Julia Paula Orichalcum Sestertius, RIC IV Elagabalus 380

Monetary Context and Denominational Role

During the reign of Elagabalus, the sestertius continued to serve as the flagship denomination of the imperial token bronze coinage, maintaining an accounting role equal to one quarter of a silver denarius or four copper asses. Although the Severan dynasty introduced the double denarius or antoninianus under Caracalla and progressively adjusted the fineness of the silver currency, the traditional Augustan denominations in orichalcum and copper remained essential for daily domestic market transactions, local retail exchange, and accounting. Sestertii provided a large, visually commanding surface that was prized by the imperial administration for publishing important dynastic, religious, and political announcements to the populace of Rome and the western provinces. The marriage of Elagabalus to Julia Cornelia Paula in late 219 AD presented an ideal ideological occasion for an extensive imperial brass issue. As the granddaughter of the distinguished jurist Julius Paulus and a member of an illustrious patrician family, Paula brought aristocratic legitimacy to the Syrian branch of the Severan house. The issue of RIC IV Elagabalus 380 was part of a coordinated multi-denomination ceremonial emission struck across gold aurei, silver denarii, brass sestertii, and smaller bronze fractions, all designed to advertise the concord of the newly formed imperial household.

Production and Mint Organization

The entire production of RIC IV Elagabalus 380 was concentrated at the central mint of the city of Rome, which operated under the administrative oversight of the rationalis and procuratores monetae. By the early third century AD, the Rome mint was divided into distinct operational workshops or officinae, which shared the workload of imperial emissions according to predetermined quotas and administrative assignments. The sestertii of this emission were struck on thick, cast flans made of orichalcum, a golden-toned copper alloy containing zinc, though metallurgical analyses of contemporary Severan brass demonstrate a declining zinc content and increased proportions of tin and lead compared to early imperial standards. Surviving specimens illustrate that flans were individually prepared, heated, and struck between hard iron dies using manually driven heavy hammers. Die alignment generally conforms to the regular upright or inverted positions (predominantly twelve or six o'clock) typical of the capital's mint. The production of Paula's bronze coins took place alongside issues struck for Elagabalus himself, his grandmother Julia Maesa, and his mother Julia Soaemias, requiring coordinated die-cutting output across specialized workshops.

Obverse Portraiture and Regal Iconography

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 380 presents an elegant, draped bust of Julia Paula facing right, designated with imperial royal status through the addition of a diadem set upon her hair. Her coiffure represents an elaborate continuation of the Severan court style established by Julia Domna, yet executed with distinctive individual nuances. The hair is carefully arranged in low, regular horizontal waves that ripple across the side of the head, drawn backward toward the nape of the neck, where it is braided into a wide plait that is folded flat and pinned up the back of the head beneath the crown. Her profile reveals idealized facial contours characterized by a straight nose, almond-shaped eye, and modest chin, reflecting the courtly convention of youthful aristocratic grace. The drapery is gathered gracefully around the shoulders and throat, emphasizing maternal and matronly dignity. The engraving style exhibits the delicate modeling of the premier Rome die-cutters, who balanced individualized portrait features with the dignified conventions of imperial empress portraiture.

Reverse Iconography and Astral Symbolism

The reverse iconography of RIC IV Elagabalus 380 focuses on the personification of Concordia, who is shown draped and seated comfortably upon a backless throne or stool facing to the left. In her outstretched right hand, Concordia holds a patera, a shallow libation dish used in Roman religious ritual to pour offerings upon an altar, symbolizing the pious duty and religious concord underpinning the imperial marriage. Resting in the crook of her left arm is a cornucopiae, the horn of plenty, which promises fertility, prosperity, and imperial abundance under the newly blessed union. To the right of the figure, in the upper or mid reverse field, appears an astral star. This star is not merely ornamental; in the context of Elagabalus's reign, the star serves as a prominent emblem of the sun god Elagabal of Emesa, the presiding deity of the emperor's priestly office. The combination of Concordia and the solar star intimately links the personal marriage of the imperial couple to cosmic favor and divine protection. Flanking the seated personification are the prominent letters S and C, denoting Senatus Consulto, the constitutional formula reflecting the formal decree of the Senate sanctioning the issue of base-metal coinage.

Inscriptions and Epigraphic Analysis

The legends on RIC IV Elagabalus 380 are concise and unambiguous, conforming to the conservative epigraphic standards of the Rome mint. The obverse reads IVLIA PAVLA AVG, short for Iulia Paula Augusta. By omitting ancestral or patronymic elements, the legend focuses attention directly on Paula's newly granted sovereign title of Augusta, which she received upon her formal wedding in late 219 AD. The reverse carries the primary inscription CONCORDIA, which proclaims the essential Roman virtue of mutual agreement, marital harmony, and unity between the imperial spouses and the state. In the lower or middle field, divided on either side of the seated goddess, is the formulaic abbreviation S C, designating Senatus Consulto, confirming the nominal authority of the Senate over the heavy brass currency. The lettering is executed in a classical Roman lapidary capital script, featuring balanced serifs, uniform stroke depths, and regular spacing around the peripheral beaded borders.

Typology and Chronological Sequence

Within the typology of the fourth volume of The Roman Imperial Coinage, RIC IV Elagabalus 380 occupies a definitive place as the principal sestertius type issued for Julia Paula at Rome. Her tenure as empress was remarkably brief: married to Elagabalus with great public celebration late in 219 AD, she was discarded and stripped of the title Augusta late in 220 AD when Elagabalus divorced her to marry the Vestal Virgin Aquilia Severa. Consequently, all coins bearing her name and likeness fall strictly within this narrow window of approximately one year. Variations within RIC IV Elagabalus 380 are primarily confined to minor die-engraving nuances, such as the exact rendering of the star with six or eight points, minor shifts in the placement of the star within the right field, and subtle differences in the arrangement of the drapery folds or throne drapery. The type is closely twinned with denarii and dupondii bearing identical reverse legends and iconography, forming a coherent denominational set produced simultaneously by the urban mint.

Circulation Patterns and Archaeological Evidence

Despite the formal annulment of the marriage and the removal of her imperial titles, coins struck in the name of Julia Paula were not systematically recalled or melted down in an active program of damnatio memoriae. Roman monetary authorities rarely found it economically viable to withdraw large volumes of circulating bronze base-metal coin for purely political reasons. As a result, specimens of RIC IV Elagabalus 380 circulated across Italy and the western provinces, gradually losing mass through extensive commercial use. Sestertii of this type are encountered in third-century hoard contexts across Gaul, the Rhine frontier, Britain, and the Danubian provinces, often appearing alongside worn issues of earlier Antonine and Severan dynasts. Because the absolute volume of bronze minted during Paula's short single year of recognition was modest compared to long-reigning empresses such as Julia Domna, surviving examples typically show moderate to heavy wear, indicating that they remained active in the pool of daily transactional currency for decades until the collapse of the traditional sestertius denomination in the 260s AD.

References

1. I grandi bronzi imperiali: Elagabalus, Julia Paula, Aquilia Severa, Annia Faustina, Julia Soaemias, Julia Maesa. pp. 110-112
2. Description historique des monnaies frappees sous l'Empire romain, Tome IV. p. 367, no. 8
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 380. Type ric.4.el.380
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 59, no. 380