Severina Billon Antoninianus RIC V Severina 3

Monetary Reform and Denominational Context

The production of RIC V Severina 3 belongs to the sweeping monetary reorganization enacted by Emperor Aurelian in AD 274. Over the preceding decades of the third-century crisis, the antoninianus (the radiate double denarius originally introduced under Caracalla) had suffered catastrophic debasement, culminating during the reigns of Gallienus and Claudius II Gothicus in coins containing little more than one to two percent silver. Aurelian sought to restore public confidence in base-metal currency by retiring chaotic earlier strikings and issuing an improved, carefully regulated denomination modern scholars often designate as the reformed antoninianus or aurelianeus. This reformed piece maintained a targeted weight standard near 3.8 to 4.2 grams and a regulated metallurgical composition of twenty parts copper to one part silver (five percent silver), usually highlighted on male portrait issues by the reverse exergual mark XXI or Greek KA. For imperial women, the denomination did not employ the radiate crown; rather, Severina's portrait rests upon an imperial crescent, signifying the double-denomination value in direct continuity with traditional third-century numismatic practice. While earlier issues across the empire had fluctuated wildly in execution, the reformed antoniniani of Severina produced at Rome established strict visual and physical benchmarks intended to project stability throughout imperial markets.

Mint Organization and Production Techniques

All specimens classified strictly as RIC V Severina 3 originate from the imperial mint of Rome. Operating in the wake of the violent mint workers' uprising early in Aurelian's reign, the restructured urban mint in Rome worked under tight administrative oversight, organized across multiple numbered or lettered workshops (officinae). Production techniques conformed to standard late Roman minting practices: cast flans were prepared from a carefully calibrated quaternary or copper-silver alloy, annealed, and subjected to a blanching or pickling process. This acid treatment depleted copper from the immediate surface layer, creating an artificial, microscopic enrichment of pure silver that imparted a bright, lustrous appearance to the finished coin upon striking. Coining dies were engraved with crisp, standardized lettering and deeply cut portraits, reflecting a high level of artisanal discipline reasserted by Aurelian's administration. Officina designations, when present in the lower field or exergue, indicate that multiple workshops struck coins for the empress simultaneously alongside issues bearing Aurelian's own portrait.

Obverse Iconography and Royal Depiction

The obverse of RIC V Severina 3 presents a right-facing bust of Empress Ulpia Severina, rendered with the dignified formality characteristic of late third-century imperial portraiture. Her hair is arranged in the structured plait style popular among Roman empresses of the period, brought upward from the nape of the neck toward the crown of the head in a woven braid. She wears an imperial stephane (diadem) and is shown fully draped. Crucially, the truncated bust is supported from below by a horizontal crescent moon, its horns pointing upward to bracket the portrait. This lunar imagery served a twofold purpose: mythological and denominational. In Roman religious symbolism, the empress was linked to Luna or Diana as the celestial counterpart to the emperor's association with Sol or Apollo. Functionally, since the introduction of the radiate antoninianus under Caracalla, female imperial portraits lacked the radiate solar crown; the crescent provided an instantly recognizable denominational marker denoting the piece as a double unit rather than a single denarius.

Reverse Iconography and Concord Theme

The reverse of the type features one of the most enduring themes of Roman imperial ideology: the visual celebration of conjugal and political harmony through the dextrarum iunctio (the clasping of right hands). The composition shows Emperor Aurelian and Empress Severina standing face-to-face. Aurelian is typically depicted in military or civil attire, holding a scepter or spear in his left hand, while extending his right hand to grasp the right hand of Severina, who stands opposite him in flowing feminine drapery, occasionally holding a cornucopia or scepter. Depending on the die cutting, the relative positions of the figures may alternate, showing Aurelian standing right facing Severina standing left, or Severina standing right facing Aurelian. This visual pledge of fidelity and shared purpose resonated deeply with contemporary Roman audiences, presenting the imperial family as a united bulwark against external invasion and internal factionalism. Rather than merely documenting a private marriage, the design functioned as state propaganda announcing institutional concord (concordia) at the pinnacle of government.

Inscriptions and Epigraphic Analysis

The epigraphy of RIC V Severina 3 is concise, classical, and purposefully direct. The obverse legend reads SEVERINA AVG, an abbreviation for Severina Augusta. By omitting extensive patronymics or secondary titles, the legend emphasizes her undisputed recognition as Augusta, the highest imperial honor bestowed upon an empress. The lettering is set along the outer perimeter of the obverse field in clean, upright Roman capitals. The reverse legend reads CONCORDIA AVGG, expanding to Concordia Augustorum ('The Harmony of the Augusti'). The double 'G' at the end of AVGG is an epigraphic formula traditionally signifying two ruling sovereigns of Augustan rank, highlighting the shared imperial dignity and collaborative prestige of the imperial couple. In the lower field or exergue, workshop letters or system marks indicate the operational officina at the Rome mint, providing administrative tracking for the issue.

Typology and Chronological Placement

In the standard classification of Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume V, Part 1, compiled by Percy H. Webb, this issue is catalogued under Severina as type number 3. While the broader catalogue framework assigns Aurelian's reign to AD 270 to 275, modern numismatic research, notably by Sylviane Estiot, establishes that Severina was formally raised to the title of Augusta during the autumn of AD 274, following Aurelian's triumphs over the Gallic Empire and Zenobia's Palmyrene realm. Consequently, the production of RIC V Severina 3 falls securely into the final phase of Aurelian's rule, between late AD 274 and the emperor's assassination in the autumn of AD 275. Typologically, RIC V Severina 3 is distinguished from Severina's earlier and subsequent issues by its specific pairing of the plain SEVERINA AVG obverse with the CONCORDIA AVGG dextrarum iunctio scene at Rome, separating it from her issues depicting Concordia seated or holding military standards, as well as distinct issues struck at Siscia, Ticinum, Cyzicus, and Serdica.

Circulation, Hoards, and Archaeological Context

Following its release from the Rome mint, RIC V Severina 3 circulated widely across Italy and the western provinces of the Roman Empire. Because Aurelian's monetary reform significantly raised the silver quality compared to the debased radiates of the AD 260s, these coins were actively hoarded by populations seeking more stable stores of value. Hoard evidence from Britain, Gaul, the Rhine frontier, and Italy demonstrates that reformed antoniniani of Aurelian and Severina were often deposited together in substantial commercial parcels. The silver wash that initially coated the pieces tended to wear away quickly under regular market transaction, leaving many surviving specimens with the darker copper patina of their underlying alloy. Despite the brief chronological window of her active issue before Aurelian's death, Severina's reformed antoniniani remained in circulation alongside subsequent issues of Tacitus, Florian, and Probus, playing a critical transitional role in the monetary stabilization of the later Roman world.

References

1. Monnaies de l'Empire romain XII.1: D'Aurélien à Florien (270-276 après J.-C.). pp. 85-98
2. Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. pp. 140-148
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume V, Part 1. p. 315, no. 3
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC V Severina 3. ric.5.seva.3