Elagabalus Silver Denarius, RIC IV Elagabalus 21

Monetary Context and Denominational Standards

During the reign of Elagabalus, the silver denarius remained the primary unit of account and standard silver circulating coin for Roman state payments, despite severe inflationary pressures and gradual metallurgical debasement. The monetary reforms enacted decades earlier by Septimius Severus had reduced the fineness of the denarius to roughly fifty percent silver or lower, a standard that Caracalla maintained alongside the introduction of the double-denarius, or antoninianus, in AD 215. Under Macrinus and subsequently Elagabalus, the denarius saw continued mass production, whereas the double-denarius was minted in reduced quantities and eventually ceased production during Elagabalus's reign. RIC IV Elagabalus 21 represents this typical late Severan silver denarius standard. Struck to an average target weight of approximately 3.0 to 3.2 grams with significant individual variation due to al marco striking techniques, the alloy consisted of debased argentiferous metal. The purchasing power of such denarii was heavily tied to state enforcement rather than pure intrinsic bullion value. These coins paid regular army stipends, financed imperial administration, and settled tax obligations across the provinces, functioning as the fiscal backbone of the Roman state apparatus in AD 219.

Production and Mint Organization

The type RIC IV Elagabalus 21 was minted exclusively at the imperial capital of Rome. Following the victory over Macrinus in Syria in AD 218, imperial mint operations in Antioch initially struck coinage for the new regime, but the primary centralization of imperial propaganda and volume production occurred once administrative control was fully established in Rome. By AD 219, the Rome mint was operating at full capacity to issue updated titulature commemorating the new emperor's presence and offices. The mint of Rome utilized an organized officina system wherein multiple workshops operated simultaneously to produce obverse and reverse dies. Dies were hand-engraved by trained celators who followed strict imperial iconographic directives. The physical production involved casting circular silver flans, which were often adjusted roughly for weight before being struck between an anvil die and a hand-held punch die. Die wear, slight off-centering, and minor die flaws are standard characteristics of this mass-produced coinage, reflecting the high-output requirements of the central imperial facility.

Obverse Iconography and Portraiture

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 21 presents a right-facing bust of the emperor, laureate and draped. At this early stage of his reign in AD 219, the celators depicted Elagabalus with youthful features, capturing his adolescence without the mature beard or later idiosyncratic religious symbols that appeared near the end of his rule, such as the priestly horn or complex solar accoutrements. The laurel wreath encircling his head served as a traditional Roman symbol of victory, imperial majesty, and sacred authority, tied directly to the princeps's role as supreme commander of the legions. The drapery across the shoulders underscores civil and military dignity, presenting the young monarch in the standard attire expected of a Severan ruler. Engravers at the Rome mint captured a relatively standardized portrait type that emphasized familial resemblance to his official posthumous father, Caracalla, supporting the dynastic legitimacy claimed by his grandmother Julia Maesa.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse iconography of RIC IV Elagabalus 21 portrays the goddess Pax, personification of peace and concord, walking gracefully to the left. She is clothed in flowing classical drapery. In her right hand, she extends an olive branch, the universal Graeco-Roman attribute of reconciliation and peaceful accord, while resting an upright sceptre in her left hand, which denotes divine and sovereign authority. Depicting Pax in motion, striding forward rather than standing static or seated, conveys active pacification and the imperial promise of a tranquil era after civil strife. The visual messaging of Pax held immediate political resonance in AD 219. Following the sudden death of Caracalla, the brief civil war against Macrinus, and the relocation of the imperial court from the East to Rome, the Severan dynasts sought to reassure the Senate, populace, and military that peaceful governance and internal tranquility had been successfully restored.

Inscriptions and Epigraphy

The obverse inscription reads IMP ANTONINVS AVG, an abbreviated Latin formula expanding to Imperator Antoninus Augustus. By adopting the prestigious name Antoninus, Elagabalus invoked the heritage of Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, and Caracalla, rejecting his birth name Varius Avitus Bassianus in public records. The title Imperator serves as a praenomen designating supreme military command, while Augustus denotes sovereign imperial rank. The reverse legend reads P M TR P II COS II P P, standing for Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate II, Consul II, Pater Patriae. This epigraphic sequence documents the core constitutional and priestly offices held by the emperor. Pontifex Maximus identified him as the chief priest of the state religion, Tribunicia Potestate II confirmed his second holding of tribunician power, Consul II recorded his second regular consulship, and Pater Patriae designated him as Father of the Country. The lettering is rendered in typical third-century imperial capitals, placed along the perimeter of the die within a beaded border.

Typology and Chronological Placement

In the typological framework of The Roman Imperial Coinage, RIC IV Elagabalus 21 is categorized under the Rome mint issues of Elagabalus's second year. The chronological window for this precise issue is established by the reverse titulature TR P II COS II. Elagabalus assumed his first tribunician power upon his accession in AD 218, renewed it for the second time on December 10, AD 218 (or January 1, AD 219 under alternate counting conventions), and entered his second consulship alongside Quintus Tineius Sacerdos on January 1, AD 219. Consequently, the combination of TR P II and COS II strictly dates the strike to the calendar year AD 219. Within the broader series of Rome denarii struck in AD 219, RIC 21 forms part of a coordinated suite of reverse types celebrating civic and religious virtues, including Fides, Providentia, and Victoria. RIC IV Elagabalus 21 is specifically distinguished from adjacent catalog entries by the combination of the walking Pax holding an olive branch and sceptre with the dated legend P M TR P II COS II P P, differing from subsequent issues of AD 220 that advance the numbering to TR P III COS III.

Circulation, Hoard Context, and Survival

Denarii of RIC IV Elagabalus 21 entered immediate imperial circulation alongside earlier Severan, Antonine, and Flavian silver coins that still circulated in large numbers. Because the intrinsic silver content of denarii remained relatively steady between the reigns of Septimius Severus and Severus Alexander, these coins mixed freely in market transactions and army disbursements without being immediately culled by Gresham's Law. In archaeological contexts, this issue appears widely in third-century coin hoards across the Western and Danubian provinces, including Britain, Gaul, Germany, and the Balkans, as well as in eastern hoards buried prior to the major inflationary collapses of the AD 250s and 260s. The heavy wear observed on many recovered specimens confirms that these coins continued to circulate actively for decades after their issue in AD 219, remaining in use until the catastrophic demonetization of the old denarius during the monetary upheavals of the late third century.

References

1. Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. pp. 125-132
2. Coining Images of Power: Patterns in the Representation of Roman Emperors on Imperial Coinage, A.D. 193-284. Chapter 6: Pax and Concord
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 21. ric.4.el.21
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 29, no. 21
5. Roman Coins and Their Values, Volume II: The Accession of Nerva to the Death of Caracalla / The Severan Dynasty. Elagabalus issues of AD 219