Elagabalus Silver Denarius, RIC IV Elagabalus 107b

Monetary Context and Economic Environment

During the reign of Elagabalus from AD 218 to AD 222, the Roman imperial monetary system maintained the institutional structures consolidated under Septimius Severus and Caracalla, even as progressive inflationary pressures and metallurgical debasement altered the character of its precious metal currency. The silver denarius remained the chief transactional and accounting denomination for everyday commerce, administrative salaries, and legionary pay across the Mediterranean, despite Caracalla's introduction of the double denarius, or antoninianus, in AD 215. Under Elagabalus, the production of the antoninianus declined significantly, leading to a major re-emphasis on the standard denarius at the principal mint of Rome. Metallurgical studies demonstrate that denarii of this period, including RIC IV Elagabalus 107b, were struck on an alloy containing roughly forty to forty-six percent silver, continuing the debased Severan standard established after Caracalla's fiscal measures. The nominal weight standard typically hovered around 3.0 to 3.2 grams, though individual surviving specimens exhibit standard deviations resulting from mass-production al marco striking techniques, where batches of blanks were adjusted against fixed weight units rather than individually calibrated. In this fiscal climate, the denarius possessed high fiduciary velocity, circulating alongside older Severan issues and retaining legal-tender value through state mandate despite its intrinsic bullion reduction. The emission of RIC IV Elagabalus 107b formed part of this continuous effort to supply ready silver coin for imperial stipends, maintaining civil and military loyalty during an intrinsically volatile reign.

Mint Operation and Production Technology

The production of RIC IV Elagabalus 107b is attributed securely to the primary imperial mint at Rome, the dominant facility responsible for supplying silver denarii to the central and western provinces. While auxiliary eastern mints, such as Antioch and potentially other regional workshops, operated during parts of Elagabalus's reign to support local administrative needs, the stylistic and epigraphic execution of type 107b aligns entirely with the established traditions of the metropolitan officinae. Die production at the Rome mint involved highly organized teams of celatores (engravers) and signatores who executed imperial portraiture according to strict bureaucratic norms. Coin blanks were cast in spherical or flattened molds, heated to achieve optimal malleability, and placed between handheld bronze or iron dies before being struck with heavy hammer blows. Because the mint operated without rigid mechanical collar restraints, the flans of RIC IV Elagabalus 107b frequently display irregular, slightly oval perimeters and varying axial alignments, with die axes commonly clustered around twelve o'clock or six o'clock positions. The inclusion of an explicit reverse control element in the form of an astral symbol, or star, in the field suggests administrative organization across workshops or an explicit theological marker integrated into regular production batches. Metallurgical analyses of contemporary Rome mint denarii reveal trace element profiles characteristic of central imperial refining pools, further verifying that type 107b originated from the central mint rather than peripheral military workshops.

Obverse Portraiture and Iconography

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 107b presents a portrait of the emperor facing right, specified in standard typological classifications as laureate and draped. This depiction captures Elagabalus during his adolescence, balancing youthful facial anatomy with the mature accoutrements of absolute authority. The imperial head is crowned with a laurel wreath (corona triumphalis), tied at the occiput with hanging ribbons (taeniae) that drape along the back of the neck. The drapery covers the shoulders and chest, representing the paludamentum or imperial tunic arranged in classical, flowing folds that were typical of Severan dynastic portrait conventions. Unlike the variant catalogued under RIC IV Elagabalus 107a, which features a bare bust or different drapery and cuirass arrangement, subtype 107b is distinguished specifically by the presence of drapery without an exposed armored cuirass. Furthermore, this type is executed without the controversial horn motif, a conical horn or dried phallus feature projecting over the forehead, which appeared on certain later issues of Elagabalus to symbolize his Syrian priesthood of Elagabal. On RIC IV Elagabalus 107b, the emperor is rendered in an orthodox Roman imperial guise, emphasizing continuity with the Antonine and Severan lineage from which his official nomenclature derived.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse design of RIC IV Elagabalus 107b depicts the divine personification Libertas standing draped and turned toward the left. In her outstretched right hand, she holds the pileus, the brimless felt cap traditionally bestowed upon freed slaves in ancient Rome during the formal manumission ritual, serving as an ancient emblem of civic liberty and emancipation. In her left hand, Libertas supports a long vertical sceptre or vindicta, which rests upon the ground or extends upward along her torso, symbolizing constitutional authority and sovereign protection. A prominent star appears in the field, located to the left or right of the central figure depending on specific die variations within the type. The presence of the star introduces an astral, cosmological dimension to the standard personification. In Severan numismatics, the star frequently denoted imperial eternity (aeternitas), celestial favor, or divine consecration. Under Elagabalus, who served as high priest of the Emesene sun-god Elagabal, the star also carried solar and divine connotations, linking traditional civic freedom with heavenly providence. The pairing of Libertas with an astral device underscored the regime's assertion that imperial rule brought both constitutional restoration and cosmic benediction to the Roman populace.

Epigraphy and Legend Analysis

The inscriptional program of RIC IV Elagabalus 107b utilizes conventional Latin imperial formulas that reinforced the political fiction of dynastic legitimacy. The obverse legend reads IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, fully expanded as Imperator Antoninus Pius Augustus. The title Imperator functions as the military praenomen, affirming supreme command over the Roman legions. The name Antoninus directly connected the young monarch to Caracalla and Marcus Aurelius, exploiting the deep affection of the army for the Antonine dynasty. The cognomen Pius conveyed dutiful piety toward both the gods and the dynastic forebears, while Augustus represented the supreme constitutional title of the reigning emperor. On the reverse, the legend reads LIBERTAS AVG, standing for Libertas Augusti, or the Liberty of the Emperor. In Roman political theology, the virtue of Libertas Augusti was not understood as democratic freedom in the modern sense, but rather as the benevolent, generous governance of the emperor that preserved legal rights, prevented tyranny, and guaranteed civic prosperity. Epigraphically, both legends are rendered in neat, regular square Roman capitals characteristic of the central mint at Rome, with uniform letter heights, well-formed serifs, and standardized spacing that circle the flan within beaded outer borders.

Typological Variants and Chronological Placement

Within the fourth volume of The Roman Imperial Coinage, type 107 represents a broader thematic issue celebrating Libertas that is subdivided according to specific bust varieties and field marks. Variety 107b is classified by its draped bust seen from the side, distinct from bare-headed or purely cuirassed presentations, combined with the presence of the star in the reverse field. Chronologically, numismatists date the issue between AD 218 and AD 222, spanning the full duration of Elagabalus's reign in Rome. However, detailed typological analyses of Severan portrait development suggest that the star-marked denarii were struck primarily during the middle to later phases of his reign, approximately AD 220 to 222, coinciding with the aggressive promotion of the Emesene cult and the restructuring of imperial religious iconography. Because type 107b lacks explicit tribunician power (TR P) or consular (COS) numbering on the reverse, absolute chronological pinpointing within the reign relies upon stylistic affinity, portrait maturation, and hoard associations. The type forms an important typological nexus between conservative early Severan personification types and the intensely theological solar coinage that characterized the climax of Elagabalus's rule.

Circulation Patterns, Hoard Evidence, and Post-Severan Survival

Denarii of RIC IV Elagabalus 107b circulated extensively throughout the western and eastern provinces, integrating seamlessly into the vast pool of circulating Severan silver. Hoard evidence from Roman Britain, the Rhine-Danube frontier, and North Africa demonstrates that denarii of Elagabalus remained in active use long after his assassination in AD 222. Although his successor, Severus Alexander, enacted a formal damnatio memoriae that erased his name from public stone inscriptions, the state did not recall or demonetize his vast silver currency, which would have been economically prohibitive and logistically unfeasible. Instead, coins like RIC IV Elagabalus 107b circulated continuously alongside earlier Severan silver through the middle decades of the third century AD. They are routinely recovered in military site finds and civilian deposits dating up to the currency crises of the AD 250s and 260s, by which point the denarius had been almost completely supplanted by the heavily debased radiate antoninianus. Many recovered specimens exhibit moderate to heavy surface wear and minor edge fracturing, indicative of prolonged circulation over decades before final deposition.

References

1. The Metallurgy of Roman Silver Coinage: From the Reform of Nero to the Reform of Trajan Decius. pp. 642-646
2. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 39, no. 107b
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 107b. RIC IV Elagabalus 107b
4. Under Divine Auspices: Divine Ideology and the Visualisation of Imperial Power in the Severan Period. pp. 164-210