Julia Maesa Silver Denarius, RIC IV Elagabalus 272

Monetary Context and Dynastic Authority

The reign of Elagabalus (AD 218 to 222) was secured largely through the wealth, diplomacy, and political machinations of his grandmother, Julia Maesa. Following the death of Caracalla and the brief usurpation of Macrinus, Maesa orchestrated the rebellion that restored the Severan lineage. In recognition of her preeminent status, she was elevated to the rank of Augusta, granting her formal imperial honours and access to extensive coin portraiture. Her coinage formed an integral component of Severan dynastic propaganda, assuring the Roman populace and the legions of domestic stability, divine favour, and continuity. Under Elagabalus, the silver denarius served as the core accounting unit and transactional denomination of the empire, despite sustained fiscal pressure. Severan monetary policy had inherited Caracalla's reduced silver fineness, maintaining the denarius at approximately 40 to 45 percent silver purity. Although the double denarius or antoninianus had been introduced under Caracalla, Elagabalus phased out antoninianus production early in his reign, leaving the denarius as the solitary high-volume silver coin struck in massive quantities for state disbursements, administrative expenses, and military stipends.

Mint Organization and Weight Standards

Catalogue type RIC IV Elagabalus 272 was struck exclusively at the imperial mint of Rome. Although an eastern mint at Antioch also struck silver during the earliest phase of the reign, the distinctive die cutting, drapery arrangement, and epigraphic lettering place this specific issue firmly within the urban workshops of the capital. The mint of Rome operated with structured officinae, sharing engravers between imperial portraits while maintaining distinct reverse compositions across the imperial family members. Denarii of this issue conform to the late Severan weight standard. Individual specimens typically range between 2.6 and 3.4 grams, clustering around a theoretical target weight of approximately 3.0 to 3.1 grams, or roughly one-hundredth of a Roman pound. Production relied on cast flans struck between hand-carved dies. The alloy exhibits the typical surface-enrichment characteristics of third-century Roman billon, where acidic pickling before striking removed base copper from the exterior, creating a brighter, silver-rich surface that concealed a debased core.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse presents a right-facing portrait bust of Julia Maesa. She is depicted draped in the traditional Roman stola and mantle, conveying modesty and matronly dignitas. Her hair is rendered in the distinctive Severan court style, waved horizontally in tight ridges across the crown of the head and folded under into a broad, low chignon at the nape of the neck. This hairstyle deliberately echoed that of her sister, Julia Domna, cementing visual continuity with the golden age of Septimius Severus. Unlike the highly stylized portraits of younger empresses, Maesa is portrayed with mature, individualized facial features, including firm jaw contours and pronounced nasal lines, reflecting her role as an experienced elder statesman and matriarch. Engraving styles vary subtly across different dies, exhibiting minor differences in the thickness of the hair waves, the fold patterns of the drapery, and the curvature of the profile, yet the overall composition remains remarkably uniform across the issue.

Reverse Design and Religious Symbolism

The reverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 272 depicts the goddess Felicitas standing draped and facing left. In her right hand, she extends a patera, performing a libation over a low, burning cylindrical or garlanded altar placed on the ground before her. In her left hand, she supports a long, upright caduceus resting against her arm and shoulder. An eight-pointed or six-pointed star occupies the upper-left field above the altar. This iconography blends Roman civic virtues with eastern astral religion. Felicitas, the personification of divine happiness, fertility, and prosperity, embodies the material well-being of the Roman state. The act of sacrifice underlines ritual piety (pietas) and the fulfillment of vows made to the gods for the emperor's preservation. The presence of the star is of paramount importance. In the coinage of Elagabalus, the star is widely recognized as the celestial symbol of the sun god Elagabal of Emesa, the presiding deity of the young emperor's priesthood. Its inclusion alongside traditional Roman personifications demonstrates the assimilation of the Syrian solar cult into established state religion under Maesa's guidance.

Epigraphy and Legend Readings

The legends on both faces of the coin are concise and rendered in standard Roman capital script. The obverse legend reads IVLIA MAESA AVG, transcribed as Iulia Maesa Augusta. By omitting extensive patronymics or spousal titles, the legend presents her personal name coupled directly with the highest imperial title, Augusta, emphasizing her independent dynastic authority and prestige. The reverse legend reads SAECVLI FELICITAS, translating as 'The Happiness of the Age'. This phrase represents one of the quintessential imperial slogans of the Principate, promising peace, abundance, and divine favour to subjects across the Mediterranean world. Die cutters placed the legend around the upper perimeter, unbroken by the head of Felicitas or divided symmetrically as SAECVLI - FELICITAS depending on die spacing. Epigraphic lettering on urban Roman dies is sharp and regular, characterized by clear serif terminals and well-proportioned characters, contrasting with the cruder letterforms produced at eastern provincial mints.

Typology and Chronological Placement

Within the typology of RIC IV, type 272 represents one of several issues minted for Julia Maesa bearing the reverse legend SAECVLI FELICITAS. The broader series includes versions without the star, variants showing Felicitas standing without an altar, and issues where the caduceus is replaced by other attributes. Type 272 is strictly defined by the combination of the sacrifice over an altar, the long caduceus, and the star in the left field. Chronologically, this type belongs to the middle-to-late phase of Elagabalus's reign, dating between approximately AD 219 and 222. The appearance of the star on imperial coinage at Rome generally corresponds to the formal installation of the Black Stone of Emesa in the Elagabalium on the Palatine Hill around late AD 219 or AD 220. The type remained in regular production until the downfall and assassination of Elagabalus in March AD 222, after which Julia Maesa continued to strike coins under her other grandson, Severus Alexander, but under distinct reverse legends.

Circulation, Hoard Contexts, and Survival

Following its striking at Rome, RIC IV Elagabalus 272 circulated widely across the provinces. Denarii of the Severan empresses were issued in high volume and integrated smoothly into the imperial monetary stream, moving rapidly from central treasury disbursals to civil and military recipients. Hoard evidence from western provinces such as Britain and Gaul, as well as the Rhine and Danube frontiers, regularly features this type in late Severan and mid-third-century concealment deposits. Because its intrinsic silver content was comparable to issues struck under Caracalla and later Severus Alexander, Gresham's law did not drive it from circulation prematurely. Instead, specimens continued to circulate for several decades, remaining in everyday use until the catastrophic inflationary spirals of the AD 250s and 260s rendered traditional denarii obsolete. Surviving specimens show varying stages of wear, ranging from near-mint condition preserved in prompt deposits to heavily rubbed coins circulating well into the reign of Gallienus.

References

1. The Severan Silver Coinage: Coin Finds and Monetary Circulation in the Roman Empire. pp. 85-112
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. pp. 538-540
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 272. ric.4.el.272
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 61, no. 272