The numismatic chronicle and journal of the Royal ... - IndianCoins.org

80 E. A. SYDENHAM.same time that he conferred the senatorial dignity onthe citizens and admitted the Gallic nobles to a sharein the imperial government, about the yearA. D. 47 or48. 24 Claudius was, moreover, a native of Lugdunum,and regarded the city as the political centre fromwhich he designed to extend the limites of the Empirein accordance with the plan mapped out by Augustus.M. Mowat, however, connects the change with Nero'smunificence to the city after the great fire, which heplaces in the year A.D. 58.25 Apart from the fact thatthe fire did not occur until eight years afterwards, thisdate seems too late for the establishment of the senatorialmint, for reasons which will be stated presently.Historical evidence on the question of the mint isunfortunately scanty we are forced, therefore, to rely;mainly on such evidence as can be derived from the"While fully realizing the conflicting elementscoins.with which the whole questionis surrounded, I aminclined to favour the earlier date A.D. 34 for thefollowing reasons :The (1) senatorial bronze coinage (Rome) of Tiberiusexhibits several very significant features. During thefirst period of the reign (A.D. 14-21) it is practicallyconfined to the issue of copper asses and a few dupondii ;the coins, moreover, show but little variety of type.Throughout thisperiod, however, as we have alreadyseen, there was an abundant issue of brass and copper(Altar type, Classes III, IV, V) from the imperial mintof Lugdunum. The middle period of the reign (A.D.24 Tac. Ann. xi. 24. On two bronze tablets discovered at Lyonsin 1524 are engraved extracts from the speech delivered byClaudius on the occasion that the measure was introduced.28Revue Num., 1895, p. 160 ff.