Elagabalus Gold Aureus, RIC IV Elagabalus 143d

Monetary Context and the Severan Aureus

Under the Severan dynasty, the gold aureus remained the ultimate store of value and the cornerstone of the Roman bimetallic and trimetallic monetary structure. Following the reforms of Caracalla in 215 AD, the weight standard of the aureus had been adjusted downward from previous Antonine levels, settling into an average theoretical standard around 1/50th of a Roman pound, or approximately 6.54 grams. Although the silver denarius and the double-denarius or antoninianus experienced progressive debasement, imperial gold maintained near-total purity throughout this period, routinely assaying above ninety-eight percent fine metal. Gold aurei such as RIC IV Elagabalus 143d were not struck for day-to-day retail transactions; their production was intimately tied to special imperial accessions, annual vota, consular ceremonies, and donatives to the Praetorian Guard and legions. By distributing aurei of exceptional design, the imperial court sought to validate the emperor's authority and disseminate crucial administrative or ideological programs. In the case of RIC IV Elagabalus 143d, the aureus fulfilled a specific theological function, signaling to Rome's civil and military leaders that the cult of the Emesene sun stone had achieved paramount status within imperial patronage.

Production and Mint Attribution

Scholarly consensus firmly attributes the production of RIC IV Elagabalus 143d to the principal mint located in the city of Rome. Although earlier eastern mints, notably Antioch and perhaps Emesa, operated during the initial phase of the reign before the emperor arrived in the capital in 219 AD, the refined style of engraving, lettering, and bust modeling on this aureus firmly reflects the craftsmanship of the urban mint at Rome. Engravers at the Rome mint executed the complex spatial arrangement of the quadriga, parasols, and conical stone with remarkable die-sinking skill. Striking gold coinages required carefully regulated dies and strict accounting oversight, as metal blanks were weighed individually before striking to ensure adherence to the legal target weight. Die alignment in Severan gold typically favored an upright or near-upright axis, conforming to prevailing Roman workshop conventions. While the volume of gold struck under Elagabalus was substantially lower than the immense output of silver denarii, dies for types like 143d were prepared with meticulous care, indicating an official court commission intended to project the prestige of the imported cult.

Obverse Design and Portraiture

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 143d features a right-facing portrait bust of Elagabalus, classified specifically by its combined attributes of being laureate, draped, and cuirassed. The laureate wreath signifies imperial victory and divine favor, tied to the sacred status of the Augustus. The drapery of the paludamentum or military cloak is visible over the shoulder, layered atop an anatomical breastplate or cuirass, visible at the chest and neck. This tripartite combination of drapery, armor, and laurel wreath represents one of the standard imperial portrait forms of the Severan period, conveying the emperor's dual civilian and military authority. The facial features render the emperor as an adolescent ruler, characterized by full cheeks, a short neck, and hair gathered in tight curls beneath the wreath band. Unlike later or idiosyncratic coin portraits that depict Elagabalus with the sacred horn or ritual beard associated with his priesthood, the portrait on type 143d adheres to conventional imperial models, deliberately balancing the unconventional eastern iconography on the reverse with an orthodox Roman image on the obverse.

Reverse Iconography: The Sacred Stone of Emesa

The reverse design of RIC IV Elagabalus 143d provides an explicit depiction of the sacred relic of the Emesene sun deity. At the center of the composition is a four-horse chariot or quadriga advancing slowly to the right. Mounted atop the triumphal carriage is the baetyl, a venerated, conical sacred meteorite originating from the temple at Emesa in Syria. Resting on the apex of the stone is an eagle with spread wings, an ancient solar and heavenly symbol closely associated with Syrian religious iconography as well as Roman Jupiter. Inside the carriage surrounding the sacred stone, the engraver rendered four upright parasols or baldachin poles with curved canopies, representing oriental ceremonial regalia used to shade and protect the divine presence. Literary accounts by contemporary historians Herodian and Cassius Dio record that the stone was paraded through Rome in a magnificent golden chariot; the emperor himself walked backward before the horses, facing the deity as an act of pious servitude. The reverse die of 143d translates this monumental public ritual into miniature numismatic art, immortalizing the moment when an aniconic eastern stone held court in Rome.

Epigraphic Analysis and Titulature

The legends on RIC IV Elagabalus 143d provide essential evidence for the official titulature and theological claims of the reign. The obverse inscription reads IMP C M AVR ANTONINVS P F AVG, which expands in full Latin to Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Pius Felix Augustus. By adopting the name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Elagabalus perpetuated the fiction that he was the illegitimate son of Caracalla, anchoring his legitimacy to the celebrated Antonine dynasty. The epithets Pius Felix underscored customary imperial virtues of familial duty, religious piety, and good fortune. On the reverse, the inscription reads SANCT DEO SOLI ELAGABAL, expanding to Sancto Deo Soli Elagabalo, translating to 'To the Holy Sun God Elagabal'. The dative grammatical case indicates a formal dedication to the divinity. The use of the adjective Sanctus was relatively uncommon on mainstream Roman coinage and carried an intense, archaic, and oriental nuance, highlighting the sacred holiness of the Emesene god. Unlike standard reverses that invoked Apollo or Sol Invictus in conventional terms, this dedication boldly introduced the Semitic deity's indigenous name directly onto high-status gold.

Typology and Chronological Placement

Within the typology of Roman Imperial Coinage, catalog number RIC IV Elagabalus 143 is divided into several sub-varieties based on subtle differences in the obverse portrait drapery. Type 143d is defined strictly by the bust that is simultaneously laureate, draped, and cuirassed, facing right. Sister variants under entry 143 include types with laureate and draped busts without cuirass, or laureate and cuirassed busts without drapery. Chronologically, while the broad reign extends from 218 to 222 AD, numismatic scholars associate the SANCT DEO SOLI ELAGABAL series with the middle and later phases of the reign, following the arrival of the sacred stone in Rome during the summer of 219 AD. The dedicated temple on the Palatine Hill, the Elagabalium, was completed around 220 to 221 AD, providing the likely historical backdrop for celebratory issues featuring the quadriga procession. Because type 143d lacks dated consular or tribunician numbers, its placement rests upon stylistic convergence with dated issues from 220 to 222 AD, representing the height of Elagabalus's promotional campaign for his patron god.

Circulation Patterns and Historical Survival

Gold aurei of Elagabalus circulated within very restricted economic spheres compared to billon and bronze denominations. Aurei tended to be hoarded or transferred among institutional actors, high-ranking military officers, and senatorial aristocrats. The SANCT DEO SOLI ELAGABAL aurei were produced in limited quantities, and their survival rate into modern public and private collections is notably small. Following the assassination of Elagabalus and his mother Julia Soaemias in March 222 AD, the Roman Senate declared a damnatio memoriae against the fallen princeps. The sacred stone of Emesa was promptly expelled from the capital and returned to Syria, and the Elagabalium was rededicated to Jupiter. While gold coins were rarely melted systematically on purely ideological grounds because of their inherent bullion value, many Severan aurei were subsequently retrieved from circulation by the state or hoarded during the economic volatility of the mid-third century. As a result, surviving specimens of RIC IV Elagabalus 143d remain exceptional numismatic documents, providing an unvarnished primary record of a transformative religious chapter in Roman imperial history.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. pp. 574-575
2. The Roman Aurei, Vol. II: From Caracalla to the Fall of the Western Empire. no. 3034
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 143d. ric.4.el.143d
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 42, no. 143d