Elagabalus Gold Aureus, RIC IV Elagabalus 136

Monetary Context and Imperial Gold Standards

During the late Antonine and Severan eras, the aureus represented the pinnacle of the Roman imperial monetary hierarchy. By the accession of Elagabalus in AD 218, the Roman currency system was undergoing profound fiscal stress. The silver denarius and the double denarius (antoninianus), which had been introduced under Caracalla in AD 215, suffered from progressive reductions in fineness and weight to meet escalating state expenditures, military bounties, and administrative costs. In stark contrast, imperial gold issues retained remarkable metallurgical integrity. Following Caracalla's monetary adjustments, the aureus standard settled near 50 to the Roman pound, providing a theoretical weight norm of approximately 6.54 grams, though surviving specimens commonly range between 6.20 and 6.65 grams. The aureus was tariffed at 25 silver denarii, functioning as the ultimate anchor of monetary value and high-level commerce across the Mediterranean world. For Elagabalus, whose accession was engineered through bribery and military proclamation in Syria against Macrinus, gold coinage was indispensable. It served as the primary medium for imperial donatives to the Praetorian Guard and the legions stationed around the capital. RIC IV Elagabalus 136 was minted precisely within this economic milieu, functioning both as high-denomination bullion and as a high-status vehicle for state communication.

Mint Production and Die Organization at Rome

The issue catalogued as RIC IV Elagabalus 136 is securely assigned to the principal imperial mint at Rome. Although Elagabalus was proclaimed in the East and initial emissions bearing his name were struck at Syrian mints such as Antioch, the mature stylistic rendering and refined epigraphy of this type indicate the work of the experienced central mint staff in Rome, operating following the emperor's arrival in the capital in the summer of AD 219. The mint of Rome was structured into distinct workshops or officinae, which divided production across metal denominations and reverse themes. Die preparation for gold issues engaged the finest engravers of the capital. The obverse dies were cut with striking attention to imperial likeness, balancing the youthful features of the young prince with established conventions of imperial authority. The dies were carefully aligned, predominantly displaying a regular upright or inverted die axis (six or twelve o'clock), standard for Severan gold production. Flans for these aurii were cast as circular blanks, precisely weighed before striking, and heated to facilitate the deep, sharp relief characteristic of Rome's die execution. Metallurgical analyses of contemporary Rome-mint aurii consistently demonstrate a gold purity exceeding ninety-five percent, reflecting strict administrative oversight in the capital.

Obverse Portraiture and Iconography

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 136 displays a finely executed bust of the emperor facing right, laureate and draped. Engravers at the Rome mint captured the features of the young emperor, who assumed power at approximately fourteen years of age. Unlike provincial issues that occasionally exaggerated facial traits, the central imperial mint depicted Elagabalus with smooth, idealized facial planes, a slightly upturned nose, and closely cropped hair crowned by a classical laurel wreath tied with fillets that drape over the nape of the neck. The drapery is meticulously rendered over the left shoulder and across the chest, emphasizing civil dignity alongside the military prerogative represented by the laurel wreath. The portrait design consciously avoids the exotic sacerdotal regalia associated with his hereditary priesthood of the Emesene sun-god Elagabal, which only appeared on later and more specialized series. Instead, this obverse conforms rigorously to the visual continuity of the Severan house, presenting the ruler in the orthodox guise of an adolescent Roman prince worthy of the purple.

Reverse Iconography: Salus and the Sacred Serpent

The reverse composition of this aureus depicts the goddess Salus draped in a long stola, standing right and cradling a live serpent in her arms, which she feeds from a shallow patera held in her left hand. Salus, the Roman counterpart to the Greek Hygieia, held a venerable position in Roman religious ideology, embodying both individual health and the corporate preservation of the state (Salus Publica). The sacred serpent, an enduring symbol of renewal, healing, and chthonic protection drawn from the cult of Aesculapius, rears its head to partake of the sacrificial offering presented by the goddess. In this specific iconography, the intimate posture of Salus holding and feeding the serpent reflects personal care and direct divine protection. By placing Salus on the imperial gold coinage, the mint broadcast divine guardianship over the fragile life of the adolescent emperor, reassuring the Roman aristocracy, army, and populace that the sovereign remained under constant celestial preservation.

Epigraphy and Titular Strategy

The inscriptions on RIC IV Elagabalus 136 are composed with exceptional epigraphic symmetry, utilizing crisp, monumental Roman capital lettering. The obverse legend reads IMP CAES M AVR ANTONINVS AVG (Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus). This nomenclature is of primary historical importance: born Varius Avitus Bassianus, the young emperor officially assumed the exact name of Caracalla (Marcus Aurelius Antoninus) upon his elevation. The title Imperator serves as a praenomen denoting supreme military command, while Caesar and Augustus signify legitimate dynastic status and imperial supremacy. The deliberate adoption of Antoninus was central to Severan dynastic propaganda, asserting direct descent from Caracalla and bypassing the interruption caused by the brief reign of Macrinus. On the reverse, the legend reads SALVS ANTONINI AVG (Salus Antonini Augusti), translated as 'The Health of Antoninus Augustus.' This formula represents a notable departure from the broader, communal SALVS PVBLICA or SALVS AVGG legends common to joint reigns. By personalizing the dedication to Antoninus Augustus, the inscription specifically emphasizes the physical vitality and political safety of the young prince as the indispensable foundation of public peace.

Typology, Classification, and Chronological Placement

Catalogued in standard reference corpora as RIC IV (part 2) Elagabalus 136, this gold issue is also identified in Xavier Calicó's corpus of Roman aurii under entry 3028 and in the British Museum collection catalogues (BMC RE V, p. 544). The type lacks explicit tribunician or consular numbers on either face, precluding day-to-day chronological precision within the reign. However, stylistic and epigraphic analysis securely dates the emission to the middle period of the reign, approximately AD 219 to AD 220, following the court's arrival in Rome and prior to the complex dynastic arrangements surrounding the adoption of Severus Alexander in AD 221. The unadorned obverse legend IMP CAES M AVR ANTONINVS AVG is typical of early to mid-reign Rome-mint issues before the introduction of more elaborate sacerdotal titles like SACERD DEI SOLIS ELAGAB. The type is closely linked typologically to parallel issues struck in silver denarii bearing identical legends and designs, demonstrating that the Salus motif formed a coherent thematic emission spanning multiple denominations.

Circulation Patterns, Hoarding, and Preservation

Unlike base-metal bronze coins or everyday silver denarii, gold aurii did not pass through rapid, localized daily retail transactions. Instead, coins such as RIC IV Elagabalus 136 functioned primarily as stores of wealth, instruments for inter-regional settlement, imperial gifts, and high-value military remuneration. Because of their intrinsic worth and uncompromised purity, aurii were frequently withdrawn from circulation and cached during periods of political uncertainty. Severan gold pieces often remained intact across several decades, occasionally surviving in major third-century hoards deposited during the barbarian invasions and military anarchy of the AD 250s and 260s. Surviving specimens of this aureus type frequently exhibit minimal signs of mechanical circulation wear, though many display faint striking irregularities, small flan adjustments, or minor edge nicks accrued through weighing and banking scrutiny. The relative scarcity of Elagabalus's gold coinage today reflects both the brief duration of his four-year reign and the widespread melting of earlier gold issues by later third-century administrations seeking to re-strike bullion under adjusted monetary standards.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. pp. 544-545
2. The Roman Aurei, Vol. II: From Caracalla to the Fall of the Western Empire. p. 524, no. 3028
3. Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. pp. 125-135
4. Coiing and Communicating the Empire: The Presentation of Roman Emperors on Imperial Coinage (A.D. 193-284). pp. 210-235
5. Roman Coins from the Earliest Times to the Fall of the Western Empire. pp. 145-160
6. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 136. ric.4.el.136
7. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 38, no. 136