Elagabalus Silver Antoninianus RIC IV Elagabalus 152

Monetary Context and Denominational Structure

The silver issue catalogued as RIC IV Elagabalus 152 belongs to the short-lived revival of the radiate double denarius, commonly designated in modern scholarship as the antoninianus. First authorized under Caracalla in 215 AD to alleviate fiscal strain, the denomination was distinguished from the standard denarius by the radiate crown adorning male imperial portraits and the crescent beneath female imperial busts. While legally tariffed at two denarii in circulation, Caracalla's antoninianus possessed an average weight of roughly 5.0 to 5.3 grams and a fineness around 50 percent silver. It therefore incorporated only about 1.5 times the precious metal content of a single denarius, providing the imperial treasury with an immediate profit upon issue. Following Caracalla's death and the brief interlude of Macrinus, who curtailed radiate silver production, Elagabalus reinstituted the denomination upon his accession in 218 AD. The revival addressed urgent financial obligations, notably substantial donatives distributed to the Syrian and Danubian legions whose loyalty secured his ascension to the purple. Nevertheless, the overtariffed nature of the coin created structural monetary distortions. Market actors recognized that spending two single denarii yielded more silver than spending one antoninianus, contributing to hoarding of higher-grade denarii and general Gresham's law dynamics. Consequently, the imperial administration ceased regular production of the radiate silver denomination around late 219 AD, reverting entirely to standard denarii for precious metal currency until Gordian III revived the denomination permanently in 238 AD.

Mint Organization and Production Standards

RIC IV Elagabalus 152 was produced at the principal imperial mint in the city of Rome. Although Elagabalus commenced his reign in the East, where regional mints such as Antioch and perhaps Emesa or Nicomedia operated briefly during the initial imperial journey westward, the style, fabric, and epigraphy of this specific type firmly align with the established officinae of the capital. The Rome mint maintained an organized system of workshops, each responsible for engraving dies, preparing planchets, and striking allocated coin types under the supervision of the rationalis and procuratores monetae. Planchets for RIC IV Elagabalus 152 were prepared by casting silver billon flans, followed by cold hammering and annealing prior to striking between hand-carved intaglio bronze or iron dies. Weight standards for antoniniani under Elagabalus show significant internal dispersion, generally clustering between 4.5 and 5.5 grams, with an average diameter ranging from 21 to 24 millimeters. Metallurgical analyses of Severan silver demonstrate that the fineness of Elagabalus's radiates hovered between 43 and 48 percent silver, diluted with copper and minor trace elements. The alignment of the dies was normally adjusted to either 12 o'clock or 6 o'clock, reflecting the regulated mechanical discipline characteristic of the Roman imperial mint.

Obverse Iconography and Portraiture

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 152 presents a right-facing bust of the juvenile emperor, depicted as radiate and draped. The radiate solar crown, featuring sharp triangular spikes extending upward from a central diadem, functioned as the indispensable denominational badge that differentiated the double denarius from the laurel-crowned single denarius. Beyond its denominational utility, the crown invoked solar theology, connecting the earthly ruler with Sol and the broader celestial pantheon, an association that held profound ideological significance for a priest-emperor devoted to Elagabal. The drapery is gathered across the imperial shoulders, presenting the ruler in conventional civic and military attire suitable for early imperial display. The portrait style reflects the transitional realism of Severan sculpture, capturing the youthful features of the emperor who assumed power at approximately fourteen years of age. Unlike his later portraits, which frequently exhibit heavier facial features, sideburns, or the distinct ceremonial horn associated with his role as high priest of the Emesene sun deity, the obverse dies for RIC IV Elagabalus 152 adhere to the idealized dynastic style established in 218 AD to emulate Caracalla.

Reverse Iconography and Design Details

The reverse design of RIC IV Elagabalus 152 features Victory (Victoria), the personification of divine military triumph, actively advancing toward the right. She is rendered in classic Hellenistic and Roman drapery that flutters backward with her forward momentum, emphasizing dynamic motion. Her large feathered wings are displayed behind her back. In her extended right hand, she holds forward a circular laurel wreath, the traditional Roman symbol of victory presented to triumphant commanders. Resting over her left shoulder and held firmly in her left hand is a palm branch, symbolizing endurance, triumph, and eternal peace. Victory holds an exceptionally prominent role in imperial propaganda, serving as the celestial conduit through which the gods conferred legitimate authority upon an emperor. On this type, the active gait of Victory emphasizes immediate and ongoing military success rather than a static commemoration. The choice of Victory rightward was standard within the Severan repertoire, signaling that divine favor accompanied the dynastic resurgence and the violent overthrow of Macrinus at the Battle of Antioch in June 218 AD.

Epigraphy and Legend Readings

The obverse legend on RIC IV Elagabalus 152 reads continuously around the periphery as IMP CAES ANTONINVS AVG, an abbreviation for Imperator Caesar Antoninus Augustus. This inscription is devoid of specific regnal iterations such as tribunician power (TR P) or consulship numbers (COS). Crucially, the legend presents the official imperial nomenclature assumed by Varius Avitus Bassianus: Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. By styling himself directly as Antoninus, the young ruler suppressed his Syrian origins and asserted his purported paternity as the natural son of Caracalla, reinforcing direct Severan legitimacy. The reverse legend reads VICTOR ANTONINI AVG, which expands grammatically to Victoria Antonini Augusti, translating as 'The Victory of Antoninus Augustus.' This formulaic phrase departs from generic invocations of imperial victory (such as VICTORIA AVGG) by personalizing the divine patroness directly to Antoninus. The legend serves a twin ideological purpose: it affirms the battlefield triumph that placed him on the throne while explicitly tying that success to his adopted Antonine identity, reassuring both the senate and the armed forces of a restored Severan golden age.

Typology and Chronological Classification

Within the typology of Roman Imperial Coinage, RIC IV Elagabalus 152 is assigned to the Rome mint under the general reign date of 218 to 222 AD. However, chronological refinement based on die studies and hoard evidence demonstrates that the issue belongs almost exclusively to the opening phase of his reign, spanning late 218 AD to mid-219 AD. The absence of numbered tribunician titles indicates that the dies were prepared during the initial consolidation period in Rome before administrative mint formulas standardized dated yearly issues. The VICTOR ANTONINI AVG type was struck across multiple denominations, including standard denarii and gold aurei, alongside the radiate antoninianus. This multi-denominational emission illustrates a coordinated propaganda program celebrating the accession. Because the production of antoniniani ceased abruptly at Rome around the close of 219 AD, RIC IV Elagabalus 152 represents a very narrow typological window within Severan numismatics, sharply distinguished from the unreduced denarii of Elagabalus's later years.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Economic Role

Antoniniani of Elagabalus circulated alongside surviving radiates of Caracalla and substantial volumes of Severan denarii throughout the Roman Empire. Archaeological findspots and coin hoards demonstrate that these pieces were heavily concentrated in military frontier zones along the Rhine and Danube lines, as well as in the eastern provinces where legionary garrisons were stationed. Hoard records from Roman Britain, Gaul, and the Balkans regularly contain small percentages of early Elagabalus radiates intermixed with larger deposits of denarii from Septimius Severus and Caracalla. Due to their sub-denominational silver tariffing, radiates of Elagabalus faced rapid wear and uneven retention by the public. When the mint ceased striking the denomination after 219 AD, existing antoniniani continued to pass from hand to hand at their nominal value, suffering progressive surface abrasion and clipping. By the mid-third century, during the monetary crises under Decius, Trebonianus Gallus, and Valerian, many of these earlier radiates were withdrawn, melted down, and restruck into the heavily debased billon radiates of the 250s AD, leaving RIC IV Elagabalus 152 as a finite and distinctive relic of early third-century monetary policy.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. pp. 535-540
2. The Metallurgy of Roman Silver Coinage: From the Reform of Nero to the Reform of Septimius Severus. pp. 605-614
3. Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. pp. 125-132
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 152. Type record ric.4.el.152
5. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 42, no. 152