Elagabalus Silver Denarius, RIC IV Elagabalus 3b

Monetary Context and Severan Denominational Structure

The emission designated as RIC IV Elagabalus 3b belongs to the monetary environment of the late Severan dynasty, an era characterized by fiscal adjustments inherited from the reigns of Septimius Severus, Caracalla, and the brief interlude of Macrinus. During this phase of imperial history, the denarius remained the primary silver transactional unit for civilian commerce, state pay, and fiscal extraction, operating alongside the double-denarius or antoninianus introduced by Caracalla in AD 215. While Caracalla had expanded the role of the radiate piece, production of the antoninianus declined substantially under Macrinus and was initially suppressed or relegated to a secondary status during the earliest stages of Elagabalus's reign, placing the burden of state disbursements back onto the standard laureate denarius. From an economic perspective, the denarius of AD 218 maintained the degraded fineness profile established in the late Severan period. Rather than the high-purity silver of the early Principate, issues of Elagabalus at Rome were struck on an alloy containing roughly 40 to 45 percent silver, with the remainder composed primarily of copper and minor trace metals. This debasement reflected systemic pressures on the imperial treasury, which faced substantial military expenditures, imperial accessional donatives, and administrative overhead across the provinces. By retaining the traditional target weight of approximately 3.0 to 3.2 grams, the mint sustained nominal parity while economizing physical bullion reserves, ensuring that broad consignments of silver coin could be distributed swiftly to imperial legions and urban recipients upon the consolidation of power.

Production Standards and the Imperial Mint at Rome

Numismatic scholarship securely attributes RIC IV Elagabalus 3b to the principal imperial mint situated at Rome. Although Elagabalus was acclaimed emperor in Syria in May of AD 218 and remained in the East through the following winter, the central mint facilities in Rome quickly transitioned to striking coinage in his name once the Senate officially recognized his accession in the summer of AD 218. Engravers at Rome, operating without the immediate physical presence of the new ruler, relied on official models and imperial communiques sent from Antioch and Nicomedia to execute portrait dies, resulting in an idealized, youthfully standardized likeness that consciously echoed the early portraiture of Caracalla. Production at Rome was organized through an established workshop system, traditionally divided into distinct officinae that shared the workload of die carving, flan casting, and hammer striking. The blank flans for RIC IV Elagabalus 3b were cast in open or bivalve moulds, leading to characteristic rounded or slightly irregular edges prior to striking. The physical dies were hand-cut into tempered bronze or iron die blocks using chisels and fine punches. Die alignment at the mint of Rome during this period tended toward a regular inverted or semi-regular vertical axis, commonly clustered around six o'clock or twelve o'clock, reflecting disciplined workshop procedures. Flans were struck hot or warm between upper reverse punch dies and lower obverse anvil dies, yielding crisp relief across the high points of the drapery and hair while occasionally showing peripheral flattening where metal flow was constrained.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 3b is dominated by an imperial bust depicting Elagabalus facing right, wearing a laurel wreath and dressed in classical civilian drapery. The specific classification sub-letter distinguishes this variety from closely related issues, such as RIC IV Elagabalus 3a, which present cuirassed or draped-and-cuirassed treatments of the imperial bust. The draped drapery folds gather over the shoulder and chest, fastened by a paludamentum brooch or fibula, conveying civil authority tempered by imperial majesty. The portrait captures the youthful features of the fourteen-year-old emperor, presenting a rounded jawline, smooth facial planes, and prominent, carefully curled locks of hair emerging beneath the laurel wreath. The wreath itself is bound at the rear of the head, with two ribbon ties falling down the nape of the neck toward the drapery folds. Because the mint masters in Rome had not yet encountered Elagabalus in person during AD 218, the portrait shows strong visual affinities with the boyhood portraits of Caracalla, reinforcing the official propaganda fiction that Elagabalus was the natural son and legitimate heir of the assassinated Antonine ruler. Die cutters rendered the eyes large and expressive, creating an idealized, aristocratic representation designed to elicit confidence and stability after the political instability of the preceding civil clash.

Reverse Design and Iconographic Significance

The reverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 3b features an evocative and thoroughly conservative depiction of the goddess Roma, seated toward the left upon a backless throne or curule stool. The goddess wears a high-crested Corinthian or Attic helmet and long, flowing drapery that cascades in layered folds over her legs and torso. In her extended right hand, she supports a miniature winged Victory, who in turn holds a triumphal wreath and palm branch directed toward the imperial title. Roma's left arm cradles an upright, vertical sceptre, signifying her sovereign dominion over the empire. Resting against the side or base of Roma's seat is a large round or oval shield, shown in foreshortened perspective, serving as a reminder of the martial foundations of Roman supremacy. This specific iconographic schema has deep roots in imperial numismatic art, having functioned for centuries as an embodiment of the eternal city and the legitimacy of central Roman authority. By selecting the classic image of Roma Victorious for this early denarius issue, the mint directors and the imperial administration sought to broadcast messages of institutional continuity, military success, and traditional Roman piety. This starkly contrasts with the later, controversial issues of Elagabalus, which subordinated classical deities to the foreign solar monolith of Emesa, the black stone of Elagabal.

Epigraphy and Titulature Analysis

The legends on both faces of RIC IV Elagabalus 3b provide precise chronological and ideological evidence regarding the political status of the regime in AD 218. The obverse circumscription reads continuously along the inner border: IMP CAES M AVR ANTONINVS AVG, an abbreviation of Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus. This formula is critical in numismatic typology, as it demonstrates the complete suppression of the emperor's birth name, Varius Avitus Bassianus, in favor of the prestigious Antonine nomenclature. The title Imperator opens the legend as a praenomen, underscoring supreme military command, while Caesar signifies membership in the imperial household, and Augustus completes the sovereign formulation. The reverse inscription reads P M TR P COS P P, which resolves to Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate, Consul, Pater Patriae. The inclusion of Pontifex Maximus affirms the emperor's role as the supreme pontiff of the state religion, a title conferred by the Senate. Tribunicia Potestate denotes the tribunician power, here lacking an iterative numeral, which strictly denotes the first tribunician year (TR P I). The designation COS indicates his first consulship, which was assumed in AD 218, while P P acknowledges the award of Pater Patriae, Father of the Country. The concise grouping of these high offices without iteration firmly dates the striking of this coin to the second half of AD 218, following senatorial ratifications and preceding his assumption of a second consulship (COS II) on January 1, AD 219.

Typology and Chronological Classification

Within the system of Roman Imperial Coinage, RIC IV Elagabalus 3b represents a specific catalogued entry within the first issue of the Rome mint for Elagabalus's sole reign. The overarching type is catalogued under number 3, with sub-variants distinguished by the precise bust drapery and armor: entry 3a corresponds to the cuirassed or draped and cuirassed bust, whereas entry 3b is defined specifically by the purely draped bust facing right. The type is closely associated with companion denarii bearing the same reverse legend (P M TR P COS P P) paired with alternative reverse figures, including Mars walking, Fides seated with standards, or the emperor sacrificing over an altar. The chronology of this emission is tightly bounded. Because Elagabalus assumed the consulship in AD 218 and renewed it as consul ordinarius for the second time beginning January AD 219, coins inscribed P M TR P COS P P could only have been minted during the terminal months of AD 218. Once the new consular year commenced, the reverse legends at Rome transitioned to P M TR P II COS II P P or associated variants. Die studies demonstrate that the dies for RIC 3b were cut rapidly following the senatorial recognition of late summer AD 218, functioning as part of the initial wave of official coinage distributed in the capital to validate the newly recognized ruler.

Circulation Patterns and Archaeological Evidence

Denarii of the type RIC IV Elagabalus 3b circulated widely throughout the western and Danubian provinces of the Roman Empire, as well as along major commercial arteries in Italy. Because silver denarii of the Severan period were minted in substantial quantities to meet military payrolls, specimens of this early accession type were rapidly integrated into the general currency pool. Hoard evidence from Roman Britain, the Rhine frontier, and the Balkan limes demonstrates that denarii of Elagabalus commonly circulated alongside earlier Severan silver, including common issues of Septimius Severus and Caracalla. Due to the consistent billon alloy of approximately 40 to 45 percent silver, these coins did not experience immediate hoarding preferences over earlier Severan denarii of similar standard, allowing them to remain in active circulation for decades. Archaeological findspots in legionary camps and urban centers reveal that early denarii of Elagabalus continued to change hands until the monetary reforms of the mid-third century AD, when the rapid debasements under Gordian III, Philip I, and Trajan Decius led to the eventual withdrawal, melting, or loss of earlier billon denarii. Wear patterns observed across surviving specimens range from lightly circulated pieces preserved in early savings hoards to heavily worn examples discovered in mid-third-century context deposits.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. pp. 531-534
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. 145-152
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 3b. ric.4.el.3b
5. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. pp. 28-29, no. 3b