Julia Paula Silver Denarius, RIC IV Elagabalus 216

Monetary Context and Severan Denominational Policy

Under the Severan dynasty, the silver denarius served as the principal currency of account and military compensation, despite enduring successive reductions in weight standard and fineness. The fiscal policies established by Septimius Severus and continued by Caracalla and Macrinus reduced the intrinsic silver content of the denarius to roughly forty-six percent by the late 210s AD. Although Caracalla introduced the double denarius or antoninianus in AD 215 to alleviate treasury burdens, production of that larger denomination ceased abruptly under Elagabalus around AD 219, leaving the traditional denarius as the primary silver denomination struck by the imperial mint. Consequently, the matrimonial coinage struck for Julia Paula, including RIC IV Elagabalus 216, was issued solely within the framework of this standard denarius system. Struck on planchets weighing typically between 2.8 and 3.2 grams, this issue functioned not merely as celebratory imperial propaganda marking the royal wedding, but as essential specie feeding state disbursements to civil administrators and legionary units across the Roman Mediterranean.

Mint Organization and Production at Rome

Production of RIC IV Elagabalus 216 was concentrated at the primary imperial mint in Rome. During the early reign of Elagabalus, the Rome mint operated with several distinct workshops (officinae) dedicated to striking precious-metal issues for the Augustus and the imperial women. Julia Paula's sudden elevation to Augusta in late AD 219 required the immediate engraving of portrait dies capable of presenting her likeness to the Roman world. Dies were hand-engraved into iron or bronze blocks using gravers, punches, and drills, producing distinctive variations in the rendering of drapery folds, hair waves, and lettering spacing. Planchets were cast in round molds before being hot-struck between die pairs. Die-axis orientation for this type predominantly aligns at twelve o'clock or six o'clock, reflecting the regulated mechanical practices of the Severan urban mint. Because Paula's tenure as empress lasted barely over a year before her divorce in late AD 220, the production lifespan of these dies was exceptionally compressed, leading to a concentrated output over several busy months.

Obverse Portraiture and Regal Iconography

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 216 presents a right-facing portrait bust of Empress Julia Paula, draped at the shoulders and truncating cleanly at the lower edge. Her hairstyle adheres to the court fashion popularized by Julia Domna and Julia Maesa, characterized by horizontal waves arranged neatly along the temple and drawn back into a broad, braided plait pinned at the nape of the neck. This restrained and dignified coiffure was deliberately chosen to echo traditional Roman matronly virtues, counterbalancing the exotic perceptions surrounding Elagabalus and his Emesene court. The bust is rendered with soft facial features and naturalistic modeling, emphasizing the youth of the empress while maintaining the idealized serenity expected of an Augusta. Variations across surviving dies demonstrate minor shifts in bust volume, the height of the braided plait, and the layering of the drapery around the neckline, confirming the participation of multiple die-sinkers at the urban mint.

Reverse Iconography: Concordia and Marital Concord

The reverse design depicts Concordia, the Roman goddess of agreement and domestic harmony, draped in stola and seated facing left on an ornate low-backed chair. In her extended right hand she holds a patera, a shallow libation bowl used in religious sacrifices, symbolizing piety and the divine sanctioning of the imperial union. In her left arm she cradles a double cornucopiae, the horn of plenty overflowing with fruits and grain, symbolizing the fertility of the empress and the material abundance guaranteed to the empire by a stable royal marriage. In some die variations, a star appears in the left field, an astrological symbol associated with the Syrian sun god Elagabal and the solar destiny of the Severan court, though unstarred varieties are also well documented within the type cataloguing. The iconographic program emphasized marital fidelity and cosmic favor, attempting to persuade the Roman public of an enduring alliance between the young emperor and the patrician lineage of Cornelia Paula.

Epigraphic Analysis and Legend Formulations

The legends on RIC IV Elagabalus 216 are crisp, formal, and strictly standardized. The obverse legend reads IVLIA PAVLA AVG, an abbreviation for Iulia Paula Augusta. By omitting extensive filiation and confining the titulature to her imperial name and supreme rank, the mint established Paula's constitutional status succinctly alongside Elagabalus. The reverse inscription reads CONCORDIA AVGG, signifying Concordia Augustorum, the concord of the Augusti. Although Julia Paula held the title Augusta while Elagabalus held Augustus, the use of the double G pluralized the imperial office, reflecting the theoretical unity and shared majesty of the ruling couple. The letterforms exhibit the neat, serifed epigraphy typical of early third-century Rome, with tall vertical strokes and compact curves. Variations in die-cutting occasionally show tighter letter spacing or minor differences in break placement around the seated deity, but the text remains remarkably consistent throughout the issue.

Typology and Chronological Sequence

RIC IV Elagabalus 216 occupies a clearly bounded chronological window determined by historical and numismatic milestones. Elagabalus married Julia Paula in the autumn of AD 219, an event celebrated in Rome through donatives, sacrificial games, and the immediate authorization of imperial coinage bearing her name. Her minting privileges ceased entirely when Elagabalus divorced her in late AD 220 to marry the Vestal Virgin Aquilia Severa, stripping Paula of her Augusta title and banishing her into private life. Numismatists divide Paula's denarii into a few standard reverse types, with the seated Concordia reverse forming the core matrimonial issue alongside standing Concordia and Venus types. The CONCORDIA AVGG variant catalogued as RIC 216 represents the primary official declaration of matrimonial agreement. Die-link studies and hoard analyses verify that this issue was struck simultaneously with the consular and tribunician issues of Elagabalus's second and third consulships, firmly anchoring it between late AD 219 and late AD 220.

Monetary Circulation and Hoard Contexts

Once minted in Rome, denarii of RIC IV Elagabalus 216 entered widespread circulation through military pay and civilian commerce. Despite the briefness of Julia Paula's tenure as empress, her coins were not formally demonetized or recalled after her divorce, as the Severan administration typically allowed earlier coin types to circulate until natural attrition, export, or recoinage removed them from the pool. Specimens of RIC 216 have been documented in third-century coin hoards throughout Roman Britain, Gaul, the Rhine frontier, and the Danubian provinces, as well as across the Levant. In hoards deposited during the reigns of Severus Alexander and the Barracks Emperors, Paula's denarii frequently show moderate to heavy surface wear, testifying to decades of continuous circulation alongside contemporary Severan silver. Their presence in mixed frontier hoards confirms that matrimonial issues fulfilled the same mundane commercial and fiscal functions as regular imperial types.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. pp. 588-589
2. RIC IV Elagabalus 216 in Online Coins of the Roman Empire. RIC IV Elagabalus 216
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. pp. 45-46, no. 216