Obywatel i władca. Propaganda idei restytucyjnej w ikonografii monetarnej (I w. p.n.e. – I w. n.e.)

Abstract

In the article, the object of analysis has to do with the iconography of coins (1st c. BC – 1st c. AD), which may be classified within the thematic group of restitutio. The starting point of the considerations has to do with Octavian’s coins, in which – for the first time in the history of Roman mintage – the theme of restitutio was engaged by means of introducing the formula restituit to the inscriptions. Further on, the focus of the article addresses the representations featured on the reverse which symbolised the act of restitutio by a depiction of the emperor who lifts up a figure of a woman from her knees. In the period that is discussed such reverses were introducted in the mintage of three rulers: Galba, Vitellius and Vespasian.

Keywords

• Roman coin
• monetary iconography
• idea of restitutio