Elagabalus Bronze Sestertius, RIC IV Elagabalus 290

Monetary Context and Civic Largesse

During the Severan dynasty, the sestertius retained its status as the principal large copper-alloy denomination of the Roman Empire, valued tariffed at four per silver denarius. Although the denarius underwent compositional debasement during the reigns of Septimius Severus, Caracalla, and Elagabalus, the sestertius continued to serve vital commercial and administrative functions. Beyond routine market transactions, large bronzes were uniquely suited for complex civic imagery due to their expansive flan diameter. The issue catalogued as RIC IV Elagabalus 290 directly commemorates an imperial congiarium, the customary distribution of cash, grain, or supplies to the urban plebs of Rome. In early imperial practice, such donatives marked critical milestones, including accessions, anniversaries, triumphs, or an emperor's formal arrival in the capital. Struck under senatorial authorization as indicated by the traditional formula S C (Senatus Consulto), this type publicized the young ruler's generosity and fiscal munificence to the populace, reinforcing the regime's legitimacy through traditional civic rituals.

Mint of Rome and Base-Metal Production

The entire production of RIC IV Elagabalus 290 is attributed to the central imperial mint at Rome, which held an operational monopoly on the striking of regular senatorial bronze denominations for the western empire. Sestertii of this era were manufactured from copper alloys, historically orichalcum (a copper-zinc brass), though compositional analyses across the Severan period demonstrate increasing inclusions of tin and lead as scrap metal recycling grew more common. Flans were cast in individual or joined moulds before hot striking between hand-carved steel dies. Severan sestertii exhibit a nominal weight standard typically fluctuating between 20 and 26 grams, with flan diameters ranging from 29 to 33 millimetres. The internal die axes for Rome mint bronze at this time were predominantly aligned near 12:00 or 6:00, reflecting standardized mint workshops (officinae). The complex figural group on the reverse required skilled die-engravers who could render multiple standing and seated figures, architectural steps, and diminutive attributes with clarity.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 290 presents a bust of Elagabalus facing right, wearing the laurel wreath of victory and imperium, draped, and cuirassed. In AD 219, Elagabalus was approximately fifteen years old, having assumed sole control of the empire following the defeat of Macrinus in AD 218. The portraiture executed at Rome in 219 captures this youthful appearance, depicting a rounded chin, short curls rendered in disciplined locks, and a slender neck, closely emulating the early juvenile portrait models developed for Caracalla under Septimius Severus. The drapery folds fall over a military breastplate (cuirass), combining civilian attire with martial authority. The laureate crown is secured at the back of the head with tied ribbons extending downward. This iconography served as a visual instrument of political continuity, firmly associating the new emperor with the Severan dynasty.

Reverse Tableau: The Liberalitas Distribution

The reverse displays an elaborate multifigural composition depicting the ceremony of imperial distribution. Elagabalus sits togate on a curule chair atop an elevated platform or tribunal (suggestum), facing left and holding a vertical sceptre in his left hand, symbolizing sovereign authority. Positioned before him on the same platform stands the personification Liberalitas, draped and facing left, holding an abacus (also interpreted as a counting board or tessera) extended in her right hand and a cornucopiae cradled in her left arm, symbolizing boundless abundance. To the lower left, an ordinary togate Roman citizen stands facing right, ascending the steps of the platform with draped hands raised to receive the distributed token or coin. In the lower field or flanking the scene, the letters S C confirm senatorial decree. This multi-level tableau provided an instantly recognizable visual narrative of personal imperial generosity directly reaching the citizens of Rome.

Epigraphy and Titulature

The obverse legend reads IMP CAES M AVR ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, representing the standard unabbreviated formula Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Pius Augustus. Through this inscription, Elagabalus abandoned his birth name, Varius Avitus Bassianus, claiming direct paternal descent from Caracalla (Marcus Aurelius Antoninus) and spiritual inheritance from the Antonine line. The reverse legend is divided between the perimeter inscription and the distribution formula: P M TR P II COS II P P, complemented by LIBERAL AVG II and S C. The title P M denotes Pontifex Maximus (chief priest of Rome), TR P II indicates the second tenure of Tribunician Power, COS II marks his second consulship, and P P proclaims him Pater Patriae (Father of the Fatherland). The legend LIBERAL AVG II specifies the event as Liberalitas Augusti II, distinguishing this issue as the commemoration of his second official imperial distribution.

Typology and Chronological Placement

The chronological assignment of RIC IV Elagabalus 290 is exceptionally precise due to the combination of consular and tribunician dates on the reverse die. Elagabalus held his first consulship in AD 218 and entered his second consulship (COS II) on January 1, AD 219, alongside Quintus Tineius Sacerdos. His second tribunician power (TR P II) ran from late AD 218 or January AD 219 through the close of AD 219. Consequently, this coin type belongs firmly to AD 219. It aligns historically with Elagabalus's summer journey from the East and his formal adventus into the capital city of Rome in mid-219. While his first distribution (Liberalitas I) was celebrated in Syrian Antioch or shortly after his proclamation, Liberalitas II was staged specifically to celebrate his formal entry and court installation at Rome. Related issues celebrating this second largesse exist in gold (aurei) and silver (denarii), but the sestertius offered the most detailed narrative presentation of the tribunal ceremony.

Circulation, Hoards, and Survival

Sestertii issued under Elagabalus primarily circulated within the Italian peninsula and the western provinces of the Roman Empire, including Gaul, Britain, and the Germanies, where base-metal coinage remained central to daily retail commerce. Unlike precious-metal denarii and antoniniani, which were frequently hoarded during political crises or withdrawn for melting during debasements, sestertii experienced protracted physical circulation that frequently spanned several decades. Hoard evidence from the middle and late third century across Britain and the Rhine frontier regularly reveals worn Severan sestertii circulating alongside earlier Antonine bronzes and later issues of Severus Alexander and Gordian III. Surviving specimens of RIC IV Elagabalus 290 frequently show significant surface smoothing and edge wear, testifying to long service in market trade. Because bronze production at Rome declined drastically by the mid-third century, these substantial coins remained indispensable tokens of value until the monetary reforms of Aurelian and Diocletian.

References

1. I Grandi Bronzi Imperiali: Vol. IV, 1 (Caracalla, Diadumeniano, Elagabalo). Elagabalus no. 55
2. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 57, no. 290
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 290. ric.4.el.290
4. The Handbook of Roman Imperial Coins. Elagabalus bronze coinage