Elagabalus Bronze Sestertius, RIC IV Elagabalus 318d

Monetary Context and the Severan Sestertius

During the reign of Elagabalus (AD 218 to 222), the Roman monetary system maintained the traditional denominations established under the early empire, even as intrinsic silver values underwent persistent downward adjustments. The sestertius persisted as the preeminent large-format bronze denomination, serving both everyday market transactions of moderate value and high-visibility state communication. Valued at one quarter of a silver denarius or four copper asses, the sestertius possessed substantial purchasing power compared to fractional bronze denominations. Its broad surface area and substantial brass or bronze fabric made it an ideal vehicle for state messages aimed at the civilian population of Rome and the Italian peninsula. While debasement impacted the silver coinage such as the denarius and the newly reintroduced double denarius or antoninianus, bronze sestertii retained formal fiduciary standing backed by the authority of the Roman Senate, as evidenced by the consistent presence of the senatorial formula S C on the reverse field. RIC IV Elagabalus 318d represents this traditional base-metal production at a critical juncture in the Severan dynasty, combining stable institutional denominations with radically shifting theological messaging.

Production and Mint Organization

The entire regular bronze coinage bearing official senatorial sanction for Elagabalus was concentrated at the principal imperial mint in Rome. Unlike provincial bronze issues struck in Greek cities across Syria, Asia Minor, and Egypt, which followed local weight standards and civic conventions, the imperial sestertius was manufactured directly under central bureaucratic oversight. Engravers at the Rome mint operated within organized officinae, producing matched sets of iron dies from master models. Flan production for sestertii involved casting heavy discs in an orichalcum or bronze alloy, which were subsequently heated and struck between hardened obverse and reverse dies. While individual weights fluctuated noticeably around an average standard of approximately twenty to twenty-six grams with diameters typically ranging from twenty-nine to thirty-three millimeters, striking was controlled al marco rather than through exact per-flan precision. Die axis alignment at Rome during this period was commonly adjusted to either six o'clock or twelve o'clock orientations, reflecting established workshop procedures.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 318d features a mature, idealized right-facing bust of Elagabalus. Numismatically recorded under the sub-type letter d within the standard RIC IV scheme, this variant is strictly characterized by a bust that is simultaneously laureate, draped, and cuirassed. The imperial laurel wreath rests atop the emperor's curls, fastened at the back with hanging ties, signifying victorious status and supreme imperium. The drapery of the paludamentum is layered over the military cuirass, showing clear segmentations of the breastplate at the shoulder and neck. This tripartite combination of military armor, paludamentum, and laurel wreath presented a carefully constructed image of legitimate military readiness and administrative dignity, deliberately referencing the established visual language of his supposed father, Caracalla. The portrait treatment captures the adolescent ruler with clean-shaven features, rendering an image of dynastic continuity designed to project stability to the senatorial elite and the broader Roman public.

Reverse Design: Sol and the Star

The reverse iconography of RIC IV Elagabalus 318d is dominated by the dynamic figure of Sol, the Roman sun deity, advancing rapidly toward the left. Sol is depicted in heroic nudity with the sole exception of a chlamys or cloak draped over his left shoulder and flowing behind his movement. His head is adorned with a radiant crown featuring projecting solar beams. In his left hand, the deity holds a whip, a standard attribute symbolizing his role as the celestial charioteer who guides the horses of the sun across the heavens. His right hand is raised outward in a formal gesture of beneficence, protection, and divine command, often interpreted as an adlocutio or cosmic blessing. Within the upper left field, a star is prominently positioned. This star functions both as a celestial emblem reinforcing the cosmic authority of Sol and as a direct allusion to the sacred cult of the sun god of Emesa, Elagabal, whose high priesthood the emperor held. The combination of dynamic movement, traditional solar attributes, and the astral symbol forms a cohesive visual statement connecting celestial power with imperial protection.

Epigraphy and Inscriptional Analysis

The inscriptional framework of RIC IV Elagabalus 318d strictly follows official Severan imperial protocols. The obverse legend reads IMP CAES M AVR ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, fully rendered as Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Pius Augustus. This nomenclature was strategically chosen to reinforce the ruler's claimed Antonine lineage, asserting direct descent from Caracalla and Marcus Aurelius while omitting any reference to his Syrian heritage or birth name, Varius Avitus Bassianus. On the reverse, the legend presents an exacting imperial titulature: P M TR P IIII COS III P P S C. This sequence expands to Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate Quarta, Consul Tertium, Pater Patriae, Senatus Consulto. The recording of the fourth tribunician power and the third consulship provides an absolute epigraphic anchor, confirming that the dies were prepared during the calendar year AD 221. The concluding letters S C confirm the traditional constitutional fiction of senatorial decree accompanying all base-metal coinage struck at Rome, balancing the assertive solar imagery with institutional legitimacy.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the structural framework of Harold Mattingly and Edward Sydenham's Roman Imperial Coinage, type 318 is subdivided by obverse bust format, with 318d denoting the laureate, draped, and cuirassed variant, distinct from variants featuring simpler laureate draping or laureate cuirasses alone. The dating of the type is firmly established to AD 221 by the explicit combination of TR P IIII and COS III. During this specific year, imperial propaganda placed extraordinary emphasis on solar symbolism, reflecting the full installation of the sacred black stone of Emesa at the newly dedicated Elagabalium on the Palatine Hill. Related issues of AD 221 depict the emperor sacrificing over lighted altars, whereas RIC IV Elagabalus 318d employs an allegorical representation of the solar divinity himself. The type therefore sits squarely within the penultimate year of Elagabalus's reign, immediately preceding the adoption of Severus Alexander as Caesar and the subsequent collapse of the emperor's political regime in March of AD 222.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Survival

Sestertii of Elagabalus produced at Rome circulated extensively across the western and central provinces of the Roman Empire, including Italy, Gaul, the Rhine frontier, and Britannia. Archaeological recovery patterns demonstrate that bronze coinage struck in the early third century often remained in active circulation for several decades, accumulating significant surface wear before entering the archaeological record. While many Severan sestertii sustained mechanical abrasion and corrosion in aggressive soils, hoard contexts and stray riverine finds frequently preserve readable portions of the reverse date and legend. Following the assassination and subsequent damnatio memoriae of Elagabalus in AD 222, bronze coins of his reign were not systematically melted down on an immediate, comprehensive scale due to the intrinsic value and public demand for circulating small change, although portraits occasionally exhibit intentional gouging or defacement. Today, well-preserved specimens of RIC IV Elagabalus 318d are preserved in institutional collections and recognized for their fine Severan engraving style.

References

1. I Grandi Bronzi Imperiali: Vol. IV-2 (Elagabalo). Elagabalus No. 44
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. pp. 592-595
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 318d. ric.4.el.318d
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 58, no. 318d