Julia Maesa Silver Denarius, RIC IV Elagabalus 252

Monetary Context and Severan Silver Policy

The reign of Elagabalus (AD 218 to 222) represented an era of intense political maneuvering and monetary consolidation following the turbulent interlude of Macrinus. Under the restored Severan house, silver coinage served both as an economic medium and as an essential platform for dynastic legitimation. Julia Maesa, the sister of Julia Domna and grandmother of both Elagabalus and Severus Alexander, was the primary architect of the family's return to imperial power in Syria. Consequently, she was honored with the title Augusta and granted an extensive issue of silver denarii and bronze denominations produced at the central mint in Rome. By this period, the Roman denarius had undergone significant debasement compared to the early Principate. While the silver denarius under Septimius Severus had stabilized at roughly 50 percent fineness, the issues under Caracalla and Elagabalus frequently drifted between 40 and 46 percent silver, complemented by copper alloy. The double denarius, or antoninianus, had been introduced by Caracalla in AD 215, but during Elagabalus's reign, the traditional denarius remained the workhorse denomination of Roman everyday commerce and administrative disbursements. Coinage struck in the name of imperial women, particularly Julia Maesa and her daughters, formed a substantial proportion of regular production, emphasizing familial legitimacy and continuity.

Production and Mint Organization

RIC IV Elagabalus 252 was struck exclusively at the primary Imperial mint in Rome. Although an eastern mint, traditionally associated with Antioch, operated during the initial phase of Elagabalus's reign to support his march toward Italy, the stylistic attributes and metallurgical consistency of RIC 252 associate it firmly with the metropolitan workshops of Rome. The Rome mint operated in organized officinae (workshops), where skilled die-engravers carved steel or bronze dies by hand. The physical production involved casting circular silver flans, which were subsequently struck between a lower anvil die (the obverse) and an upper punch die (the reverse). Because blanks were often cast rapidly, flans could be slightly irregular in contour, and die axes were frequently aligned at approximately twelve o'clock or six o'clock in accordance with contemporary Roman practice. The weight standard for denarii of this issue typically centered between 2.8 and 3.2 grams, with diameters usually ranging from 18 to 20 millimeters, reflecting standard Severan manufacturing tolerances.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of this type features a dignified, draped bust of Julia Maesa facing right. Her hair is rendered in the distinctive Severan court style of the early third century AD: arranged in broad, horizontal ridges or waves across the cranium, then turned up low at the back into a wide plait or chignon pinned neatly against the nape. This hairstyle continues the classicizing aesthetic championed by Julia Domna, symbolizing elegance, maturity, and traditional Roman matronly virtues. Maesa is presented without diadem or veil on this issue, clad in classic Roman stola and palla gathered over her shoulders. Die-engravers in Rome rendered her portrait with realistic yet respectful maturity, capturing the elder matriarch's prominent facial structure while integrating her visage into the standardized imperial dynastic gallery.

Reverse Iconography and Visual Ambiguity

The reverse iconography of RIC 252 presents an extraordinary thematic anomaly within third-century Roman imperial coinage. The composition depicts a draped female figure standing facing left. In her left arm, she cradles a cornucopiae, the horn of plenty signifying abundance and divine favor. Standing beside her at her feet are two small children, one on either side, extending their hands toward her drapery. In standard imperial numismatic vocabulary, a female figure flanked by infants and bearing a cornucopiae represents Fecunditas, the divine personification of motherhood and fertility, celebrating the continuation of the ruling house. However, on this type, the composition is paired with the legend FORTVNA REDVCI, naming Fortuna Redux, the goddess responsible for ensuring a safe journey and victorious return. Scholars have long debated this visual ambiguity. While Harold Mattingly and Edward Sydenham in Roman Imperial Coinage noted the figure as Fortuna, they recognized that the presence of children directly borrows the traditional attributes of Fecunditas. Whether this represents a deliberate theological synthesis attributing the safe arrival of the dynasty to its fruitful progeny, or an engraver's mechanical confusion between concurrent reverse dies, remains a subject of ongoing numismatic study.

Epigraphy and Legend Analysis

The legends on RIC 252 are rendered in clear, serifed Latin capitals following standard metropolitan Roman epigraphic conventions. The obverse legend reads IVLIA MAESA AVG, an abbreviation for 'Julia Maesa Augusta'. The omission of further patronymics or honorifics mirrors the standard titling adopted for imperial empresses and grandmothers during this era, succinctly asserting her supreme rank within the court. The reverse inscription reads FORTVNA REDVCI, formulated in the dative case to signify a dedication: 'To Fortuna who brings back' or 'To the Safe Return'. Fortuna Redux was traditionally invoked upon an emperor's departure or anticipated return to Rome from the provinces. The pairing of this specific dedicatory formula with a matriarchal figure flanked by children creates an epigraphic tension with the imagery, underscoring the dynamic and sometimes flexible use of reverse legends under Elagabalus.

Typology and Chronological Placement

RIC IV Elagabalus 252 fits into the broader corpus of Julia Maesa's metropolitan coinage struck throughout the sole reign of Elagabalus between AD 218 and AD 222. While dated tribunician numbers appear on Elagabalus's own coinage, the issues for the imperial women carry no direct chronological formulas, requiring them to be dated by stylistic affinity, hoard associations, and historical context. Julia Maesa's Rome issues include recurrent types such as FECVNDITAS SAECVLI, IVNO, PVDICITIA, PIETAS AVG, and SAECVLI FELICITAS. Within this typological framework, RIC 252 is distinguished specifically by the combination of the FORTVNA REDVCI legend with the standing child-flanked figure. It is differentiated from standard Fortuna Redux types (which typically depict Fortuna holding a rudder and cornucopiae, seated or standing without children) and from standard Fecunditas issues bearing the expected FECVNDITAS legends. The issue is generally placed around AD 219, coinciding with the journey and arrival of Elagabalus, Julia Maesa, and the imperial entourage in Rome from Nicomedia, which provided a natural historical occasion for the invocation of Fortuna Redux.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Survival

As part of the regular currency output of the Rome mint, denarii of RIC 252 circulated widely throughout the provinces of the Roman Empire. Third-century coin hoards discovered across Britain, Gaul, the Rhine frontier, and the Danubian provinces regularly contain silver coins of Julia Maesa alongside those of Septimius Severus, Caracalla, and Severus Alexander. Because the silver content of denarii issued under Elagabalus matched the prevailing Severan standard, these coins circulated without commercial discrimination alongside older Severan denarii for decades. Many remained in circulation until the mid-third century, when the rapid debasements under Decius, Trebonianus Gallus, and Valerian eventually led to the widespread hoarding or melting down of earlier Severan silver. Surviving specimens in modern public and private collections show varied states of preservation, from heavily worn examples that experienced extensive commercial exchange to high-grade specimens preserved in early hoards.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. Elagabalus, Rome Mint
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 252. ric.4.el.252
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 50, no. 252