Julia Maesa Sestertius, RIC IV Elagabalus 414

Monetary Context and Dynastic Framing

The accession of Varius Avitus Bassianus, historically known as Elagabalus, in AD 218 was engineered largely through the political acumen, vast wealth, and military diplomacy of his grandmother, Julia Maesa. Following the assassination of Caracalla and the brief usurpation of Macrinus, Maesa orchestrated the restoration of the Severan lineage by presenting her young grandsons as heirs to the Antonine and Severan imperial mantle. Upon securing the purple, the imperial administration immediately conferred the supreme title of Augusta upon Julia Maesa, recognizing her de facto political leadership and matriarchal primacy. In the monetary sphere, the bronze sestertius remained the premier civic denomination of imperial Rome, serving as the primary vehicle for high-visibility ideological messaging within the capital and across the western provinces. Struck on large brass or bronze flans, sestertii reached a broad domestic and commercial audience. The production of sestertii honoring Julia Maesa, exemplified by RIC IV Elagabalus 414, was essential for communicating continuity, respect for traditional Roman religious hierarchy, and familial solidarity during an otherwise turbulent reign marked by radical theological shifts.

Production Standards and Mint Organization

RIC IV Elagabalus 414 was manufactured exclusively by the central mint in Rome, which maintained dedicated officinae for the continuous striking of base-metal coinage alongside the imperial gold and silver series. Under Elagabalus, the Rome mint was tasked with balancing vast outputs of heavily debased silver antoniniani and denarii with substantial issues of aes denominations, including sestertii, dupondii, and asses. Technically classified under the broad category of copper alloy, sestertii of this era were traditionally struck in orichalcum, a golden-toned brass alloy composed of copper and zinc, though third-century metallographic analyses indicate increasing lead contamination and fluctuating zinc levels due to the reuse of recycled scrap bronze. The striking process required heavy, cast planchets prepared in multi-cavity moulds, adjusted roughly to weight, and heated prior to striking beneath engraved iron dies. The operational weight standard for Severan sestertii generally clustered between 20 and 26 grams with diameters typically ranging from 29 to 32 millimeters, though individual specimens demonstrate notable dispersion due to loose weight controls per flan at the mint.

Obverse Portraiture and Regal Iconography

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 414 bears a dignified, right-facing portrait bust of Julia Maesa. She is depicted draped in traditional Roman matronal stola and mantle, her shoulders turned slightly toward the viewer. The bust is crowned by an imperial diadem, an iconographic attribute denoting her supreme rank as Augusta and distinguishing her portraits from those of private citizens or lower-ranked imperial women. Her coiffure exemplifies the distinctive court hairstyle developed under the later Severan empresses. The hair is parted neatly, crimped into broad horizontal waves along the side of the head, and drawn low down to the nape of the neck, where it is gathered and folded upward in a broad plait or chignon. This formal, sculptural arrangement was executed by skilled die engravers at Rome to communicate gravitas, maturity, and conservative Roman virtues, purposefully aligning Maesa with the revered memory of her deceased sister, Julia Domna.

Reverse Iconography: Pietas at the Altar

The reverse iconography depicts the personification Pietas standing facing left, draped in long, flowing garments that fall in classical vertical folds. In her left hand, Pietas holds an acerra, a small rectangular box designed to contain grains of pure incense. Her right arm is raised outward and downward over a lighted cylindrical or tripod altar situated at her feet on the left, shown in the act of dropping incense into the sacred flames. The portrayal of Pietas sacrificing represents one of the most enduring themes of Roman state religion, symbolizing dutiful devotion toward the traditional gods, filial loyalty to the imperial house, and the reciprocal protection granted by heaven to the Roman state. On this issue struck for Julia Maesa, the composition of Pietas functioned as a conservative anchor for the Severan regime, reassuring the Roman Senate and populace that traditional sacrificial rites were scrupulously maintained by the imperial matriarch at Rome, even while Elagabalus promoted unconventional rituals dedicated to Elagabal.

Inscriptions and Epigraphic Analysis

The obverse legend reads IVLIA MAESA AVGVSTA, written continuously clockwise along the rim. This formulaic titulature is concise and unadorned by patronymics, proclaiming both her personal identity and her constitutional status as an empress. The lettering exhibits standard Severan epigraphic characteristics, with well-formed, neat serifs and balanced spacing designed to fit the broad outer perimeter of the sestertius die. The reverse inscription is rendered as PIETAS AVG, representing an abbreviation for Pietas Augustae, the personal and religious piety of the Augusta, or Pietas Augusti, denoting the overarching religious devotion of the imperial household. Across the lower fields flanking the standing figure of Pietas, the prominent letters S C appear, signifying Senatus Consulto (by decree of the Senate). Although senatorial control over base-metal minting had long become nominal by the third century AD, the retention of S C remained a formal constitutional necessity on imperial sestertii, reinforcing the legitimacy of Maesa's public honors within the civic framework of Rome.

Typological Classification and Chronological Placement

In the standard classification established by Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham in The Roman Imperial Coinage, this specific type is catalogued as RIC IV Elagabalus 414. Within the broader numismatic typology of Elagabalus's reign, the issue belongs to the substantive brass and bronze coinage struck for the imperial women between AD 218 and 222, running concurrently with parallel types bearing reverse personifications such as Pudicitia, Fecunditas, and Saeculi Felicitas. Because the legends on RIC 414 do not record annual tribunician years or consulships, dating relies on typological progression and hoards. The issue was initiated following Maesa's elevation in AD 218 and likely continued in production throughout the middle and later phases of the reign until the assassination of Elagabalus in March AD 222. The type is closely linked to identical reverse compositions struck on contemporary silver denarii (RIC IV Elagabalus 263) and middle bronze dupondii and asses (RIC IV Elagabalus 415), confirming that the Pietas motif formed part of a coordinated, multi-denominational propaganda campaign.

Circulation Patterns and Monetary Survival

Once released from the mint of Rome, sestertii of Julia Maesa entered broad commercial channels throughout Italy and the western Roman provinces, including Gaul, Britannia, the Rhineland, and the Iberian Peninsula. In these territories, large bronze pieces were indispensable for everyday market transactions, military pay adjustments, and municipal retail trade. Evidence from excavated site finds and stray losses demonstrates that sestertii of the Severan women circulated alongside older pieces dating back to the Antonine and Trajanic periods. Due to the progressive reduction in aes striking under the later Severans and the virtual cessation of regular sestertius production by the late third century AD, coins of this type experienced protracted periods of circulation. Surviving specimens frequently exhibit significant surface smoothing, rim knocks, and natural wear patterns consistent with decades of active handling. In hoards deposited during the political and economic crises of the mid-third century AD, RIC IV Elagabalus 414 appears regularly alongside earlier Severan bronzes, testifying to its enduring utility as trusted high-value token coinage.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. Elagabalus, nos. 389-393
2. RIC IV Elagabalus 414 in Online Coins of the Roman Empire. ric.4.el.414
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 61, no. 414