A Note on the Coin Type Selection by the a rationibus ( 1 )

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1 A Note on the Coin Type Selection by the a rationibus ( 1 ) It seems clear that the Roman imperial court sent out messages proclaiming the imperial ideology. Though there is little discussion that the messages came from the imperial center, there is an enormous discussion who actually selected these imperial messages. No central office or imperial officer seems to have had full responsibility over the selection of the imperial messages that were sent by several kinds of imperial media such as inscriptions, art, architecture, and many more ( 2 ). This article would like to look at one medium, imperial coinage, and will argue that it is possible to suggest that an officer with substantial influence could at least have influenced the selection of coin types. Imperial coinage was one flexible tool to propagate imperial ideology. Although, of course, these coin messages were part of the general lines of imperial ideology, they could differ at least in some aspects of messages broadcast on other media ( 3 ). It is therefore not surprising that previously, many authors have debated on the possible imperial officer entrusted with the selection task of the coin types ( 4 ). Among the most suggested candidates are the triumuiri monetales, the a rationibus and (1) The stimulus of this article came from Prof. dr. CARLOS NOREÑA (University of California, Berkeley) who was my mentor during my research visit to the University of California. I am grateful to him for his encouragement and criticism. This article has been greatly improved by the critical comments of Prof. dr. Olivier J. HEKSTER (Radboud University Nijmegen) and Prof. dr. Fleur KEMMERS (Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main) and Prof. dr. Johan VAN HEESCH (Bibliothèque royal de Belgique), who kindly read earlier versions of this article. Many thanks to Leen VAN BROECK for correcting my English. Shortcomings remain my own. (2) C. ANDO, Imperial Ideology and Provincial Loyalty in the Roman Empire, Berkeley / Los Angeles / London, 2000 ; G. WEBER / M. ZIMMERMANN (eds.), Propaganda Selbstdarstellung Repräsentation im Römischen Kaiserreich des 1. Jhs. n. Chr., Stuttgart, 2003 ; O. J. HEKSTER, Imagining Power : Reality Gaps in the Roman Empire in Babesch 86, 2011, p (3) E. MANDERS, Coining Images of power. Patterns in the Representation of Roman Emperors on Imperial Coinage, A.D , Leiden / Boston, 2012 ; C. F. N ORÑA, Imperial Ideals in the Roman West. Representation, Circulation, Power, Cambridge, 2011, p ; O. J. HEKSTER et al., Nero s Ancestry and the Construction of Imperial Ideology in the Early Empire : a Methodological Case Survey in Journal of Roman Studies, forthcoming. (4) C. F. N OREÑA, The Communication of the Emperor s Virtues in Journal of Roman Studies 91, 2001, p ; R. P. DUNCAN-JONES, Implications of Roman Coinage : Latomus 73, 2014

2 164 L. CLAES the procurator monetae ( 5 ). All these officers were involved with imperial finances or imperial coinage ; however, no source has survived that attributed the responsibility for coin type selection directly to one of these men ( 6 ). Sometimes, other indirect sources, like career inscriptions or the coinage itself, can be helpful to find the responsible for the coin type selection under the Roman emperors. The proposed research procedure to find who was responsible for imperial coin type selection is to try to detect significant changes in the legends and designs of coins issued during the reign of a particular emperor, and secondly, to link any coin design alteration with internal reorganisations at the imperial court. Again, it is not to say that there was complete freedom for a particular officer to decide what was on the coins, but that within the range of types that were broadcast during the reign of an emperor substantial shifts can be linked to one officer : the a rationibus. To clarify, this article will elaborate two case studies. Through the analysis of these cases, this article aims to contribute to the discussion of coin type selection. Firstly, the earlier coinage of Nero gives a perfect example of an alteration in coin design output. From Nero s accession to the imperial throne in October AD Debates and Differences in Klio 87, 2, 2005, p ; F. KEMMERS, Not at Random. Evidence for a Regionalised Coin Supply in J. BRUN / B. CROXFORD / d. GRÍGOROPOULOS (eds.), TRAC 2004, Oxford, 2006, p ; B. KACZYNSKI / M. NÜSSE, Reverse Type Selection in Sanctuaries? in F. KEMMERS / H.-M. VON KAENEl (eds.), Coins in Context I, Mainz am Rhein, 2009, p ; C. F. NOREÑA, Coins and Communication in M. PEACHIN (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Social Relations in the Roman World, Oxford, 2010, p (5) P. L. STRACK, Untersuchungen zur römischen Reichsprägung des zweiten Jahrhunderts, Stuttgart, 1931, Vol. 1, p. 7 ; l. VOELKEL, The Selection of Coin Types during the Reign of the Emperor Domitian in Studies presented to David Moore Robinson on his Seventieth Birthday 2, Washington, 1953, p ; C. H. V. SUTHERLAND, The Intelligibility of Roman Imperial Coin Types in JRS 49, 1959, p ; B. L EVICK, Propaganda and the Imperial Image in Antichthon 16, 1982, p ; C. EHRHARDT, Roman Coin Types and the Roman Public in Jahrbuch für Numismatik und Geldgeschichte 39, 1984, p ; C.H.V. SUTHERLAND, Compliment or Complement? Dr. Levick on Imperial Coin Types in Numismatic Chronicle 146, 1986, p ; M. PEACHIN, The Procurator Monetae in Numismatic Chronicle 146, 1986, p ; A. CHEUNG, The Political Significance of Roman Imperial Coin Types in Schweizer Münzblätter 48, 1998, p ; B. L EVICK, Messages on the Roman Coinage : Types and Inscriptions in G. M. PAUL / M. IERARDI (eds.), Roman Coins and Public Life under the Empire. E. Togo Salmon Papers II, Ann Arbor, 1999, ; R. WOLTERS, Nummi Signati. Untersuchungen zur römischen Münzprägung und Geldwirtschaft, München, 1999, p ; ; B. W OYTEK, Reichspragung des Kaisers Traianus (98-117), New York, 2010, (6) In his consolation poem addressed to Claudius Etruscus, the poet P. Papinius Statius alludes to the duties of the a rationibus during the Flavian house determining total mint output (Siluae 3, 3, ). Saying only that he was responsible for deciding how many coins were to be produced in each metal.

3 A NOTE ON THE COIN TYPE SELECTION BY THE A RATIONIBUS until AD 55 Nero s coin legends always read NERO CLAVDIVS DIVI F CAESAR AVGVSTVS (GERMANICVS), a nomenclature that is repeated again only once in AD 56 on a rare gold quinarius type ( 7 ). Thereafter, Nero s legends dropped the nomen Claudius ( 8 ) and the kinship phrase diui filius, whereupon no nomen referred any longer to his filiation with his adoptive father and predecessor Claudius, to whom Nero owed his imperial succession ( 9 ). Likewise, the coin designs issued between October AD 54 and December AD 55 referred either to Nero s mother Agrippina Minor or to Claudius. On five types, Nero s obverse portrait was flanked by that of his mother, a portrayal which was unprecedented on Roman imperial coinage ( 10 ). On two of these types, the reverse referred to the pompa circensis for the deified Claudius ( 11 ). Two other types were issued in honour of diuus Claudius himself ( 12 ). All of these designs thus suggest that Nero initially relied on his imperial filiation to legitimate his imperial position ( 13 ). After AD 55, Nero s coin types started to lack any reference to his ancestral background. Even the Julio-Claudian physiognomic features of the young Nero started to change into a more realistic portrait style ( 14 ). One single new type was introduced, displaying Nero s (7) RIC I² Nero 1-7. The gold quinarius issued between December AD 55 and December AD 56 is RIC I² Nero 10. (8) After Nero s coinage reform in AD 64 his coin legend added once more the nomen Claudius until AD 66 when it was again omitted. (9) For Nero s adoption by Claudius and his succession, see M. GRIFFIN, Nero. The End of Dynasty, London, 1984, p ; B. L EVICK, Claudius, London / New Haven, 1990, p ; C. B. ROSE, Dynastic Commemoration and Imperial Portraiture in the Julian-Claudian Period, Cambridge, 1997, p. 42. (10) On the obverses of RIC I² Nero 1-3, Nero and his mother were portrayed facing each other ; and on RIC I² Nero 6-7 the portraits of Nero and his mother Agrippina were jugate. The paired portraits of Agrippina and Nero seek to imitate the paired coin portraits of the Hellenistic consanguineous kings, queens or sons. The precise degree of Agrippina s power is a topic of debate, see GRIFFIN, Nero [n. 9], p. 37ff ; LEVICK, Claudius [n. 9], p. 67 ; ; L. FOUBERT, Agrippina. Keizerin van Rome, Leuven, 2006, p ; H. I. FLOWER, The Art of Forgetting. Disgrace and Oblivion in Roman Political Culture, Chapel Hill, 2006, p For more about the coins, see SUTHERLAND, Roman History and Coinage 44 BC - AD 69 : Fifty Points of Relation from Julius Caesar to Vespasian, Oxford, 1987, p. 87 ; J. GINSBURG, Representing Agrippina. Constructions of Female Power in the Early Roman Empire, Oxford, 2006, p ; ; L. FOUBERT, Women Going Public, Diss. Radboud University Nijmegen, 2010, p (11) RIC I² Nero 6-7. For more on the pompa circensis, see P. ARENA, The pompa circensis and the domus Augusta (1 st -2 nd c. A.D.). Ritual Dynamics and Religious Change in the Roman Empire in O. J. HEKSTER / S. SCHMIDT-HOFNER / C. WITSCHEL (eds.) Change in the Roman Empire. Proceedings of the Eighth Workshop of the International Network Impact of Empire, Leiden / Boston, 2008, (12) RIC I² Nero 4-5. (13) RIC I² Nero 1-7. (14) Most (art) historians date the appearance of a more realistic portrait style to around AD 59 ; thus, after the murder of Agrippina. See J. FEJFER, Roman Portraits in

4 166 L. CLAES portrait on the obverse with an oak wreath on the reverse ( 15 ). The abrupt stop suggests that the design alteration had been made deliberately by the central powers. Generally, scholars suggest that the sudden disappearance from coins of Nero s parents, and in particular of Agrippina, reflects the latter s decreasing influence at Nero s court ( 16 ). Yet, it was not until AD 57 that Agrippina was driven out from the palace by her son and not until AD 59 that she was murdered ( 17 ). Therefore, Agrippina s absence from the coins and the cessation of family references on Nero s coins seem not directly due to his mother s decreasing power. In AD 55, the young Nero was still occupied with the acceptance of the tasks that belonged to his imperial position, from which one could think that his imperial background would still benefit ( 18 ). However, the former imperial court of Claudius slowly became subject to an internal reorganisation under Nero, during which the latter s advisors Burrus and Seneca became more and more prominent figures ( 19 ). A victim of this court reorganisation was the freedman Pallas, Nero s a rationibus ( 20 ). This officer was the Roman Empire s secretary of finance. Not much is known about the Context, Berlin, 2008, p and E. CHAMPLIN, Nero, Apollo and the Poets in Phoenix 57, 2003, p. 280 : It is only in 59, after the death of Agrippina. that Nero could be said in any way to have affected the flowing locks of an Apollo which so defined him. However, after AD 55, Nero s portrait style changes for the first time. Initially, Nero was styled as a Julio-Claudian boy, whereas his portrait after AD 55 resembles a young man with more realistic features. Cf. E. W. LEACH, The Politics of Self-Presentation : Pliny s Letters and Roman Portrait Sculpture in Classical Antiquity 91, 1990, p ; J. OSGOOD, Claudius Caesar : Image and Power in the Early Roman Empire, Cambridge, 2011, p On Nero s portraiture, see also O. J. HEKSTER, et al., Nero s Ancestry and the Construction of Imperial Ideology in the Early Empire : a Methodological Case Survey, [n. 3]. (15) RIC I² Nero 8 and 9 in AD 56. Each year until AD 61, the type was reissued on gold and silver : RIC I² Nero Cf. C. l. CLAY, Die Münzprägung des Kaisers Nero in Rom und Lugdunum - Teil 1 : Die Edelmetallprägung des Jahre 54 bis 64 n.chr. in Numismatische Zeitschrift 96, 1982, (16) RIC I², p. 135 ; BMCRE I, clxxi-clxxiii ; ROSE, Dynastic Commemoration [n. 9], p ; FLOWER, The Art of Forgetting [n.10], p ; GINSBURG, Representing Agrippina [n. 10], p ; (17) TACITUS, Annals 13, 18, 3-13, 19, 1 ; 14, 1-9 ; SUETONIUS, Nero 34, 1 ; DIO 62, 1314 ; ROSE, Dynastic Commemoration [n. 9], p. 48 ; FOUBERT, Agrippina [n. 10], p (18) In March, he was elected pontifex maximus and at the end of AD 55, he accepted the title pater patriae. (19) TACITUS, Annals 12, 8 ; 12, 69, 1 ; 13, 2, 1 ; 13, 2, 5 ; 13, 6, 3 ; SUETONIUS, Nero 37, 3 ; DIO 61, 4, 1. Cf. LEVICK, Claudius [n. 9], p (20) Through the writings of Josephus, Tacitus, Suetonius and Dio more is known about the life and career of Pallas. In 1952, the scholar S. I. OOST dedicated a whole article to Pallas, which is also used as a basic reference in this article : S. I. OOST, The Career of M. Antonius Pallas in American Journal of Philology 79, 1952, p

5 A NOTE ON THE COIN TYPE SELECTION BY THE A RATIONIBUS 167 exact responsibilities of the officer, but it is assumed that he, as head of the imperial financial administration, was in charge of supervising the accounts of the emperor s revenues from the imperial treasury, in which particular attention was paid to the army funds and the imperial mints ( 21 ). Initially, the office was held by a freedman, but from the reign of Hadrian onwards equestrians assumed total control of the office of the a rationibus after the reputation of freedmen declined due to corruption. In the 4 th century AD, the a rationibus was rendered unnecessary by the comes sacrarum largitionum ( 22 ). Pallas, who had been appointed a rationibus under Claudius, was forced by Nero to resign his office in AD 55 ( 23 ). Why the trusted imperial freedman had to leave is not known. Pallas had been always a loyal and successful servant of the Julio-Claudian family ever since he became the slave of Antonia Minor ( 24 ). Being in his fifties, he could not have been found too old for the job, because the office of a rationibus included no hard physical labour. Tacitus reports that Pallas was dismissed from his imperial position because the emperor was offended by his sullen arrogance ( 25 ). Pallas arrogant attitude might explain his dismissal, yet, more likely, other arguments, such as Pallas status as prominent imperial freedman and his close friendship with Agrippina Minor, were reasons why the freedman had to resign. Nero s tutor Seneca, for example, declared that he wanted to end the influence of freedmen and women at the imperial court, such as Pallas and Agrippina ( 26 ). On the other hand, as Oost has argued, Agrippina s influence over her son began to wane, whereupon Nero, or (21) W. ECK, Die Bedeutung der claudischen Regierungszeit für die administrative Entwicklung. Die Regierungszeit des Kaisers Claudius (41-54 n.chr.) in V. M. STROCKA (ed.), Umbruch oder Episode?, Mainz, 1994, p Cf. STATIUS, Siluae 3, 3, about the office of the a rationibus in Flavian times, but it must hold generally true for the administration of Pallas. Cf. OOST, M. Antonius Pallas [n. 20], p ; P. WEAVER, Familia Caesaris. A Study of the Emperor s Freedmen and Slaves, Cambridge, 1979, p (22) OOST, M. Antonius Pallas [n. 20], p ; WEAVER, Familia Caesaris [n. 21], p ; PEACHIN, The Procurator Monetae [n. 5], p ; ECK, Die Bedeutung der claudischen Regierungszeit [n. 21], p ; WOLTERS, Nummi Signati [n. 5], p ; ; See also R. DELMAIRE, Largesses sacrées et res privata. L aera rium impérial et son administration du IV e au VI e siècle, Rome, 1989, p ; ; (23) TACITUS, Annals 11, 29, 1 ; 12, 1, 1-4 ; 13, 2, 3-4 ; SUETONIUS, Claudius 26, 2 ; OOST, M. Antonius Pallas [n. 20], p. 133 ; WEAVER, Familia Caesaris [n. 21], p (24) Pallas loyalty is clear from the following story. According to the ancient historians it was Pallas who delivered the notorious letter of his patroness Antonia Maior to Tiberius that warned the emperor about Sejanus plotting against him. Antonia s choice for Pallas suggests that he could be trusted. JOSEPHUS, Antiquitates Judaicae 18, 182 ; DIO 65, 14, 1-2. (25) TACITUS, Annals 13, 2, 3-4 about the modum liberti. (26) TACITUS, Annals 13, 4, 2. Cf. PLINY, Epistulae 7, 29 ; 8, 6 who was horrified by the fact that the senate voted to the freedman the insignia of a praetor and a largesse of

6 168 L. CLAES Seneca, chose Pallas as a victim to show Agrippina the dangers of excessive presumption ( 27 ). It seems, therefore, that Pallas removal might have been a consequence of Nero s new court politics. Thus, the newly introduced coin designs of AD 56 could be a consequence of Pallas forced retirement, as the numismatist Cheung mentioned passingly in her article on coin types ( 28 ). As Claudius former influential freedman and Agrippina s confidant, it is feasible that Pallas selected Nero s pro-julio-claudian coin designs in his office as a rationibus until AD 55 ( 29 ). A second case study supports the proposition that the a rationibus selected the imperial coin types. Around the end of AD 82 and the beginning of AD 83, some significant currency reforms were implemented under the supervision of the emperor Domitian. These reforms included a return of the precious metal standards to Augustan levels and there was a brief disappearance of the aes coinage in all denominations ( 30 ). All but one of the reverse types on Domitian s precious metal coins and all reverses on bronzes were abandoned, and, furthermore, new designs were introduced, including Domitian s newly acquired title Germanicus ( 31 ). Before AD 83, Domitian s types were in line with Flavian standard designs, mainly making references to the members of the 15 million sesterces. The influence of Narcissus, another imperial freedman, on Claudius was also great ; see SENECA, Apocolocyntosis Diui Claudii, 13 ; TACITUS, Annals 13, 1, 4 ; DIO 60, 34, 4. Cf. H. MOURITSEN, The Freedman in the Roman World, Cambridge, 2011, p about influential freedmen at the imperial court. (27) OOST, M. Antonius Pallas [n. 20], p. 133 ; LEVICK, Claudius [n. 9], p. 67. (28) CHEUNG, The Political Significance [n. 5], p. 60. Before C.H.V. SUTHERLAND, Compliment or Complement? [n. 5] p hinted that Pallas could have been involved in the type selection, but no further argumentation is given. (29) CHEUNG, The Political Significance [n. 5], p. 60. It is not known whether another a rationibus was appointed immediately. What is certain is that under Nero s reign, a freedman, Phaon, held at a certain point the office of a rationibus. PIR I² P 340 ; CIL III, Cf. For this discussion see C. BRUUN, The Name and Possessions of Nero s Freedman Phaon in Arctos 23, 1989, p ; A. P. GREGORY, A Study in Survival. The Case of the Freedman L. Domitius Phaon in Athenaeum 83, 1995, p ; P. W EAVER, Phaon, Freedman of Nero in Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 151, 2005, p (30) I. CARRADICE, The Banishment of the Father of Claudius Etruscus : Numismatic Evidence in Liverpool Classical Monthly 4, 1979, p. 102 ; Coinage and Finances in the Reign of Domitian, oxford, 1983, p ; 79 ; ; ; ; 142. I. CARRADICE distinguishes the precious metal types of Domitian between AD as the first period of Domitian s precious metal type output ; the production of aes types ceased after AD 82 and did not recommence until two years later. Cf. D. R. WALKER, The Metrology of the Roman Silver Coinage, Oxford, Vol. 1, 1976, ; ; Vol. 3, 1978 ; RIC II² (31) BMCRE II, lxxxv ; xc ; CARRADICE, Coinage and Finances [n. 30], p ; 79 ; ; ; ; 142.

7 A NOTE ON THE COIN TYPE SELECTION BY THE A RATIONIBUS 169 Flavian house, to the emperor s imperial powers and to the goddesses Victoria and Minerva, whereas from AD 83, only Minerva stayed one of the main themes on Domitian s coins ( 32 ). Precisely around this period, Domitian exiled his a rationibus, who had been the head of the Flavian financial administration since Vespasian s accession ( 33 ). Although this man had built up an illustrious career, his full name is not known ; the poets Statius and martial name him as the father of Claudius Etruscus ( 34 ). The reason for the exile of Etruscus Pater, who by then was an old man of more than eighty, is not clear. In his poem, Statius represents Etruscus Pater as a victim of court politics, who was left by Fortuna and who because of his old age may have dissatisfied Domitian ( 35 ). Nevertheless, the offence of Etruscus Pater could not have been very scandalous as his exile was only to Campania, where he enjoyed a safe and financial comfortable retirement together with his two sons ( 36 ). Moreover, after seven years, Etruscus Pater was allowed to come back to Rome ( 37 ). In contrast, Etruscus Pater s subordinate was banished too, but had to leave Italy and thus had to endure a more severe sentence ( 38 ). Weaver suggests that Etruscus Pater s close association and influential relationship with Vespasian and Titus might have displeased Domitian, an argument which is fol- (32) RIC II² Domitian (33) STATIUS, Siluae 3, 3, says Etruscus Pater was 80 at the time of his exile ; Martial mentions Etruscus Pater s death in his 90 th year in his 7 th book, line 40.6, that was published in December AD 92. Statius consolation too referred to Domitian s refusal to celebrate a triumph for his campaign in January AD 93, which confirms that Etruscus Pater died shortly before that date. CARRADICE, The Banishment [n. 30], p. 101 ; WEAVER, Familia Caesaris [n. 21], p. 285 ; RIC II² 243. Cf. F. VOLLMER s edition of Statius Silvae, Leipzig, 1898, p (34) STATIUS, Siluae 1, 5, 65 ; 1.3 ; MARTIAL 6, 83 ; 7, 40. W. ECK, Freigelassene und ihre Nachkommen im römischen Ritterstand in S. DEMOUGIN / H. DEVIJVER / M.-T. RAEPSAET-CHARLIER, L ordre équestre. Histoire d une aristocratie (II e siècle av. J.-C. - III e siècle ap. J.-C.), Rome, 1999, p. 25 ; 28 suggests his personal name was Titus Iulius. (35) STATIUS, Siluae 3, 3, ; tarda situ rebusque exhausta senectus ; Cf. C. E. NEWLANDS, Statius Silvae and the Poetics of Empire, Cambridge / New York, 2002, p and MARTIAL 7, 40 : ille senex Augusta notus in aula. (36) STATIUS, Siluae 3, 3, ; Cf. STATIUS, Siluae 1, 5 on the baths of Claudius Etruscus reflects the wealth of the family. Cf. W EAVER, Familia Caesaris [n. 19], p ; CARRADICE, The Banishment [n. 30], p. 102 ; NEWLANDS, Statius Silvae [n. 35], p (37) STATIUS, Siluae 3, 3, Cf. STATIUS, Siluae 1, 5, 65 and MARTIAL 6, 42. Ancient sources do not tell us whether Etruscus Pater was replaced immediately, but an inscription informs us that Atticus, an imperial freedman, held the office of a rationibus in AD 85. Most likely, he replaced Etruscus Pater in AD 83. CIL x, 6640 = d 3338 ; IGR I, 781 ; BRUZZA, nos. 168 ; ; cf. CIL VI, 8410 ; PIR² a 1336 = C 763. (38) STATIUS, Siluae 3, 3, Cf. CARRADICE, The Banishment [n. 30], p. 102.

8 170 L. CLAES lowed by the literary historian Newlands ( 39 ). Dio mentions that Domitian regarded anyone who had enjoyed his father s or his brother s affection as his enemy, which consequently would include Etruscus Pater ( 40 ). Additionally, the numismatist Carradice suggested that Etruscus Pater was dismissed because he opposed the already discussed currency reforms of Domitian in AD 82/83 ( 41 ). as under Vespasian and Titus the precious metal standard held steady at a very low level, even 5% lower than Nero s standard reduction in AD 64, Carradice argued that it is unlikely that Etruscus Pater was to blame for that maintenance : both Vespasian and Titus needed extra financial revenues, and the whole Flavian house benefitted from the reduced precious metal standard ( 42 ). However, Domitian decided to improve this precious metal standard. So either Etruscus Pater as Domitian s senior financial advisor opposed it for financial or economic reasons (?) or Domitian felt such big reform needed to be administered by younger officials and not by a man in his eighties who was shaped by the conservative financial politics of Domitian s father and brother ( 43 ). Additional to Carradice s suggestions, the coincidence of Domitian s currency reforms and alterations of design with the departure of his a rationibus suggests again that the a rationibus had the overall responsibility of the imperial coinage and that he could be entrusted with the type selection as well. According to literary accounts, both freedmen discussed had a good relationship with their patrons ( 44 ) (the emperors Claudius, Vespasian and Titus, respectively). This makes it even more feasible that these freedmen were entrusted with the selection of the imperial coin designs, though of course in line with the central authorities. The freedman Pallas, for example, enjoyed a special status under Claudius reign. Marcus Antonius Pallas was an emancipated slave of Claudius mother Antonia Minor, who after her death became a freedman at Claudius court ( 45 ). As a supporter of Claudius marriage to Agrippina Minor in AD 49, Pallas became Agrippina s ally and one of Claudius most influential freedmen, entrusted with the emperor s finances ( 46 ). Under Pallas, control of the various accounts was brought under the direction of (39) WEAVER, Familia Caesaris [n. 21], p. 286 ; NEWLANDS, Statius Silvae [n. 35], p P. WEAVER also notes that the careers of Pallas and Etruscus Pater are very similar. (40) DIO 67, 2. (41) CARRADICE, The Banishment [n. 30], p ; Coinage and Finances [n. 30], p (42) SUETONIUS, Vespasian 16 ; Titus 8. (43) SUETONIUS, Domitian 2 ; DIO 67, 2 ; CARRADICE, The Banishment [n. 30], p (44) For more on the imperial freedmen, see WEAVER s sourcebook about the Familia Caesaris [n. 21], 1972 and the recent book of MOURITSEN, The Freedman in the Roman World [n. 26], p (45) JOSEPHUS, Antiquitates Judaicae 18, 182 ; DIO 66, 14, 1-2. (46) TACITUS, Annals 11, 29, 1 ; 12, 1, 1-4 ; SUETONIUS, Claudius 26, 2. The scholiast of Juvenal asserted that Pallas and Agrippina were lovers (Schol. ad Iuuen. 1, 109). Cf.

9 A NOTE ON THE COIN TYPE SELECTION BY THE A RATIONIBUS 171 one general bureau in Rome ( 47 ). As head of the bureau, Pallas supervised the accounts and expenditures of the imperial treasury, but his influence reached further ( 48 ). Tacitus reported that the freedman was consulted by Claudius in the socio-political case of slave marriages with free women ( 49 ) and that he contrived that his brother Felix, also an emancipated slave of Antonia Minor, obtained elevation to equestrian rank and was given a procuratorship of Judaea ( 50 ). In the end, Pallas did his job with such efficiency that Cornelius Scipio proposed before the senate that Pallas should be publicly thanked and the consul suffectus Barea Soranus suggested that a grant of praetorian insignia together with a sum of 15 million sesterces would be conferred upon the freedman ( 51 ). In sum, we could say that Pallas was held in high esteem and that his influence on Claudius was great. Likewise, the freedman Etruscus Pater was influential at the Flavian court. After he left the Julio-Claudian court in Rome under Claudius or Nero ( 52 ), Etruscus Pater held a prominent financial procuratorship in the east, where he OSGOOD, Claudius Caesar [n. 14], p According to TACITUS, Annals 12, 25, 1 ; 65, 4 and 14, 2, 4, their affair started only after Agrippina s marriage to Claudius. (47) Cf. TACITUS, Annals 13, 14, 1 ; O. HIRSCHFELD, Die kaiserlichen Verwaltungs beamten bis auf Diocletian, Berlin, 1905², p. 3-4 ; V. M. SCRAMUZZA, The Emperor Claudius, Cambridge, 1940, p. 122 and p. 271, note 68, minimizes the importance of Pallas in this matter. OOST, M. Antonius Pallas [n. 20], p. 126 remarks that the bureau was not a unified treasury in the sense of storage of funds the emperor s funds were to be found in various fisci scattered over the empire rather this was a bureau of accounts (rationes). (48) ECK, Die Bedeutung der claudischen Regierungszeit [n. 21], p Cf. OOST, M. Antonius Pallas [n. 20], p ; W EAVER, Familia Caesaris [n. 21], p ; MOURITSEN, The Freedman [n. 26], p Around the time Pallas was appointed a rationibus, new coin types were introduced among Claudius coinage, depicting Agrippina, her parents and her son Nero. The types were innovative as no empress, imperial parents-in-law or imperial stepsons were ever represented on the Roman imperial coinage. Of course, the appointment of Pallas as Claudius a rationibus could have happened coincidentally with the introduction of the innovative coin designs. RIC I² Claudius ; ; ; OSGOOD, Claudius Caesar [n. 14], p ; (49) TACITUS, Annals 12, 53, 1-2. Around January AD 52, the senate, on the suggestion of Claudius, voted Pallas marriage recommendation. (50) JOSEPHUS, Antiquitates Judaicae 20, 137 ; TACITUS, Annals 12, 54 ; Book of Acts 24, According to these ancient sources, crime increased in Judaea under Felix corrupt leadership, however, he escaped unpunished due to his brother s influence at court. (51) TACITUS, Annals 12, 53, 2-3 ; 16, 21, 1 ; 23, 1. Cf. OOST, M. Antonius Pallas [n. 20], p who comments that according to roman notions, Pallas reward was out of all proportion to his merits. From some ancient reports, it is clear that several senators knew this too, and commented on that sarcastically. P LINY, Epistulae 7, 29 ; 8, 6 combined with TACITUS, Annals 12, 53 ; Suetonius, Claudius 28 ; SEXTUS AURELIUS VICTOR, Epitome De Caesaribus 4, 9 ; Schol. ad Iuuen. 1, 109. (52) Much of what we know of Etruscus Pater s life comes from a consolation poem Statius wrote for Claudius Etruscus after the death of his father : STATIUS, Siluae 3, 3.

10 172 L. CLAES made his acquaintance with Vespasian and Titus ( 53 ). The freedman must have made a deep impression on Vespasian, as he appointed the old man almost immediately as his a rationibus around AD 70/71 ( 54 ). Not much later, two special honours were bestowed on Etruscus Pater. Firstly, despite his status as freedman, he was granted the privilege of taking part in the Flavian Jewish triumph of AD 71. Secondly, he was raised to the ordo equester around AD 73/74, which was an exceptional honour, and rarely granted by Vespasian. Both honours hint again at the special position Etruscus Pater occupied within the Flavian house ( 55 ). To conclude, the forced retirement of Nero s a rationibus, Pallas, as well as the removal of Domitian s a rationibus, Etruscus Pater, both coincided with an alteration of coin designs under these emperors, which suggests that the a rationibus was involved in the type selection of imperial coins ; although, obviously always according to the perceived imperial wishes. From inscriptions, other persons are known to have occupied the office of a rationibus ( 56 ). From this poem we know that he was a slave from Smyrna, who became either a domestic slave or a junior clerk in Tiberius household in Rome. After he was manumitted, Etruscus Pater served the emperors Gaius and Claudius as a clerk in a post of intermediate status. During either Claudius reign or Nero s, Statius poem alludes that Etruscus Pater left Rome, which would explain why the freedman is not mentioned in Tacitus works. (53) STATIUS, Siluae 3, 3, ; WEAVER, Familia Caesaris [n. 21], p (54) STATIUS, Siluae 3, 3, VOELKEL, The Selection of Coin Types [n. 5], p ; W EAVER, Familia Caesaris [n. 21], p Most likely, Etruscus Pater s former membership of the Julio-Claudian house played a symbolic role in Vespasian s imperial legitimatisation as well. (55) WEAVER, Familia Caesaris [n. 21], p ; NEWLANDS, Statius Siluae [n. 35], p See also ECK, Freigelassene und ihre Nachkommen [n. 34], p. 9 ; 17 ; 25 ; 28. Before, his sons had been raised to the equestrian status too, presumably during their service in the first Jewish-Roman war under Vespasian or Titus, see STATIUS, Siluae 3, 3, and ECK, Freigelassene und ihre Nachkommen [n. 34], p. 28. (56) Other known persons who held the position of a rationibus are listed in WEAVER, Familia Caesaris [n. 21], p : CIL VI, 8409 : Antemo, libertus Ti. Caesaris Aug. ; PIR I² P 340 : Phaon, freedman of Domitia Lepida (see supra, n. 29) ; CIL VI, 8411 = d 1473 : Claudius Abascantus : libertus Ti. Claudi Aug. ; CIL VI, 8412 : Claudius Actiacus : libertus Ti. Claudi Uug. ; CIL VI, 8413 = d 7859 : Claudius Eros and Claudius Felix, probably brothers : CIL XI, 4360 : Claudius ; CIL XI, 4360 : Claudius ; CIL x, 6640 = d 3338 ; IGR I, 781 ; BRUZZA, nos. 168 ; ; cf. CIL VI, 8410 ; PIR² a 1336 = C 763 : Atticus (85 AD) ; PIR² C 1576 ; CIL VI, 8414 ; TACITUS, Histories 1, 76 : Crescens (Neronis libertus?) ; CIL VI, 8415 = d 1474 : Diadumenus (Neronis libertus?) ; CIL VI, : Flavius Epaphroditus Ephebianus ; CIL VI, 8416 : Philotimi Augustini libertus ; CIL VI, : unknown (tabularius) a rationibus ; CIL VI, : unknown ; CIL VI, : unknown.

11 A NOTE ON THE COIN TYPE SELECTION BY THE A RATIONIBUS 173 Unfortunately, nothing significant is known about their lives and careers, so further examination is not possible. The suggestion that the a rationibus selected the coin designs must therefore stay tentative. Nevertheless, when seeking an officer who could have been responsible for selecting the imperial coin designs, the a rationibus remains a strong plausible candidate. Radboud University Nijmegen. Liesbeth CLAES. COLLECTION LATOMUS Société d Études Latines de Bruxelles Boîte Postale 54, B 1170 Bruxelles (Belgique) IBAN BE BIC BBRUBEBB Catalogue complet : Prix TVA comprise Adresse électronique : info@latomus.be VOLUME 328 VOLUME p. 32, p. 68,00