Elagabalus Silver Denarius RIC IV Elagabalus 23

Monetary Context and Imperial Policy

The production of RIC IV Elagabalus 23 took place against the turbulent monetary landscape of the early third century AD. Following the brief reign and downfall of Macrinus, the accession of the adolescent Varius Avitus Bassianus, styled Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and known to historiography as Elagabalus, necessitated an immediate and persuasive assertion of imperial legitimacy. The imperial administration sought to stabilize the currency while meeting substantial military expenditures, including accession donatives and troop subventions vital for securing the loyalty of the Praetorian Guard and provincial legions. The principal silver denomination of the early Principate, the denarius, had experienced significant debasement under Septimius Severus and Caracalla, with fineness settling near fifty percent or lower. Under Elagabalus in AD 219, the silver standard of the denarius remained at this degraded baseline, generally containing roughly forty-three to forty-six percent fine silver and fluctuating around an average weight between 2.9 and 3.2 grams. Caracalla had previously introduced the double denarius or antoninianus in AD 215 to alleviate mint production pressures, but during the early years of Elagabalus, the traditional denarius remained the undisputed core of everyday high-value market transactions and state disbursements. RIC IV Elagabalus 23 represents an integral unit in this restored Severan monetary system, carrying standardized imperial motifs that sought to project stability, divine protection, and administrative regularity across the Mediterranean world.

Mint Production and Technical Execution

The entire verified emission catalogued as RIC IV Elagabalus 23 was struck at the principal imperial mint situated in Rome. During AD 219, the Rome mint resumed full-scale centralized output after the political transition from the Syrian mints that had briefly handled emergency emissions during the civil war against Macrinus. Operating under the oversight of imperial monetary magistrates and procurators, the officinae of the Rome mint employed experienced die-engravers who maintained the established Severan court style. The flans for this issue were cast in open or bivalve moulds, resulting in typical round to slightly oval blanks that were subsequently struck hot between hand-carved intaglio bronze or iron dies. The technical execution exhibits the typical hallmarks of third-century Roman minting: axial alignments are generally regular, adhering closely to a medal alignment of six o'clock or twelve o'clock, though slight rotational shifts are frequent. Die preparation followed a rigorous administrative pattern, utilizing distinct sets of reverse dies dedicated to specific collegiate titles and allegorical personifications. The engraving style of the Rome mint in AD 219 is distinguished by finely cut facial profiles with delicate, youthful features, detailed rendering of the drapery folds over the shoulder, and sharp, crisply lettered legends bordered by neat beaded circles.

Obverse Portraiture and Iconography

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 23 presents an imperial portrait rendered strictly within the tradition of early Severan dynastic portraiture. The bust portrays the young emperor facing right, crowned with the laurel wreath (corona laurea) whose ribbons hang down along the nape of the neck. The bust is depicted as draped, with the folds of the paludamentum or military cloak meticulously gathered across the chest and resting over the far shoulder. In keeping with the political necessity of asserting his fictitious paternity as the son of Caracalla, the portrait artists at Rome executed an idealized yet recognizable image of a youthful ruler. The facial profile is clean-shaven, capturing Elagabalus at approximately fifteen years of age, characterized by large eyes, a prominent, slightly curved nose, and soft facial contours that deliberately echo the childhood and adolescent issues of Caracalla. The depiction of the wreath underscores victor status and sovereign authority, while the military drapery links the young princeps conceptually to the imperial army. By avoiding any overt allusions to the Syrian priesthood of the sun-god Elagabal, which would only dominate imperial iconography later in the reign, this early obverse portrait maintained an orthodox, acceptable visual vocabulary for the Senate and people of Rome.

Reverse Iconography: Providentia and the Cosmic Order

The reverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 23 features the allegorical personification of Providentia, representing divine foresight and the attentive governance of the princeps. She stands facing left in a classicizing, languid posture, with her left leg crossed in front of her right leg and her left elbow resting firmly upon a low architectural column. Draped in a long chiton and mantle that cascades down her limbs, she holds a wand or baton in her right hand, extending it downward over a small terrestrial globe resting on the ground near her feet. In her left arm, supported by the column, she cradles a filled cornucopiae, the horn of plenty bursting with fruit. This iconographic ensemble is rich in political meaning. The globe represents Roman dominion over the inhabited world (oikoumene), while the wand indicates the active, directing intelligence of the emperor guided by divine providence. The cornucopiae promises material abundance and agricultural fertility, reassuring the empire of impending peace and prosperity. The column serves a dual structural and symbolic purpose: it provides a physical resting point for the figure, giving the composition classical balance, while conveying architectural steadfastness, endurance, and eternal security for the Severan regime.

Epigraphy and Titular Inscriptions

The epigraphic program of RIC IV Elagabalus 23 adheres to the strict legal formulas of imperial documentation, balancing abbreviated constitutional titles across both faces of the coin. The obverse legend reads IMP ANTONINVS AVG, fully expanded as Imperator Antoninus Augustus. This concise formula was a calculated political statement: by adopting the supreme praenomen of Imperator alongside the revered name Antoninus and the august title, the administration reinforced the fiction that the ruler was the legitimate Antonine successor, omitting the unfamiliar Syrian family names entirely. The reverse carries an explicit dated legend: P M TR P II COS II P P, standing for Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate Secundum, Consul Secundum, Pater Patriae. Each element records a fundamental pillar of imperial authority. Pontifex Maximus denoted his position as the supreme religious pontiff of the Roman state; Tribunicia Potestate II confirmed his sacrosanct civil power and tribunician authority in its second annual iteration; Consul II commemorated his assumption of the second ordinary consulship in AD 219 alongside Quintus Tineius Sacerdos; and Pater Patriae celebrated his honorific title as Father of the Country. The lettering is composed of neat, Latin capitals with sharp terminals, engraved continuously around the rim within the outer beaded border.

Typology and Chronological Classification

Within the typology established by Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham in The Roman Imperial Coinage, RIC IV Elagabalus 23 holds a pivotal chronological position. It is classified under the first major phase of the Rome mint's regular Severan issues, struck securely between 1 January and 31 December of AD 219. The chronological parameters are firmly delineated by the dual indicators TR P II and COS II. Elagabalus entered his second consulship on 1 January 219 while still traveling from Syria to Rome, and his second tribunician power renewed around the close of AD 218 or early 219, expiring upon his third tribunician renewal in late 219 or early 220. Type 23 forms part of a coordinated series of reverse designs issued under this exact titular formula at Rome, which also featured personifications such as Pax, Salus, and Victoria, as well as scenes of the emperor sacrificing. The specific reverse design with Providentia leaning on a column is distinguished in standard catalogues from neighboring issues, such as RIC 24 (which features a seated Roma) or unnumbered varieties lacking the column. In Henry Cohen's nineteenth-century catalogue Description historique des monnaies frappees sous l'Empire romain, the type corresponds to Cohen 144. In the British Museum catalogue, it is classified under BMC 94 through 96, confirming its consistent recognition in modern numismatic typologies.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Preservation

Denarii of type RIC IV Elagabalus 23 circulated extensively across the Roman Empire, as evidenced by their recurring presence in third-century coin hoards throughout Britain, Gaul, Germany, and the Danubian limes. Because silver denarii retained monetary acceptability irrespective of slight shifts in portraiture, specimens of RIC 23 remained in active commercial circulation long after Elagabalus's death in AD 222. Hoard analyses from Western European provinces indicate that Severan denarii constituted the bulk of circulating silver currency through the reigns of Severus Alexander and the Gordians, surviving in circulation until the massive monetary reforms and inflationary demonetizations under Valerian and Gallienus in the mid-third century. Surviving examples of RIC 23 typically demonstrate moderate to heavy wear consistent with several decades of monetary velocity. Well-preserved specimens often exhibit slight mint lustre or cabinet toning, though many recovered from agricultural or riverine deposits show signs of surface corrosion, crystallization, or minor silver leaching typical of third-century silver-copper alloys. The wide geographic dispersal of these coins demonstrates that the Rome mint's AD 219 production successfully infused liquid capital into legionary pay channels and civilian commerce across the provinces.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. pp. 535-536, nos. 94-96
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 23. ric.4.el.23
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 29, no. 23
4. Roman Silver Coins, Vol. III: Pertinax to Balbinus and Pupienus. p. 109, no. 144