Elagabalus Gold Aureus, RIC IV Elagabalus 174

Monetary Context and Imperial Policy

The monetary system of the early Severan period relied on the gold aureus as the primary store of intrinsic wealth and the ultimate anchor of imperial state finance. While the silver denarius and the double denarius (antoninianus) underwent progressive debasement under Septimius Severus, Caracalla, and their successors, the gold aureus maintained a high level of metallurgical purity, generally exceeding 98 percent gold. Under Elagabalus, the aureus was struck at approximately 1/45 to 1/50 of a Roman pound, yielding an average weight standard around 6.5 to 7.2 grams. Aurei were not produced for routine everyday retail transactions; instead, they functioned as the denomination par excellence for military donatives, elite remuneration, diplomatic subsidies, and the fiscal settlement of monumental state contracts. The production of RIC IV Elagabalus 174 in AD 219 coincided with the consolidation of Elagabalus's rule in Syria prior to his formal journey to Rome. The distribution of high-value gold coinage in the East reinforced the loyalty of the Syrian and Mesopotamian legions that had elevated him to the purple, providing tangible proof of imperial largesse backed by solid precious metal.

Production and Mint Attribution

In Roman Imperial Coinage Volume IV Part 2, Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham catalogued this type under the eastern mint of Antioch in Syria. Antioch had long operated as the preeminent administrative and minting center of Roman Syria, capable of producing both imperial denarii and aurei alongside large civic bronze and provincial silver tetradrachms. Following the defeat of Macrinus near Antioch in June AD 218, Elagabalus established his imperial court in the Syrian metropolis for the remainder of that year and the early months of AD 219 before journeying through Asia Minor toward Rome. Production of aurei at Antioch during this transitional phase relied on seasoned local engravers and mint staff who adapted central imperial iconography to provincial die-cutting traditions. Scholars such as Kevin Butcher have noted that stylistic distinctions between the eastern issues of Elagabalus and the central mint of Rome include differences in portrait rendering, lettering proportions, and relief modeling. Although some modern numismatic debates question the exact institutional division between Antioch and roving imperial court mints, RIC IV Elagabalus 174 remains securely classified within the eastern Severan series.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Representation

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 174 features a right-facing bust of Elagabalus, wearing a laurel wreath and depicted with both drapery and a cuirass. This depiction combines civil, religious, and martial connotations essential to imperial legitimacy. The laurel wreath symbolizes triumph, imperial majesty, and the protection of Apollo, while the cuirass (lorica) and military cloak (paludamentum) project martial authority and command over the Roman armies. Despite the emperor being only fifteen years old in AD 219, the portraiture strikes a balance between youthfulness and formal adult dignity. The Antioch style renders the portrait with a compact cranial structure, distinctive facial features, and neatly engraved curls along the neck. By adopting the full imperial habitus of a victorious imperator, the type emphasized that Elagabalus was the rightful martial successor to Caracalla, answering any potential doubts concerning his age, Syrian priestly origins, or political stability.

Reverse Iconography: The Imperial Quadriga

The reverse of the coin presents Elagabalus standing left in a slow quadriga, crowned with a laurel wreath and holding a branch in his raised right hand and an eagle-tipped sceptre (scipio) in his left hand. This composition belongs to the classic iconographic tradition of the processus consularis, the ceremonial parade undertaken by an emperor upon entering the consulship. Unlike a military triumph, which typically featured a fast chariot and winged Victory, the slow-moving quadriga (quadriga triumphalis used in peaceful civic ceremony) underscores civil concord, auspicious leadership, and public games. The branch signifies peace (pax) and imperial clemency, while the eagle sceptre serves as an ancient insignia of consular authority and Jupiter's divine favor. This depiction served to assure the senatorial elite and provincial subjects that the young Syrian sovereign would govern according to traditional Roman magistracies and constitutional forms, despite his unusual religious background as high priest of Elagabal.

Epigraphy and Titulature

The obverse inscription reads IMP CAES M AVR ANTONINVS P F AVG, representing the standard expansion Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Pius Felix Augustus. This nomenclature deliberately omits the emperor's birth name of Varius Avitus Bassianus in favor of the dynastic name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, inherited through the claim of paternity from Caracalla and retroactive adoption into the Antonine dynasty. The epithets Pius Felix (Dutiful and Blessed) affirm his devotion to the gods, his family, and the fortune of the empire. On the reverse, the legend TR POT II COS II P P expands to Tribunicia Potestate Secundum, Consul Secundum, Pater Patriae. The reference to the second tribunician power and second consulship securely fixes the minting of this type to AD 219, the year Elagabalus served as ordinary consul alongside Quintus Tineius Sacerdos. The inclusion of Pater Patriae (Father of the Fatherland) demonstrates the formal acceptance of traditional senatorial honors early in his reign.

Typological Classification and Chronology

In the standard reference system of Roman Imperial Coinage, this issue is catalogued as RIC IV Elagabalus 174, cross-referenced in Xavier Calico's specialized gold catalogue under number 3037. The issue belongs to a coherent chronological group produced in Syria during the early months of AD 219 before Elagabalus celebrated his arrival in Rome later that summer. Parallel reverse designs showing the emperor in a consular quadriga were struck in silver denarii at both Rome and eastern facilities, but the gold aureus of this specific type remains restricted to Antioch within the RIC classification. The epigraphic convergence of TR P II and COS II establishes an unambiguous terminus post quem and terminus ante quem within AD 219, because Elagabalus assumed his third tribunician power and third consulship in AD 220. The existence of minor die variations in portrait drapery and letter spacing indicates that although the issue was tightly circumscribed in time, multiple die pairings were prepared to complete the commemorative production run.

Circulation, Hoarding, and Preservation

Gold aurei of Elagabalus were struck in vastly smaller quantities than his base-metal or silver coinage, resulting in limited contemporary circulation within daily trade channels. Once disbursed as consular donatives or diplomatic gifts, these coins circulated primarily among high-ranking officers, provincial governors, and elite merchants. Because the intrinsic gold content of Roman aurei remained virtually uncompromised during the Severan debasement crisis, aurei were systematically hoarded rather than left in prolonged physical exchange. Many surviving specimens exhibit minimal wear, reflecting their role as preserved bullion or presentation tokens rather than heavily handled currency. Hoards discovered across the eastern provinces and the European frontiers show that Severan aurei were frequently cached during the mid-third-century military crises, often surviving intact until modern discovery. RIC IV Elagabalus 174 is preserved in select major numismatic collections and public museums as a testament to the brief Syrian phase of Severan gold coinage.

References

1. Coinage in Roman Syria: Northern Syria, 64 BC-AD 253. pp. 95-103
2. The Metallurgy of Roman Silver Coinage: From the Reform of Nero to the Reform of Trajan. pp. 1-24
3. The Roman Aurei: An Exhaustive Catalogue of Roman Aurei. p. 556, no. 3037
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 45, no. 174
5. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 174. ric.4.el.174