Elagabalus Silver Denarius RIC IV Elagabalus 28d

Monetary Context and Economic Background

During the reign of Elagabalus (AD 218 to 222), the Roman monetary system rested upon the foundations established by Septimius Severus and Caracalla, though it experienced sustained structural pressures. Caracalla had introduced the double denarius or antoninianus in AD 215, which possessed a tariffed value equivalent to two denarii while containing only about one and a half times the silver content of a standard denarius. Following Caracalla's death and the brief interlude of Macrinus, Elagabalus initially suspended regular large-scale production of the antoninianus in Rome, shifting the overwhelming burden of imperial silver output back onto the traditional denarius. By AD 220, the denarius was the standard silver denomination struck in vast quantities to satisfy the recurring fiscal obligations of the Roman state, most notably the elevated pay rates, donatives, and maintenance costs required by the legions. The silver fineness of denarii under Elagabalus fluctuated around forty-three to fifty percent, maintaining the reduced standard introduced under Caracalla rather than recovering the higher purity of early Severan coinage. The typical weight of the denarius hovered between 2.8 and 3.2 grams, reflecting an alloy composed substantially of copper with a silver-enriched surface achieved through blanching during flan manufacture. In this context, the issue of RIC IV Elagabalus 28d formed part of a massive administrative effort to assert imperial stability and legitimacy across Italy and the provinces through the regular payment of military and bureaucratic personnel in trustworthy, officially sanctioned coin.

Production Technology and Mint Operation

All specimens assigned to RIC IV Elagabalus 28d were struck at the central imperial mint in Rome. During this era, the mint in Rome operated via distinct organizational units, frequently termed officinae, which divided the labor of engraving dies, casting flans, and striking coins to fulfill designated production quotas. Blanks were manufactured by casting silver alloy globules in open molds or cutting cast rods, which were then hammered and chemically prepared. Flan preparation involved dipping heated planchets in an acidic solution to dissolve base copper from the exterior layer, yielding a silvery appearance when struck that disguised the base interior core. The coins were struck by hand between engraved iron dies using heavy hammers, a process requiring precise coordination between the flan-holder and the hammer-striker. Die orientation across Rome issues of Elagabalus commonly aligned either to a regular six o'clock or twelve o'clock axis, though slight variations are frequently documented due to manual die placement. While Antioch and other eastern mints produced denarii during the early reign of Elagabalus before and during his journey to Rome, the stylistic execution, lettering forms, and portrait modeling of RIC IV Elagabalus 28d are unmistakably Roman. The dies of the capital mint exhibit a disciplined epigraphy and a standardized Severan portraiture, reflecting the work of seasoned engravers accustomed to producing uniform coin series for widespread distribution.

Obverse Design and Iconography

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 28d presents a youthful, right-facing portrait of the emperor that is laureate, draped, and cuirassed. Within the Roman Imperial Coinage classification system, the catalogue number 28 is differentiated into bust variants designated by lower-case letters: variant 'a' signifies a laureate head right, variant 'b' a laureate and draped bust right, and variant 'd' a laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right viewed from behind or from the side. This bust variant combines both civic and military regalia. The laurel wreath (corona triumphalis) symbolizes imperial authority, military victory, and Apollo-like sacral status, while the paludamentum (military cloak) and underlying cuirass underscore the princeps as commander-in-chief of the Roman armed forces. The portraiture is rendered in the characteristic Severan court style of AD 220, portraying Elagabalus with delicate youthful features, short cropped hair curling neatly beneath the wreath ties, and smooth facial contours prior to the introduction of the sideburns and light beard seen in the final years of his reign. Engravers at the Rome mint carefully balanced the likeness with the dynastic precedent of Caracalla, reinforcing the official dynastic fiction that Elagabalus was the natural son and legitimate heir of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus.

Reverse Iconography: Sol Invictus and Astral Symbolism

The reverse design of RIC IV Elagabalus 28d features the radiate solar god Sol standing left, depicted naked except for a chlamys (cloak) draped over his left shoulder and hanging down behind his torso. Sol raises his right hand in an open-palm gesture of greeting, power, and beneficence, while his left hand holds a whip, an attribute belonging to his role as charioteer of the sun who drives the quadriga across the heavens each day. A prominent eight-pointed or six-pointed star is set in the left field. Solar imagery had long been embedded in Roman numismatic tradition, symbolizing cosmic order, eternal renewal, and the flourishing of the empire under the princeps. In the specific context of AD 220, however, the appearance of Sol alongside an astral symbol carried dual ideological resonance. While presenting a recognizable Roman divine persona readily accepted by the traditional Senate and populace, the imagery simultaneously provided a theological bridge to the Syrian solar cult of Elagabal, of which the emperor served as hereditary high priest. The celestial star reinforces solar predominance and cosmic favor, foreshadowing the more overt sacred iconography that emerged later in the reign when Elagabalus introduced explicit priestly titles and rituals to the coinage. The whip and raised hand emphasize vigilance and continuous imperial oversight, projecting divine illumination upon the regime.

Inscriptions and Epigraphy

The legends on RIC IV Elagabalus 28d are executed in standard imperial Latin majuscules and provide precise legal, constitutional, and dating evidence. The obverse reads IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, an abbreviated formula expanding to Imperator Antoninus Pius Augustus. In this formula, Imperator designates the emperor's supreme military command, Antoninus establishes direct continuity with the Antonine and Severan dynasties, Pius highlights piety toward the gods and familial duty, and Augustus denotes sovereign status. The reverse inscription bears the titular sequence P M TR P III COS III P P, standing for Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate Tertia, Consul Tertium, Pater Patriae. The title Pontifex Maximus indicates the supreme pontificate of the traditional Roman state religion. Tribunicia Potestate Tertia records his third annual investiture with the powers of a tribune of the plebs, which legally dates the issue securely to AD 220. Consul Tertium marks his third entry into the ordinary consulship, which commenced on January 1, AD 220, alongside his colleague Publius Valerius Comazon. Pater Patriae reinforces his honorific title as father of the fatherland. The epigraphy across both dies is characterized by regular letter spacing, crisp serifs, and proportional sizing, typical of the central mint's established output during the high imperial period.

Typology, Classification, and Chronological Placement

Within the corpus of Roman imperial numismatics, RIC IV Elagabalus 28d belongs to the third tribunician issue struck at Rome in AD 220. In the fundamental typology of Mattingly and Sydenham, type 28 is classified under the dated issues of the sole reign of Elagabalus. The base number 28 encompasses coins bearing the reverse legend P M TR P III COS III P P with Sol standing left holding a whip with a star in the field. The classification system applies sub-letters to indicate distinct obverse portrait arrangements. While 28a denotes a simple head and 28b a draped bust, 28d is assigned specifically to specimens combining both drape and cuirass. This reverse design forms part of a synchronized annual emission that also included representations of the emperor sacrificing over an altar, Providentia holding a wand and cornucopia, and Roma seated. The dated legend definitively confines the production of type 28d to the calendar year AD 220. Because Elagabalus took his third consulship at the start of that year and renewed his tribunician power in accordance with established Severan practice, the issue represents a controlled, early-to-mid 220 production phase preceding his fourth consulship in AD 222. It is clearly differentiated from earlier AD 219 (TR P II) and later AD 221 (TR P IV) issues, which carry adjusted tribunician numbers.

Circulation Patterns, Hoard Evidence, and Loss

Denarii of Elagabalus struck in AD 220 circulated extensively across the Western and Eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. Major hoard discoveries from Britannia, Germania Superior, Raetia, and Syria demonstrate that issues of Elagabalus integrated seamlessly with earlier Severan silver, circulating alongside the coinages of Septimius Severus, Caracalla, and Julia Domna. Because their intrinsic silver content was comparable to the issues of Caracalla, coins of type 28d did not experience immediate selective hoarding under Gresham's Law. Instead, they traveled through military payroll corridors to garrisoned frontiers along the Rhine and Danube, as well as the urban markets of Italy, North Africa, and the Levant. Hoard evidence indicates that these denarii remained in active commercial circulation for several decades, continuing through the reign of Severus Alexander and well into the mid-third century. They are found among broad Severan deposits that were buried during the turbulent period of the barbarian incursions and civil conflicts between AD 250 and 270. By the late third century, subsequent debasements under Gallienus and Claudius Gothicus rendered older Severan denarii prime candidates for melting, leaving surviving examples preserved primarily within hoards or site losses deposited before the reform of Aurelian in AD 274.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. pp. 544-546
2. Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. pp. 125-132
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 28d. ric.4.el.28d
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. pp. 28-29, no. 28
5. Under Divine Auspices: Divine Ideology and the Visualisation of Imperial Power in the Severan Period. pp. 164-210