Severina Silver Antoninianus RIC V Severina 13

Monetary Context and Aurelian's Currency Reform

The antoninianus designated as RIC V Severina 13 was issued against the backdrop of significant economic upheaval and subsequent monetary reconstruction under Emperor Aurelian. Throughout the central decades of the third century AD, runaway inflation, political instability, and massive debasement had reduced the silver content of the imperial antoninianus to negligible traces, often below two percent fine metal. In approximately 274 AD, Aurelian instituted a comprehensive currency reform intended to restore public confidence in the coinage and establish reliable administrative standards across the empire's mints. Central to this reform was the reintroduction of a strictly regulated billon denomination, frequently termed the aurelianianus by modern scholars, which guaranteed a standardized composition of twenty parts copper to one part silver, or approximately five percent silver, accompanied by a bright surface enrichment applied via chemical blanching. Female imperial issues held a precise structural position within this reformed denominational system. Rather than displaying the radiate crown reserved for emperors, portraiture of empresses featured a crescent moon beneath the bust to signal the double-unit value of the denomination, directly balancing the male radiate. Severina's coinage at Siscia participated fully in this revamped monetary framework. The emission guaranteed state payments to soldiers and civil administrators along the Danubian frontier, serving as a dependable medium of exchange backed by the full authority of the central government.

Production and the Siscia Mint

Production of RIC V Severina 13 took place at the imperial mint of Siscia, modern Sisak in Croatia, an administrative and metallurgical center whose strategic importance grew dramatically under the Illyrian emperors. Established under Gallienus to service the Danubian military frontier, Siscia had become by the mid-270s AD one of the most productive and technically proficient workshops in the Roman world. The manufacture of these antoniniani relied on carefully controlled blank casting followed by hot striking between engraved bronze dies. Metallurgical preparation ensured that the silver-copper alloy, typically adhering to the twenty-to-one reform ratio, formed a visually striking silvery exterior when treated with acidic solutions to dissolve surface copper before striking. Die cutters at Siscia exhibited a distinct regional engraving style characterized by sharp profile cuts, neat geometric lettering, and compact, robust proportions. Siscia operated with multiple numbered workshops or officinae, which coordinated mass production across concurrent issues for Aurelian and Severina. The survival of numerous die combinations across the broader CONCORDIAE MILITVM series at Siscia attests to an intensive striking schedule designed to inject fresh, reliable coin into circulation along major transit corridors connecting northern Italy, the Balkans, and the eastern provinces.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Representation

The obverse of RIC V Severina 13 features an authoritative right-facing portrait bust of Empress Ulpia Severina, rendered diademed and draped above an upward-curving crescent moon. Severina's coiffure follows the sophisticated court fashions revitalized in the late third century AD, featuring hair meticulously waved in horizontal ridges, drawn upward from the nape of the neck, and anchored securely along the crown of the head beneath a stephane or diadem. The drapery is arranged in folds across the shoulders, underscoring imperial decorum and matronly modesty. Crucially, the crescent beneath the bust provides both ideological and denominational meaning. Ideologically, the pairing of the empress with the moon complemented the emperor's association with Sol Invictus, establishing the imperial couple as earthly counterparts to the cosmic rulers of day and night. Denominationally, the crescent functioned as the unmistakable visual signifier of the double denomination, ensuring that users in commerce immediately recognized the piece as equal in purchasing power to the radiate crown issues of her husband. The portraiture at Siscia is noted for its dignified, austere features, avoiding the harsher stylized abstraction seen at some contemporary western mints while projecting the stability and longevity of the imperial dynasty.

Reverse Design and the Concord of the Armies

The reverse of the coin presents the standing figure of Concordia, the Roman personification of harmony, facing left while holding an imperial military standard or ensign in each hand. The figure is draped in classical stola and mantle, conveying solemnity and divine sanction. The presence of two standards rather than Concordia's traditional cornucopia or patera shifts the semantic emphasis directly from civil peace to military solidarity. In the volatile political environment of the third century AD, where imperial survival depended entirely on the steadfast loyalty of frontier legions, Concordia Militum was among the most urgent and ubiquitous themes of imperial numismatic propaganda. Entrusting this specific message to the empress's reverse types was a calculated political move. Historically, Roman empresses since the Antonine and Severan eras had been acclaimed as Mater Castrorum or mothers of the military camps. By placing Concordia and legionary standards on Severina's coinage, Aurelian's administration sought to reinforce an emotional and institutional bond between the imperial household and the Danubian legions stationed near Siscia, framing the army's cohesion as a personal and familial virtue protected by the Augusta herself.

Epigraphy and Legend Readings

The legends on RIC V Severina 13 are executed in clear, disciplined Latin epigraphy characteristic of the Siscia mint's skilled die cutters. The obverse bears the concise inscription SEVERINAE AVG, an abbreviated form of 'Severinae Augustae' cast in the dative case of dedication, meaning 'To Severina Augusta', or alternatively functioning as a nominative identifier. This short obverse formula was standard for Severina across European mints, distinguishing her official status without encumbering the flan with extended genealogical or honorific titles. The reverse carries the programmatic legend CONCORDIAE MILITVM, formulated in the dative as 'To the Harmony of the Soldiers' or genitive 'Of the Harmony of the Soldiers'. Letterforms at Siscia are generally well-proportioned with distinct serifs and consistent spacing, reflecting strict administrative oversight during the post-reform period. Depending on the precise emission mark employed in the reverse exergue or field, Siscia issues often incorporated workshop identifiers, such as Greek numerical letters or Latin numerals alongside the standard value mark XXI, which confirmed the coin's metallic composition under the reformed standard.

Typology and Chronological Placement

Within the standardized typology of Roman Imperial Coinage Volume V, Part 1, catalogued originally by Percy H. Webb, RIC V Severina 13 identifies the Siscian antoninianus featuring Severina's draped bust on a crescent paired with Concordia holding two standards. Broadly catalogued across Aurelian's reign from 270 to 275 AD, historical and numismatic evidence substantially narrows the actual production window of this specific issue. Ulpia Severina was elevated to the rank of Augusta relatively late in Aurelian's rule, most likely in autumn 274 AD in connection with Aurelian's triumph and the sweeping monetary reorganization following the reunification of the Gallic and Palmyrene territories. Consequently, issues bearing her title as Augusta, including RIC 13, belong to the post-reform emissions produced between late 274 AD and the autumn of 275 AD when Aurelian was assassinated in Thrace. Some numismatic scholars, notably Sylviane Estiot, have further argued that certain Siscian and Roman issues in Severina's name continued during the interregnum period preceding the accession of Tacitus in late 275 AD, during which the Senate and army deferred authority and Severina may have served as nominal head of state. Typologically, RIC 13 is distinguished from neighboring Siscia types, such as RIC 14 or RIC 15, which depict Concordia holding different attributes, such as patera and cornucopia, or seated figures.

Circulation Patterns and Archaeological Evidence

Coinage struck under RIC V Severina 13 circulated widely across the European provinces, with particularly dense concentrations along the Danubian limes, northern Italy, and the Balkan interior. Because Siscia functioned as a major logistical depot, its output was regularly dispersed in military pay chests to units stationed along the river frontiers of Pannonia, Moesia, and Dacia. In hoards deposited during the late 270s and 280s AD across Gaul, Britain, and the Danubian basin, reformed antoniniani of Severina appear alongside reformed issues of Aurelian, Tacitus, Florian, and Probus. While un-reformed, heavily debased antoniniani of Gallienus and Claudius II remained in secondary circulation at discounted exchange rates, the reformed pieces of Aurelian and Severina were recognized as high-grade currency and were frequently sequestered in savings hoards. Wear patterns on recovered specimens demonstrate that these coins circulated actively for more than two decades, persisting in commercial use until the comprehensive monetary restructuring enacted by Diocletian and the Tetrarchy in 294 to 296 AD gradually demonetized pre-tetrarchic billon radiates.

References

1. Monnaies de l'Empire romain XII.1: D'Aurelien a Florien (270-276 apres J.-C.). Siscia, emissions de Severine
2. Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. pp. 140-155
3. Coining Images of Power: Patterns in the Representation of Roman Emperors on Imperial Coinage, A.D. 193-284. pp. 245-260
4. Roman Coins from the Earliest Times to the Fall of the Western Empire. pp. 130-136
5. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC V Severina 13. ric.5.seva.13
6. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume V, Part I. pp. 316, no. 13