Caracalla Silver Antoninianus RIC IV Caracalla 293E

Monetary Context and the Severan Double Denarius

The antoninianus was introduced into the Roman monetary system in early AD 215 as an emergency measure to mitigate severe fiscal strain caused by substantial military pay increases and extensive donatives. Although the ancient name of the denomination is unrecorded in surviving administrative documents, numismatists designate it after Caracalla's official dynastic name, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. The denomination served functionally as a double denarius, identifiable to the public by the radiate crown adorning the emperor's portrait, an iconographic marker long used on imperial aes to distinguish the dupondius from the laureate as. From a fiscal perspective, the introduction of the radiate silver piece represented an overvaluation of the state's circulating silver. While tariffed at two denarii, antoniniani typically weighed around 5.0 to 5.2 grams, approximately 1.5 times the weight of contemporary denarii, which averaged around 3.2 grams. Furthermore, chemical analyses indicate that Severan antoniniani shared roughly the same silver fineness as the denarius, hovering around fifty percent fine silver. By issuing coins that contained only seventy-five percent of the silver required for two distinct denarii, the imperial treasury captured a twenty-five percent profit in seigniorage on every strike. RIC IV Caracalla 293E stands near the end of this inaugural phase of antoninianus production, manufactured shortly before Caracalla's assassination halted the initial wave of issues.

Production Standards and Rome Mint Operations

RIC IV Caracalla 293E was produced exclusively by the primary imperial mint at Rome. While Caracalla maintained an extensive mobile mint traveling with his army across the eastern provinces during the Parthian campaign, the core production of dated imperial titulature on antoniniani with standard formulaic reverses remained centralized at Rome. The Rome mint was organized into distinct officinae or workshops, each responsible for specific coin types and output quotas, operating under the oversight of the procurator monetae. Striking techniques for the antoninianus followed the established traditions of the Rome mint. Flans were cast in open or clustered molds and subsequently adjusted for weight, leaving typical beveling and occasional casting sprues around the flan edges. Dies were hand-engraved into iron or bronze caps, exhibiting the mature Severan court style characterized by deeply incised details, a compact portrait head, and dramatic facial features. Weight standards for type 293E exhibit normal bell-curve variation between 4.5 and 5.5 grams, with die alignment predominantly oriented to six o'clock or twelve o'clock, reflecting careful mechanical handling by the mint's strikemen.

Obverse Portraiture and Typological Distinction

The obverse of RIC IV Caracalla 293E depicts a mature bust of Caracalla facing right, wearing a radiate crown that proclaims the denomination. The specific subtype 'E' within the RIC 293 sequence is defined precisely by its drapery: the bust is draped over the shoulders without the visible metal cuirass or breastplate found on other variants. The emperor is rendered with close-cropped hair, a curled beard, a prominent brow, and an intensely focused expression, conforming to the characteristic aggressive military portraiture adopted in his later reign to emphasize soldierly ferocity and uncompromising command. Roman Imperial Coinage divides the bust varieties of RIC 293 into five distinct classifications, ranging from radiate cuirassed busts (293A) to radiate draped and cuirassed profiles viewed from the front or behind (293B, 293C, 293D), with 293E representing the radiate bust with drapery only. Die engravers varied minor folds of the mantle across different die pairs, yet the absence of armor remains constant for this sub-classification. The radiate crown itself features broad, sharply cut rays projecting outward, sitting atop the short curls of the imperial coiffure.

Reverse Iconography of Sol

The reverse design displays the solar god Sol, standing frontally with his head turned left. Sol is represented radiate, entirely nude except for a chlamys or cloak draped over his left shoulder and falling across his left forearm. His right hand is raised in a gesture of greeting, benediction, or divine authority, while his left hand holds a coiled chariot whip, identifying him as the cosmic charioteer who drives the quadriga of the sun across the heavens each day. Iconographically, Sol occupied an increasingly prominent position in Severan ideology, foreshadowing the third-century solar theology later institutionalized by Aurelian. For Caracalla, particularly during his campaigns in the East, Sol symbolized divine invincibility (Sol Invictus), imperial vitality, and the celestial counterpart of earthly supreme rule. The whip and raised hand emphasize cosmic mastery, an allegory for the emperor's own supreme military command against Parthian adversaries. The choice of a standing Sol on antoniniani of AD 217 balanced traditional Roman divine allegories with imagery that appealed directly to eastern legions and solar cultists.

Inscriptions and Epigraphic Analysis

The obverse inscription reads ANTONINVS PIVS AVG GERM, encircling the portrait starting from the lower left. This condensed titular formula translates to 'Antoninus Pius Augustus Germanicus'. The honorific 'Pius' had been carried by Caracalla since early in the joint reign with Septimius Severus, while 'Germ' (Germanicus Maximus) was awarded in AD 213 following his successful campaigns against the Alamanni along the Rhine and Danube frontiers. This victory title remained an essential element of his public legitimization until his death. The reverse inscription records Caracalla's imperial titles: P M TR P XX COS IIII P P, expanding as Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate XX, Consul IIII, Pater Patriae. The phrase signifies that Caracalla was Supreme Pontiff, holding the tribunician power for the twentieth time, serving his fourth consulship, and honored as Father of his Country. These continuous constitutional iterations served as the legal mechanism of date reckoning in imperial Rome, verifying without ambiguity that the dies for this type were cut in AD 217.

Typology and Chronological Placement

Caracalla entered his twentieth tribunician year on December 10, AD 216, or January 1, AD 217, depending on the computational system observed by the Rome mint for tribunician renewal. His fourth consulship had commenced earlier, in AD 213. Therefore, the formula TR P XX COS IIII firmly dates RIC IV Caracalla 293E to the opening months of AD 217. Because Caracalla was assassinated near Carrhae by the soldier Justin Martialis at the instigation of Macrinus on April 8, AD 217, the production window for this coinage was exceptionally brief, lasting no more than four months. Within the broader numismatic output of AD 217, the Rome mint issued multiple denominations bearing identical reverse types, including denarii and aurei with matching Sol figures. On the antoniniani, however, RIC 293 forms a coherent reverse series paired with diverse obverse bust treatments. Subtype 293E constitutes an integral part of this final Severan emission before Macrinus seized the purple and reconfigured imperial mint designs with his own likeness and titulature.

Circulation Patterns and Hoard Contexts

Upon release into circulation, antoniniani of AD 217 were dispersed across the western provinces and border military zones through state expenditures, military payrolls, and trade. Despite the public's initial reluctance to embrace a coin tariffed at two denarii with only 1.5 times the silver content, economic agents accepted them under legal tender mandates. In hoards across Roman Britain, Gaul, the Danubian limes, and the Levant, Caracallan antoniniani routinely appear alongside Severan denarii, demonstrating integrated circulation. Following Caracalla's death, his successor Macrinus continued striking the antoninianus in modest quantities, but Elagabalus and Severus Alexander drastically reduced and eventually ceased production of the denomination around AD 222. Consequently, Caracalla's antoniniani remained in low-level circulation throughout the AD 220s and 230s until the denomination was re-introduced and expanded by Balbinus, Pupienus, and Gordian III in AD 238. Because the coins were heavily debased compared to older pre-Severan denarii, they were generally spent rather than hoarded for their bullion purity, though their short striking period renders individual die types like 293E relatively scarce in provincial find records.

References

1. Coin Hoards and Hoarding in the Roman Empire. pp. 88-95
2. The Denarii and Quinarii of Caracalla. pp. 101-114
3. Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. pp. 125-132
4. Roman Coins from the Earliest Times to the Fall of the Western Empire. pp. 138-142
5. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Caracalla 293E. ric.4.crl.293E
6. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part I: Pertinax to Geta. pp. 257-258