Coins played a significant role in shaping the public image of the Roman imperial family. The majority of the coins which left the central imperial mints featured the emperor himself and emphasized his activities and virtues, from (re)conquering Britain to his close friendship with Hercules. However, emperors did not always appear solo on their coinage- wives, ancestors, and descendants could all be placed on coins to highlight other marks of distinction for the regime, such as proclaiming ancestry or demonstrating the security of the succession. Although there has recently been a great deal of interest in the place of members of the imperial house on coinage, one aspect which has been largely ignored is the development of familial types - coins which display at least two members of the imperial family together on either the obverse or reverse of a coin.

These types appear early on - Augustus minted coins with his chosen successors, Gaius and Lucius Caesar, together on the reverse. By the end of the reign of Septimius Severus (193-211), familial types had become more common. This is in large part due to the prominence of his two potential heirs, Caracalla (198-211) and Geta (209-211), and their powerful mother, Julia Domna.

The members of this imperial household were mixed and matched to produce a variety of familial types. The most common familial types depictSeverus's sons on the reverse, usually with a legend emphasizing concordia, or harmony. This may have been intended to reinforce the dynasty'sstability to the people of the empire, though it may also have been an unsubtle message from the imperial court to a pair of brothers who werenotoriously always at odds.

To read the complete article, see:
THE IMPERIAL FAMILY ON THIRD CENTURY ROMAN COINAGE (www.anspocketchange.org/caldis/)