Imperial Propaganda in Roman Coins

This exhibition displays a selection of Roman Imperial coins from the Otago Museum in Dunedin, New Zealand. The coins were chosen for their propagandistic value and the way in which they highlight how each of the Julio-Claudian emperors from Augustus to Nero chose to represent themselves to the public, spreading their image and Imperial values throughout the Roman Empire. The coins focus on Roman values such as military prowess, religion, and family which the Emperors use to express their excellence and justify their rightful rule. The minting of coins was under Imperial control and coins became a means of communication between the powerful Roman leaders and the rest of the Roman Empire. Coinage reveals the way in which the Emperors themselves wanted to be represented and shows the image they aimed to present to the people, an image that is often at odds with the characterisations of the Emperors painted in the Ancient sources. Coins were used to justify the Emperor’s claim to power by using common themes of Roman values which occur throughout the Julio-Claudian Dynasty. Coins were commonly used to promote the prosperity and successes of the Roman State and reflected the culture of Roman life. Images, particularly those minted on the reverse of a coin, were used to demonstrate the victories of an Emperor. These successes typically focussed on military feats and the return of peace to Roman provinces. This exhibition will explore aspects of military prestige and how the Emperors used this to promote themselves and their power. Augustus, for example, uses the battle of Actium in coins to celebrate his victory and later Caligula represents his victory of the sea in his coins. Military achievements were important to show the prowess of the Empire and the ability of the Emperor to protect and expand the its borders. Another key theme this exhibition looks at in relation to numismatic propaganda is the use of ancestral links. The chosen coins highlight the way in which family became central to the Emperor’s claim to power and demonstrate the power of names such as Germanicus, Caesar, and Augustus. The use of the names of people who were widely admired in Rome, such as Germanicus, could be used to generate further support for the Emperor promoting that person, adding to his power and popularity. Furthermore, religious symbols were incorporated into Imperial coinage, becoming another form of propaganda. The use of religious figures and divine personifications becomes a recurring theme within coinage that was used to generate meaning. The use of goddesses such as Pax and Nike were used as representations of abstract concepts such as peace and victory to extoll these virtues in relation to the Emperor. The use of these common religious symbols enabled Imperial messages to be spread throughout the Roman empire in an unobtrusive yet recognisable way. In Imperial Rome, coinage functioned much like a television advertisement, with coins and their inscriptions and images being used to promote the Emperor and sway the public so that they would accept the choices, beliefs, and actions of the current Emperor. In many ways the political use of coinage, to legitimise the ruler and his government, was just as important as the economical function of the coins. By using coinage to tie oneself to influential ancestors, militants, and gods, Emperors were able to broadcast their importance across a large geographical area thus cementing their right to hold power in the Roman Empire.