Elagabalus Silver Antoninianus RIC IV Elagabalus 22e

Monetary Context and Denominational Setting

The radiate double denarius, known to modern numismatists as the antoninianus, was introduced around AD 215 under Caracalla to alleviate imperial fiscal pressures. Carrying an official tariff equivalent to two silver denarii, the coin was struck at a weight standard roughly one and a half times that of a contemporary denarius, yielding an immediate profit for the imperial treasury through institutional overvaluation. Under Elagabalus, the denomination continued to be struck alongside standard denarii upon his accession in AD 218. However, production of the antoninianus was heavily front-loaded in the early years of the reign. By AD 219, when RIC IV Elagabalus 22e was minted, the denomination remained an active instrument of treasury disbursements, yet its production tapered off significantly thereafter until it ceased entirely at Rome around AD 221. The debasement trends that characterized the Severan period are clearly visible in these issues, with average silver contents hovering around forty to forty-five percent fineness. RIC IV Elagabalus 22e reflects this monetary compromise, providing a tangible example of the fragile fiscal stability managed by the Severan administrative machinery prior to the widespread third-century monetary transformations.

Production Standards and Mint Organization

RIC IV Elagabalus 22e was struck exclusively at the principal imperial mint of Rome. In AD 219, the mint operated with structured officinae organized to produce distinct reverse series for the emperor and the imperial family. Die engraving for this issue demonstrates the careful craft of the metropolitan mint, with standardized lettering and consistent bust proportions. Metallurgically, specimens belonging to this type conform to the prevailing standards of the early reign of Elagabalus, displaying weights typically clustering around 4.5 to 5.5 grams and flan diameters spanning 21 to 24 millimeters, though individual specimens vary depending on flan preparation and subsequent corrosion. Production was executed using hot-struck blank flans between engraved bronze or iron dies. The die axes for issues of this series are predominantly regular, adhering closely to the traditional six o'clock or twelve o'clock alignments typical of the Severan metropolitan mint. The high relief of the radiate crown and the delicate elements of the column and globe on the reverse required disciplined striking pressure to ensure complete impression transfer.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Presentation

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 22e presents the radiate, draped bust of the emperor facing right. The radiate crown serves as the primary visual determinant of the antoninianus denomination, distinguishing it unmistakably from the laureate portraiture of the denarius. In the specific variety designated as 22e, the bust treatment is explicitly draped, viewed from the side or slightly from behind, distinguishing it from alternate bust treatments such as cuirassed or radiate-head-only variations found across neighboring catalogue entries. The youthful features of the emperor are rendered according to the court style developed early in his reign, emphasizing full cheeks, smooth facial contours, and short, curly hair beneath the spikes of the radiate solar crown. This visual program deliberately mirrored the portraiture of Caracalla, reinforcing the official dynastic claim that Elagabalus was the natural son and legitimate heir of the revered Antonine ruler.

Reverse Design and Allegorical Meaning

The reverse of the coin is devoted to the allegorical figure of Providentia, personifying the foresight and divine guidance of the emperor. She is depicted draped and standing toward the left, leaning her left elbow upon a slender architectural column with her left leg crossed over her right leg in a classic posture of ease and stability. In her right hand, she extends a wand downward over a terrestrial globe positioned on the ground at her feet, symbolizing universal imperial dominion and celestial protection over the cosmos. In her left arm, she cradles a cornucopiae, the traditional attribute of abundance, signaling that the foresight of the sovereign ensures prosperity and ample provision for the Roman state. The presence of the column underscores stability and security, creating a sophisticated visual composition that merges themes of imperial care, cosmic order, and material abundance during a period of acute dynastic vulnerability.

Inscriptions and Epigraphic Analysis

The legends on RIC IV Elagabalus 22e are rendered in formal Roman capital script, executed with clean, unserifed or lightly bracketed letterforms characteristic of the central mint. The obverse legend reads IMP ANTONINVS AVG, an abbreviated form of Imperator Antoninus Augustus. By suppressing his Syrian birth name, Varius Avitus Bassianus, and adopting the name Antoninus, the regime anchored its legitimacy in the Antonine succession. The reverse legend features the dated administrative titles: P M TR P II COS II P P. This standard epigraphic sequence expands to Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate Secundum, Consul Secundum, Pater Patriae. The formula proclaims the emperor as chief priest, holder of tribunician power for the second time, consul for the second term, and father of his country. Epigraphically, the inscription is arranged continuously along the circumference, framed symmetrically around the standing figure of Providentia without field marks or officina letters.

Typology and Chronological Placement

In the standard classification scheme of Roman Imperial Coinage, type 22 encompasses the radiate antoniniani of Elagabalus bearing the reverse legend P M TR P II COS II P P and the figure of Providentia at the column. Sub-varieties under number 22 are delineated primarily by the tailoring of the imperial bust: while other sub-types record cuirassed or draped-and-cuirassed options, RIC IV Elagabalus 22e is strictly defined by the radiate and draped bust. Chronologically, the type is dated with precision by the combination of TR P II and COS II. Elagabalus entered his second consulship on January 1, AD 219, and renewed his tribunician power within that calendar year. Consequently, RIC IV Elagabalus 22e can be assigned firmly to AD 219. This firm epigraphic boundary makes the type an essential chronological benchmark for tracking stylistic developments, flan manufacturing standards, and metallurgical composition during the second full year of the reign.

Circulation Patterns and Hoard Evidence

Antoniniani of Elagabalus circulated alongside the massive pool of denarii surviving from earlier Severan reigns as well as contemporary denarius issues. Because the double denarius contained only about 1.5 times the silver of a single denarius, it suffered from tariffing resistance in private commerce; however, it was actively used for state payments, military salaries, and tax remittances. In archaeological and hoard contexts, AD 219 antoniniani like RIC IV Elagabalus 22e appear across both the western provinces and the Danubian frontier, areas where military payrolls drove the influx of freshly minted silver. As the denomination was temporarily discontinued under Severus Alexander, these radiate pieces remained in commercial circulation for decades, frequently showing moderate to heavy wear in mid-third-century hoards until the massive inflationary reintroduction of the antoninianus under Balbinus, Pupienus, and Gordian III systematically absorbed and remelted earlier Severan billon.

References

1. The Metallurgy of Roman Silver Coinage: From the Reform of Nero to the Reform of Trajan. pp. 581-589
2. Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. pp. 125-132
3. Coining Images of Power: Patterns in the Representation of Roman Emperors on Imperial Coinage, A.D. 193-284. pp. 165-174
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 22e. ric.4.el.22e
5. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 29, no. 22e