Elagabalus Bronze Sestertius RIC IV Elagabalus 300d

Monetary Context and Denominational Role

During the reign of Elagabalus, the Roman monetary system continued the structured bimetallic and trimetallic framework established under the early principate, though under profound fiscal strain caused by military expenditures and inflationary pressures. The sestertius remained the core unit of account in civilian record-keeping and the heaviest base-metal coin in general everyday circulation. Valued at one-fourth of a silver denarius or four copper asses, the sestertius was historically struck in orichalcum, a golden-toned copper-zinc brass alloy. By the Severan period, however, metallurgy at the Rome mint frequently utilized recycled bronze stock or degraded brass with varying zinc, tin, and lead content. Denominations in brass and copper bore the letters S C (Senatus Consulto), reflecting the enduring legal fiction of senatorial authority over the coinage of aes denominations even as absolute control over monetary volume and imperial messaging remained firmly in the hands of the princeps.

Mint Location and Production Standards

The sestertii of RIC IV Elagabalus 300d were manufactured exclusively at the central imperial mint in Rome. While provincial and eastern branch mints, notably Antioch, struck substantial volumes of silver denarii and local civic bronzes during the early part of Elagabalus's reign, large imperial sestertii with traditional senatorial sanction were the exclusive prerogative of the metropolitan workshops. Blank planchets were cast in molds before being hot-struck between engraved iron dies. In accordance with third-century Severan practices, sestertii of this period exhibit average weights clustering between 20 and 25 grams, with module diameters generally spanning 28 to 33 millimeters. Die axes were predominantly aligned at 12 o'clock or 6 o'clock, reflecting disciplined workshop standards despite the heightened pace of production required by imperial accession and consecutive consular gifts.

Obverse Iconography and Portraiture

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 300d presents a right-facing portrait of the young emperor wearing a laurel wreath, with careful depiction of both drapery and a military cuirass. This combination of drapery and cuirass specifically defines subvariant 300d within the broader RIC 300 group, which catalogued variations in imperial bust attire across separate alphabetical index letters. The portraiture belongs to Elagabalus's mature metropolitan style of AD 220, capturing the adolescent ruler with prominent features, short-cropped Severan curls beneath the laurel tie, and the paludamentum pinned over his military breastplate. This military rendering offered reassurance to the legions and the Praetorian Guard, emphasizing the emperor's role as supreme commander despite his youthful age and exotic religious background.

Reverse Iconography and Solar Symbolism

The reverse design displays Sol, the radiate deity of the sun, striding briskly to the left. He is portrayed naked with the exception of a chlamys or cloak draped over his left shoulder and fluttering behind him. Sol raises his right hand in an open, salutary gesture symbolizing celestial dominion and dawn, while his left hand holds a whip, the attribute of his cosmic four-horse chariot (quadriga). A prominent star appears in the field, serving as an additional astral emblem. The letters S and C flank the lower field on either side of the deity. In the year AD 220, this design began to bridge standard Roman devotion to Sol Invictus with the syrianized sun worship of the Emesene god Elagabal, whose cult the emperor was aggressively importing to the capital. The composition combines dynamism with imperial triumph, associating the ruler's cosmic good fortune with the unending light of the sun.

Epigraphy and Titulature Analysis

The obverse inscription reads IMP CAES M AVR ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, fully rendered as Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Pius Augustus. This legend asserts dynastic legitimacy by continuing the revered name of Antoninus, originally bestowed by Caracalla and Marcus Aurelius, through which Elagabalus was framed as Caracalla's natural son and rightful successor. On the reverse, the legend reads P M TR P III COS III P P, denoting Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate III, Consul III, Pater Patriae. This sequence provides explicit chronological control: Elagabalus assumed his third tribunician power and celebrated his third ordinary consulship alongside Publius Valerius Comazon in AD 220. The senatorial signature S C (Senatus Consulto) confirms its formal status as a metropolitan state bronze issue.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the standard classification of Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham in Roman Imperial Coinage volume IV part II, type 300 encompasses the sestertii of AD 220 bearing the Sol reverse with TR P III COS III dating. The series is differentiated into sub-types based entirely on obverse bust forms: 300a for a laureate head right, 300b for a laureate, draped bust right, 300c for a laureate, draped bust right viewed from behind, and 300d for the laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right. Henri Cohen recorded related variants under his general catalogue entry 157. Because the tribunician date TR P III was renewed in late 220, this issue was struck in the middle of Elagabalus's short reign, preceding the explicit priest-emperor iconography showing the horned tiara, stone of Emesa, and sacrifice at altars that proliferated in AD 221 and 222.

Distribution and Circulation Patterns

As official base-metal coinage struck at Rome, sestertii of this issue circulated primarily within the western provinces of the Roman Empire, Italy, and the military frontiers of the Rhine and Danube. Unlike silver denarii, which circulated universally across both western and eastern provinces, Roman aes denominations faced competition in the Greek East from abundant local civic bronze coinages. Archaeological hoard evidence from the third century indicates that Severan sestertii experienced sustained circulation for several decades, often circulating into the mid-third century until the hyperinflationary debasement of the antoninianus under Gallienus caused the functional collapse of large aes denominations.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. pp. 585-587
2. Description historique des monnaies frappees sous l'Empire Romain, Vol. IV. p. 339, no. 157
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 300d. ric.4.el.300d
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 57, no. 300d