I've had a hunch for some time that the so called 'imperial' and 'senatorial' mints (at least during the late First Century) were not separate entities. Almost certainly the senatorial mint was either controlled by the emperor or appointed senators carrying out the palace's bidding. However, I recently acquired a Domitian sestertius that I believe also demonstrates the precious metal and bronze coinages were actually produced from the same workshops, or at the very least shared the same workers. Domitian Æ Sestertius, 25.13g Rome mint, 95-96 AD Obv: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM COS XVII CENS PER P P; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r. Rev: IOVI VICTORI; S C in exergue; Jupiter std. l., with Victory and sceptre RIC 794 (C). BMC 474. BNC 504. Acquired from London Ancient Coins, July 2020. A common seated Jupiter type from Domitian's last bronze issue. Just like the silver and gold, Domitian's aes coinage from the mid 80s onwards settled down to a few predicable reverse types. The Sestertii were dominated by Victory crowning the emperor and the seated Jupiter with Victory. 'Jupiter the giver of Victory' was not only an important propaganda type but also one that was closely associated with Domitian. This sestertius is imprecisely dated between 95-96 because Domitian did not take up the consulship in 96. The style is very similar to the contemporaneous denarius issues. As a matter of fact, the denarius pictured below appears to be engraved by the same hand as the above sestertius. The style is identical, even down to the rounded portrait and 'eyes to heaven' gaze. Domitian AR Denarius, 3.27g Rome mint, 95 AD Obv: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P XIIII; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r. Rev: IMP XXII COS XVII CENS P P P; Minerva adv r., with spear and shield (M1) RIC 770 (C2). BMC 222. RSC 288. BNC 199. Ex Dionysos Numismatik, eBay, April 2014. 'S.C.' (Senatus Consultum) was in name only and coins bearing that inscription were likely produced at the same mint or workshops as the 'imperial' precious metal issues. Please share any coins you believe may, or indeed may not, back up the above theory.
In my opinion SC translates as, "We know this coin is not worth anything like its face value in metal like the silver and gold coins are but the Senate has said you should accept the bronze coins as if they were." That does not mean that there was a different building or staff. I know that the gold and silver were tariffed above melt but having coins worth something made old fashioned minds feel better. In the US, we played by those rules until 1964.
I’ve always wondered. What was the public perception like at the time of debasement? Unlike many other cultures and countries, the debasement of silver in the Us was not gradual but rather immediate and sudden (excepting 50c and $1d coins [the unreleased peace dollar]) was the public “okay” with it? Were they entirely cool with the fact that literally one day they could exchange a silver certificate for $1 in silver bullion and the next day they couldn’t? In the Roman era it seems like debasements like that were grounds for massive inflation and economic upheaval. Why didn’t that happen in America?
