COINS AND MESSAGES: AUDIENCE TARGETING ON COINS OF DIFFERENT DENOMINATIONS?
Olivier J. Hekster · 2003
Some Romans were aware of the images and legends on their coins.Passages from various literary texts make this clear.The examples are well known.The Gospel of Matthew, for instance, tells us how: "They brought him a denarius, and he said to them, 'whose portrait is this? and whose inscription?' and they said to him: 'Caesar's'.Then he said to them, 'Give to Caesar what is Caesar's'."I Sceptics could still argue that this passage actually shows a lack of awareness of images on coins from the part of the public, as the emperor's portrait and inscription needed pointing out.Arrian, however, in a famous passage, goes further and explicitly connects value judgements on individual emperors with their particular coins.He takes it entirely for granted that people were aware of which emperor was depicted on which coin: "The stamps with which a man comes imprinted on his disposition [are] like the stamps we look for on coins too: if we find them we accept their value, if we don't, we chuck them out.'Whose stamp does this serterce bear?Trajan's?Take it.Nero's?Chuck it out, it will not pass, it is rotten.'" (Arrian, Discourses of Epictetus 4.5.15-17) Even if people did not 'chuck out' the coins of 'evil emperors' (and they probably did not), the emphasis on awareness of the individuals depicted on coins is striking.It seems to imply more than mere economic awareness of the • This paper has been greatly improved by the critical comments of Chris Howgego and Cathy King, who kindly read an earlier draft.They saved me from many mistakes, but should not be held responsible for any remaining blunders, nor for the opinions that are ventilated.My gratitude, also, to the participants of the workshop, especially Werner Eck and Richard Talbert.But most thanks should go to Thijs Goverde, who pointed out to me the possible relevance of 'brands' and 'marketing' as a modern parallel for my ideas on the Roman world.1