifth paper, “Noncanonical Design of a ‘Foundation Scene’ Depicted on Coins from an Uncertain Cilician Colony” uses a case study to demonstrate how colonial motifs were adapted to suit local purposes. This paper will be followed by a discussant, who will contextualize these papers within the study of Roman colonies and reinforce how the panel contributes to new dialogues surrounding the development of colonial coinages.