Balbinus Silver Antoninianus RIC IV Balbinus 10

Monetary Context and the Antoninianus Revival

The introduction of RIC IV Balbinus 10 belongs to one of the most critical turning points in third-century Roman imperial monetary policy. When the Senate chose Balbinus and Pupienus as joint Augusti in AD 238, the imperial treasury faced immediate fiscal demands driven by civil conflict against Maximinus Thrax and the necessity of distributing cash bonuses to secure the loyalty of the Praetorian Guard and city populace. The denarius, which had served as the cornerstone of Roman silver currency for centuries, proved economically strained under severe inflationary pressures. Although Caracalla had introduced the radiate antoninianus around AD 215 as a nominal double denarius containing only about one and a half times the silver content of a denarius, the denomination had fallen out of general production under Severus Alexander. In AD 238, the senatorial joint emperors revived the radiate denomination at scale. By striking antoniniani such as RIC IV Balbinus 10, the imperial authorities could effectively stretch their available bullion reserves, producing higher face-value coinage at an intrinsically favorable tariff. This critical fiscal maneuver set a lasting precedent, ensuring that the antoninianus swiftly displaced the denarius as the principal silver coin of the Roman Empire throughout the mid-third century.

Production Standards and Mint Allocation

All regular imperial issues of RIC IV Balbinus 10 originated from the primary imperial mint at Rome, which operated under senatorial direction during the crisis of AD 238. Because the reign lasted only approximately three months, production was concentrated into an intense, compressed period of striking. Numismatic analyses indicate that the mint organized output across multiple officinae, dividing coin production between Balbinus, Pupienus, and the newly appointed Caesar, Gordian III. The silver content of these antoniniani was debased billon, averaging between 40 and 48 percent fine silver, with the balance comprised of copper and trace alloy elements. While individual specimen weights exhibit significant variation due to rapid production standards and flan preparation by al marco sizing, representative weights for the type generally center between 2.7 and 3.5 grams, with typical diameters ranging between 21 and 23 millimeters. Die axes are predominantly vertical or slightly offset, typical of the Rome mint in this period.

Obverse Portraiture and Regal Iconography

The obverse of RIC IV Balbinus 10 features a right-facing bust of Balbinus, executed in the mature, veristic tradition characteristic of senatorial portraiture from this era. Balbinus is depicted with fleshy facial features, a short cropped beard, and deep set eyes that convey age and civic gravity. He is shown wearing the radiate crown of the sun god Sol, the standard numismatic convention denoting the antoninianus denomination and distinguishing it immediately from the laureate denarius. The emperor wears both a military cuirass and a drapery paludamentum folded across the shoulder, visually combining his administrative civilian authority with commander-in-chief status. Die variations across the type reveal minor stylistic differences in portrait modeling and the arrangement of drapery folds, reflecting the activity of different engravers working simultaneously within the Rome mint to produce the issue under urgent deadlines.

Reverse Iconography of Mutual Harmony

The reverse of the type displays two right hands clasped firmly together in the gesture of dextrarum iunctio. This motif had a long lineage on Roman Republican and early imperial coinage, traditionally symbolizing mutual fidelity, marital compact, or political alliance. On RIC IV Balbinus 10, the clasped hands represent collegial concord between Balbinus and Pupienus, who were appointed as equal emperors possessing identical titles, including the supreme religious office of Pontifex Maximus. In political reality, the relationship between the patrician Balbinus and the military-trained Pupienus was fraught with mutual suspicion and rivalry. The prominence of the clasped hands on their coinage functioned as an urgent piece of state propaganda directed at the public and the military, insisting that the two Augusti ruled with a singular mind and shared purpose.

Epigraphy and Legend Structure

The obverse inscription reads IMP CAES D CAEL BALBINVS AVG, abbreviating Imperator Caesar Decimus Caelius Balbinus Augustus. This standardized titulature claims full imperatorial and senatorial honors, invoking the praenomen and gentilicium of Balbinus while omitting specific iteration numbers for tribunician power or consulships, reflecting the rapid introduction of the type without the immediate need for annual dating elements. The reverse bears the legend CONCORDIA AVGG, an abbreviation of Concordia Augustorum, with the doubled 'G' denoting the plural Augusti. This epigraphic formula explicitly ties the personification of Harmony to both ruling emperors. The lettering on both faces is rendered in clear, square classical Roman capitals, characteristic of third-century Rome mint engravers.

Typology and Internal Chronology

Within the typology established by Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham in Roman Imperial Coinage Volume IV Part 2, RIC IV Balbinus 10 is catalogued as part of the core antoninianus series struck in late spring and early summer of AD 238. It corresponds directly to a complementary issue struck for Pupienus that features the identical reverse legend and design (RIC IV Pupienus 9b/10a). Numismatists divide the short coinage of the joint reign into two successive stages: an initial phase dominated by traditional denarii and bronze sestertii, followed quickly by the major introduction of the antoninianus to accelerate coin production before the march northward and the eventual collapse of Maximinus Thrax at Aquileia. RIC IV Balbinus 10 belongs to this second, heavy production phase, which continued until the sudden assassination of both emperors by the Praetorian Guard in mid-AD 238.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Monetary Impact

Despite a production window restricted to mere months, RIC IV Balbinus 10 circulated widely across the Roman world. Hoard data from Italy, the Balkans, Gaul, and Britain demonstrate that antoniniani of AD 238 entered circulation quickly alongside earlier Severan silver and continued circulating for several decades. Because third-century silver experienced rapid debasement under Gordian III, Philip I, and Decius, these earlier antoniniani remained desirable for their comparatively higher silver content and were frequently hoarded during the economic upheavals of the AD 250s and 260s. Specimens of RIC IV Balbinus 10 commonly surface in mid-third-century European hoards, such as the Dorchester and Gloucester hoards, where they exhibit moderate to heavy wear testifying to extended commercial circulation long after the demise of the issuing emperor.

References

1. Coin Hoards and Hoarding in the Roman Empire. pp. 82-95
2. Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. pp. 130-136
3. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume VI. pp. 98-104
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Balbinus 10. ric.4.balb.10
5. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. pp. 165-171