Elagabalus Silver Antoninianus RIC IV Elagabalus 67f

Monetary Context and Denominational Role

The antoninianus was introduced in AD 215 under Caracalla as a high-tariffed silver coin distinguished visually from the traditional denarius by the radiate crown on imperial male portraits and the crescent beneath female busts. Tariffed at two denarii in circulation, its metallic weight and silver fineness represented only about 1.5 denarii, producing a profit margin for the imperial treasury while gradually driving older, higher-fineness denarii out of regular hoarding patterns. Following the brief reign of Macrinus, who curtailed its production, Elagabalus resumed the minting of antoniniani upon his accession in AD 218 to satisfy extraordinary military disbursements, accession bonuses, and administrative obligations. The issue represented by RIC IV Elagabalus 67f belongs to this renewed output. The denomination remained controversial and fiscally unstable, leading imperial monetary authorities to suspend its striking around late AD 219 or early AD 220, after which the Rome mint concentrated exclusively on denarii and base metal coinage until the denomination was resurrected under Pupienus, Balbinus, and Gordian III in AD 238.

Production Standards and Mint Attribution

Catalogue type RIC IV Elagabalus 67f was struck at the primary imperial mint in Rome. The production of antoniniani during this phase utilized billon silver with a fineness fluctuating between roughly 40 and 46 percent silver, alloyed heavily with copper. In terms of mass, antoniniani of this series typically aimed at a theoretical mean weight centered near 5.0 grams, though surviving specimens generally demonstrate a broader distribution between 4.0 and 5.5 grams owing to rapid, al marco striking practices where batches of flans were weighed collectively rather than calibrated individually. Flans measure between 20 and 23 millimeters in diameter and were cast before being struck between engraved iron dies. Die axes were predominantly aligned in the upright or inverted vertical positions typical of Severan Rome. The mint operated through multiple workshops (officinae), which divided the labor of die preparation, blank annealing, and striking across several simultaneous reverse themes.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Image

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 67f presents the young emperor's portrait facing right, adorned with the radiate crown that officially denoted the two-denarius denomination. In this specific subtype designated by the suffix f in Roman Imperial Coinage, the bust is fully draped and cuirassed, visible from the back and side, showing the folds of military paludamentum secured over protective armor. This combination of cuirass and drapery distinguishes the type from parallel variants presenting a draped-only or cuirassed-only bust. The portraiture is rendered in the classic Severan stylistic convention of the Rome mint, depicting short, curled hair, neat facial features, and an idealized youthful countenance intended to emphasize his advertised paternity as the natural son of Caracalla, rather than any visual reference to his role as priest of the sun god Elagabal.

Reverse Iconography: Fides and Military Cult

The reverse iconography of RIC IV Elagabalus 67f is dedicated to Fides Exercitus, the divine personification of military fidelity. Fides is depicted draped and seated facing left upon a throne, holding a legionary eagle (aquila) in her extended right hand and a military standard (signum) upright in her left hand. Positioned directly in the field before her feet is a second military standard planted firmly into the ground line. This intricate arrangement of military standards surrounds the personification with explicit symbols of legionary cohesion and loyalty. During civil instability and rapid changes of dynasty, an appeal to the fidelity of the legions constituted an urgent ideological message. By presenting Fides surrounded by the standards and the eagle, the reverse design reassured both the soldiers and the public that the army remained united and loyal to the new regime.

Epigraphy and Legend Analysis

The obverse legend reads IMP CAES ANTONINVS AVG, an abbreviated Latin formula expanding to Imperator Caesar Antoninus Augustus. The adoption of the imperial title Imperator and the prestigious name Antoninus was a direct political maneuver designed to connect the ruler explicitly with Caracalla and Marcus Aurelius, entirely omitting his birth name of Varius Avitus Bassianus. On the reverse, the legend FIDES EXERCITVS translates to 'Fidelity of the Army' in the nominative case. The lettering is rendered in neat, regular Roman epigraphic capitals typical of the urban mint's master engravers, arranged circumferentially along the beaded border. Unlike later Severan issues that featured detailed tribunician numbering and consular iterations, this typological series deliberately utilized unnumbered, timeless titular formulas to facilitate uninterrupted, continuous production.

Typology and Chronological Placement

In the taxonomy of Roman Imperial Coinage, volume IV part 2, number 67 encompasses several distinct bust varieties sharing the obverse legend IMP CAES ANTONINVS AVG and the reverse FIDES EXERCITVS seated. Subtype 67f is specifically defined by the radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust facing right. While the general catalogue entry for Elagabalus spans his entire reign from AD 218 to 222, detailed hoards and stylistic analyses demonstrate that his Rome-mint antoniniani were struck almost exclusively during the initial two years of his reign, between late spring AD 218 and late AD 219. By the time of his second and third consulships, the denomination was abandoned at Rome in favor of denarii carrying dated reverse legends (P M TR P COS). As a consequence, RIC IV Elagabalus 67f occupies a tightly circumscribed chronological window marking the initial establishment of his imperial authority.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Modern Study

Despite its brief period of striking, RIC IV Elagabalus 67f circulated widely across the western and eastern provinces of the Roman Empire alongside earlier antoniniani of Caracalla and contemporary denarii. Archaeological evidence from major hoards, such as the Shapwick and Dorchester deposits in Britain as well as numerous continental hoards from Gaul, the Rhine frontier, and the Danubian provinces, shows that antoniniani of Elagabalus were often hoarded during the monetary upheavals of the mid-third century. Because production of the denomination ceased around AD 219, surviving specimens of 67f frequently exhibit light to moderate wear, indicating that they remained in active commercial pools for decades until the debasements of the AD 250s and 260s led to comprehensive melting or hoarding. Today, modern study of the type relies on corpus projects such as Online Coins of the Roman Empire (OCRE), which record die linkings and museum holdings across international institutional collections.

References

1. The Coinage of Vabalathus and Zenobia from Antioch and Alexandria. pp. 133-146
2. Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. pp. 125-132
3. Roman Coins from the Earliest Times to the Fall of the Western Empire. pp. 140-155
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 67f. ric.4.el.67f
5. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 34, no. 67f