Elagabalus Silver Antoninianus

Monetary Context and Denominational Function

The radiate silver denomination commonly designated by modern numismatists as the antoninianus was introduced in 215 AD under Caracalla. In ancient legal and documentary sources, its formal name remains uncertain, though modern scholars often describe it as a double denarius. The coin was introduced to address escalating military expenditure and severe fiscal strain in the early third century AD. Rather than maintaining a strict intrinsic parity with two individual denarii, the imperial mint struck the new denomination at roughly one and a half times the mass of a denarius, setting a weight standard typically between 4.8 and 5.2 grams, compared to the denarius standard of approximately 3.1 to 3.3 grams. Chemical and metallographic analyses demonstrate that the radiate shared an identical metallurgical fineness with contemporary denarii, hovering between 40 and 46 percent silver, with the remainder composed primarily of copper and trace elements. Because the antoninianus was tariffed at two denarii in state transactions while containing approximately twenty-five percent less precious metal than two separate denarii, it functioned as an overvalued, fiduciary coin. This tariffing structure granted the Severan state a significant margin of profit upon paying soldiers and public contractors in radiates. However, the resulting disruption to commercial confidence and Gresham's law led to systemic hoarding and resistance. Macrinus struck antoniniani only sparingly during his fourteen-month reign from 217 to 218 AD. When the fourteen-year-old Varius Avitus Bassianus ascended the throne in 218 AD under the dynastic name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Elagabalus), the imperial treasury resumed massive production of radiates at both Rome and Antioch to meet immediate military donatives and administrative obligations.

Mints and Metallurgical Production

The production of silver antoniniani for Elagabalus was confined to two principal minting centers: the central mint at Rome and an eastern provincial mint, traditionally identified by numismatists as Antioch on the Orontes, though some scholars have debated whether portions of the earliest eastern coinage were struck at Nicomedia or an itinerant military mint following the young emperor's entourage westward. The mint of Rome operated using a structured system of officinae (workshops). Stylistic analysis of dies reveals that radiate antoniniani were struck alongside gold aurei and silver denarii within these organized divisions. Rome maintained a more refined, standardized portrait style characterized by rounded facial modeling, neatly ordered curls, and balanced lettering. The eastern mint exhibits a distinctly local aesthetic, with sharper, more angular features, broader lettering, and occasionally distinctive truncation styles on the imperial bust. Metallurgical investigations published by Butcher and Ponting show that the silver alloys used for Elagabalus's antoniniani at Rome and Antioch were rigorously controlled in composition. The silver fineness hovered consistently around 43 to 45 percent, matching the composition of the denarius. Blank planchets were cast in molds and often exhibit slight beveling and irregular edges. Die axes were predominantly aligned at regular six o'clock or twelve o'clock orientations at Rome, while eastern issues occasionally display minor directional variations.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Representation

The obverse of the antoninianus served as the definitive marker of its denomination. For male rulers, the imperial head was invariably depicted wearing a radiate crown, whose spikes symbolized the rays of the sun god Sol. This convention, first established on early imperial dupondii struck in orichalcum, allowed immediate visual distinction between the single denarius (which bore a laurel wreath) and the double denarius. On the antoniniani of Elagabalus, the youthful ruler is depicted facing right in three primary bust formats: radiate draped, radiate cuirassed, or radiate draped and cuirassed, viewed either from behind or facing forward. Early issues from 218 AD present a juvenile, boyish face with large eyes and soft features, closely imitating the idealized youth portraits of Caracalla to reinforce the dynastic fiction that Elagabalus was Caracalla's natural son. As his brief reign progressed into 219 AD, the facial features matured slightly, acquiring subtle sideburns, a more prominent jaw, and a sharper nose. In addition to the emperor's own portrait, the antoninianus denomination was struck in the names of prominent imperial women, most notably his grandmother Julia Maesa and his mother Julia Soaemias. Following established convention, female imperial portraits omitted the radiate crown and instead featured a crescent moon positioned directly beneath the draped bust, symbolizing Luna as the feminine counterpart to the radiate Sol.

Reverse Iconography and Propaganda Programs

The reverse designs of Elagabalus's antoniniani reflect traditional Roman imperial ideology and the vital necessity of securing military support. Strikingly absent from the antoninianus are the sensational religious types depicting the black conical stone of Emesa, the emperor sacrificing as high priest of Elagabal, or the horned tiara. Those controversial eastern motifs appeared on denarii and aurei later in the reign, after the radiate denomination had already been abandoned. At the mint of Rome, the reverse repertoire was dominated by standard personifications and deities. Fides Militum appears standing or seated holding military standards, directly assuring the army of mutual loyalty. Salus is depicted feeding a serpent coiled around an altar, celebrating the preservation and health of the young emperor. Roma is portrayed seated on a cuirass or throne, holding a spear and Victory, reaffirming the central authority of the capital. Victoria appears advancing or standing, holding a wreath and palm branch, celebrating the triumph over Macrinus. Other recurring deities include Mars advancing with spear and trophy, Providentia standing with wand and globe, and Sol radiate advancing with whip or globe. At Antioch, military and dynastic themes were even more pronounced. Reverses such as CONCORDIA MILITVM, depicting two clasped right hands or standards, and FIDES EXERCITVS, showing Fides flanked by legionary eagles, directly addressed the Syrian and Danubian legions stationed in the east that had facilitated Elagabalus's accession.

Inscriptions and Epigraphic Formulas

Epigraphic choices on Elagabalus's antoniniani were calibrated to assert complete constitutional legitimacy and familial continuity. The obverse inscriptions deliberately mirrored those of Caracalla, identifying the ruler as Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. A typical early obverse legend reads IMP CAES M AVR ANTONINVS P AVG (Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Pius Augustus) or IMP CAES M AVR ANTONINVS AVG. By 219 AD, shortened forms such as ANTONINVS PIVS FEL AVG (Antoninus Pius Felix Augustus) also appeared on the coinage. Reverse legends combined civic titles with imperial virtues. Dated issues incorporate the emperor's tribunician power, consulship, and paternal honorifics. A prominent example is P M TR P II COS II P P (Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate II, Consul II, Pater Patriae), which securely dates specific issues at Rome to 219 AD. Other common reverse inscriptions include FIDES MILITVM (Faith of the Soldiers), SALVS ANTONINI AVG (Health of Antoninus Augustus), TEMPORVM FELICITAS (Happiness of the Times), and VICTOR ANTONINI AVG (Victory of Antoninus Augustus). Antioch issues often employ slightly different legend arrangements and occasional abbreviations, such as SANCT DEO SOLI on rare eastern issues, although standard legionary legends like FIDES EXERCITVS predominate. The lettering at Antioch is generally broader and more deeply cut, with distinctive letter forms such as a wide 'M' and broken-bar 'A'.

Typology and Chronological Evolution

The chronological sequence of Elagabalus's antoniniani is remarkably narrow compared to his denarii. Production began immediately upon his proclamation by the eastern legions in May 218 AD and the minting operations established in the East. Following his formal recognition by the Senate in Rome, the central mint commenced strike production under his name in mid-218 AD. The coinage of 218 AD is characterized by the first consulship and first tribunician power (TR P), featuring portraiture that closely mirrors Caracalla's youthful coins. During 219 AD, marked by the titles TR P II and COS II, output reached its peak at both Rome and Antioch. Substantial emissions carrying reverses of Salus, Fides, Roma, and Sol were struck during this calendar year. However, by late 219 AD, mint authorities abruptly halted the manufacture of the antoninianus. Neither Rome nor the eastern mint struck antoniniani bearing the titles TR P III (220 AD), TR P IV (221 AD), or TR P V (222 AD). This termination coincides with the monetary authorities' decision to eliminate the tariffing friction caused by the double denarius and revert entirely to the denarius as the principal silver currency. Consequently, all antoniniani of Elagabalus belong strictly to the 218 to 219 AD issue window.

Circulation, Hoarding, and Aftermath

Because production of the antoninianus was suspended in late 219 AD, the denomination constituted a relatively small fraction of the total third-century silver volume compared to the subsequent mass issues of Gordian III and Decius. Hoard evidence from Britain, Gaul, the Rhine frontier, and the Danubian provinces reveals that antoniniani of Caracalla, Macrinus, and Elagabalus circulated alongside the dominant denarii throughout the 220s and 230s AD. Due to their fiduciary overvaluation, the public frequently hoarded higher-grade second-century denarii while expending debased radiates, or conversely, hoarded radiates in closed military deposits where bulk values mattered most. When Severus Alexander ascended the throne in 222 AD, he completely refrained from striking the antoninianus, solidifying the monetary reform that Elagabalus's administration had quietly enacted in 219 AD. The antoninianus remained in abeyance for nearly two decades until 238 AD, when the joint emperors Balbinus and Pupienus reintroduced the radiate denomination to finance their civil conflict against Maximinus Thrax. In this later period, earlier radiates of Elagabalus were gradually absorbed and remelted, making well-preserved specimens of Elagabalus's antoniniani an informative cross-section of early Severan monetary policy.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. pp. 531-582
2. The Metallurgy of Roman Silver Coinage: From the Reform of Nero to the Reform of Trajan Decius. pp. 560-575
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. pp. 24-45