E.’s book aims to move the study of architecture on Roman coinage beyond previous problematic attempts to use them primarily to reconstruct monuments. Instead, E. places these images within a broader framework and considers them as ‘reflective of changes in art and aesthetics, urban development, and the political and cultural values of their times’ (p. 2). E.’s study is the first specifically to ‘trace the emergence and development of architectural representations on Roman coinage and to consider the factors that affected trends’ (p. 7).
E. provides a comprehensive chronological catalogue of architectural types produced at Republican and Imperial mints between their first appearance in the 130s b.c. and their final appearance during the reign of Valentinian III (a.d. 425–455). This is a valuable advancement on previous studies that were more limited in scope by factors such as chronological constraints or a lack of standard type catalogues. E.’s ambitious approach not only collates a significant body of material but also allows E. to observe closely trends in representation over an extensive period. This allows E. to discern several considerable shifts.
E. divides his analysis into four chapters, three of which cover his stated time period (Chapters 1–3) and one of which considers provincial coinage (Chapter 4). E. references a commendably extensive bibliography throughout. High-resolution images of each coin are provided and offer a useful accompaniment to discussion. Four appendices provide full references to the RRC and RIC catalogue details of each architectural type discussed in Chapters 1–3. They also provide simplified descriptions of the architectural image types and accompanying obverses. Chapter 4, which treats the provincial coinage, has no accompanying appendix due to its more selective discussion of coin types. As such, the figure references in Chapter 4 would perhaps have benefited from fuller references to their catalogue numbers for ease of cross-referencing.
In Chapter 1, E. considers architectural designs on Republican coinage. E. notes the infrequent appearance of architecture on earlier Greek and Persian coinage and argues that these examples performed fundamentally different functions (e.g. as civic identifiers or symbols of strength and power) from their Roman Republican counterparts. The earliest representations of architecture on Roman coinage appeared in the 130s b.c., in line with a contemporary diversification in designs on Roman coinage. E. places these early architectural types against a backdrop of moneyers seeking to emphasise the prestige of their families, noting that 15 of the 24 Republican examples promoted the actions of the moneyer's family. E. adds valuable nuance to this and connects the image choices with the contemporary political climate. He notes, for example, the emphasis in early image types on architecture produced by ancestors that had benefited the general population. E. links this with the populist political climate of the late second century b.c. Later Republican architectural image types were strongly influenced by the significant figures of the last decades of the Republic. A denarius minted by M. Volteius, for example, references Sulla's contemporary reconstruction of the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus.
E. considers the impact of wider historical and cultural factors when considering why architecture was depicted on Republican coinage. While the Lex Gabinia (139 b.c.) is rightly cited as a likely catalyst, E. also notes the rapidly increasing urban population and the concurrent surge in monumentalised public building projects under named individuals as additional influential factors. In addition, E.’s chronological study highlights how architectural types on Roman Republican coinage became particularly common from the 70s b.c. This coincided with the appearance of Second-Style wall painting, and the coin types display interesting stylistic parallels.
In Chapter 2, E. considers imperial coinage minted between the reigns of Augustus and Severus Alexander. E. notes how many ‘showed monuments that were constructed or reconstructed by the reigning emperor and thus communicated the emperor's munificence. Other monuments might be represented on coins for other purposes that were central to an emperor's ideological programme’ (p. 117).
E. identifies a significant shift under Nero, when a greater array of architectural types were depicted on bronze coinage than previously. Many of these types depicted structures for popular use. E. argues that this diversification corresponded with the focus of contemporary imperial building programmes on projects that were beneficial to the masses, such as buildings for entertainment or markets. E. relates these image choices to the potential audience for bronze coinage and suggests that bronze coinage would have been handled more frequently by the plebs urbana. E. additionally provides a valuable case study on the find spots of architectural reverses from Flavian and Trajanic bronzes. While E. acknowledges the limitations of available evidence, his case study suggests that urban audience targeting could have been a discernible phenomenon in certain cases. The Aqua Traiana types, for example, are shown to be far more prevalent in finds from Rome than from the north-western provinces.
E. quantifies a significant decrease in the variety and frequency of architectural types following the reign of Trajan. Those images that did appear often featured abbreviated and abstract depictions such as personifications of places. E. suggests that this may be explicable in light of a contemporary preference ‘for coin types that communicated ideas to broad audiences rather than individual topics that targeted niche audiences’ (p. 118).
Many Antonine types do not appear to have alluded to existing structures and were instead imaginative. Under Antoninus Pius and Commodus, for example, figures appear under arches supported by columns. E. suggests that these abbreviated architectural forms were symbolic and designed to stress the importance and divinity of the figures shown.
In Chapter 3, E. focuses on architectural coin types between the reigns of the ‘soldier emperors’ of the third century and Valentinian III's death in a.d. 455. E. demonstrates that there was a marked decline in the use of architectural types on Roman imperial coinage. E. argues that in this period, most architectural coin types were symbolic rather than specific. E. explains this change in light of the decentralisation both of Rome as an administrative centre and of the minting process to imperial mints dispersed throughout the empire. E. states that ‘the need to strike a uniform Imperial coinage throughout the Empire meant that coin designs were required to be of a more generic quality. Visual messages needed to communicate with soldiers, citizens, and subjects in both Italy and in the provinces. Types that addressed the inhabitants of the city of Rome directly were no longer the norm’ (p. 140).
E. highlights changes in urban building culture as an additional factor to consider, describing an increased elite focus on the embellishment of the interior of buildings rather than their exteriors.
E.’s final chapter gives valuable but understandably not exhaustive attention to provincial coin types that featured architectural images. E. justifies this abbreviated discussion given the lack of a completed standard type catalogue and the sheer scope of provincial coinage. E. acknowledges the resultant limitations of his conclusions. However, his study of provincial coinage produces suggestive conclusions, with significant scope for future expansion.
E. notes few examples of architectural representations in Archaic or Classical Greek coinage and states that the habit of including them on provincial coinage must have been inspired by Rome. E. confirms this supposition by noting many examples where local coins copied architectural types from imperial coinage but changed the legends or minor details to indicate a local structure. E.’s chronological approach allows him to highlight how the provinces continued to use architectural types on coinage long after imperial minting of the images were in decline. In this later period, E. finds the impetus for using architectural images on coins came from the provinces and describes the provincial mints as ‘simultaneously derivative and innovative’ (p. 166). E. draws fascinating connections between the local coinage of Bithynia and the subsequent introduction of tetrarchic city view and gate types to the imperial mint at Nicomedia, for example.
The particular strength of E.’s study lies in its scope, which allows him to chart previously unseen shifts in the representation of architecture on coinage. E. does not treat these trends in isolation, but instead considers potential wider historical and cultural stimuli. This opens up significant avenues for potential future discussion on architecture on coinage.
