Inschriften und Legenden auf Münzen des Augustus im Kontext

Eine numismatisch-epigraphische Studie

Abstract

This paper thoroughly re-examines the diachronic development of the written element on Roman numismatic material – especially on imperial coinage, but also on provincial coins. The result is that the amount of text on coins increased sharply during the transition period between the Republic and the Imperial period, and then especially under Augustus, and that in part the text replaced the image as the main design element of the coins, often in line form; in parallel to this, of course, the importance of the legends as a means of communication also grew. In many cases, the precedent set by the first princeps remained authoritative for the Imperial period. Under Augustus, especially at the mint of Rome, there were also multiple instances of epigraphic monuments being depicted on coins, which was an absolute novelty. These developments reflect the profound transformation of Roman epigraphic culture in the decades around the beginning of the CE, which Géza Alföldy has succinctly described as «the birth of imperial epigraphy».