Elagabalus Silver Denarius RIC IV Elagabalus 83A

Monetary Context and Imperial Policy

The monetary system under Elagabalus (AD 218 to 222) operated within the economic framework established during the earlier Severan dynasty. Septimius Severus had undertaken a substantial reform of the Roman silver currency in AD 194 to 195, reducing the fineness of the denarius to approximately fifty percent silver while retaining a target gross weight around three grams. Under Caracalla, this debased standard was maintained alongside the introduction of the antoninianus or double denarius in AD 215. When Elagabalus secured power after the defeat of Macrinus, his administration continued the production of both denominations, although the denarius remained the primary silver denomination issued by the mint of Rome throughout much of his reign. Silver denarii served as the linchpin of Roman state finance, providing the medium for military pay, administrative salaries, and civic distributions in the capital. The issue of RIC IV Elagabalus 83A was part of a steady output of ideological coinage that sought to project stability, legitimate divine support, and standard Roman religious values. The choice of reverse types during this period balanced traditional imperial virtues with more personalized dynastic declarations. The economic pressure on the imperial fiscus, combined with substantial donations made to the legions to maintain loyalty, required high-volume output of silver coinage, ensuring that regular issues like this denarius saw immediate integration into state disbursement channels.

Mint Organization and Production Techniques

RIC IV Elagabalus 83A was produced at the principal imperial mint situated in Rome. During the early third century AD, the Rome mint was organized into several officinae or departmental workshops, each responsible for producing designated issues and denominations under the oversight of imperial procurators. While earlier Eastern mints such as Antioch had struck imperial coinage for Elagabalus during his initial march toward Italy, the style and typology of RIC IV Elagabalus 83A belong squarely to the established artistic traditions of the metropolitan workshops. Production followed standard Roman blank-casting and striking procedures. Silver alloy was melted and poured into circular depressions or prepared molds to form blank flans. Once weighed and cooled, these blanks were heated to anneal the metal before being placed between a stationary lower die set into an anvil and an upper die held by a coiner. The striking process utilized standard die-axes, frequently oriented at twelve o'clock or six o'clock, typical of the central Roman mint during the Severan period. The average weight of contemporary Rome-mint denarii clustered between 2.8 and 3.2 grams, with diameters ranging typically between 18 and 20 millimeters, although individual planchets varied naturally due to manual manufacturing techniques.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 83A features a right-facing bust of the emperor, depicted as laureate and draped. Roman die-engravers rendered the young ruler with the characteristic features of the Antonine-Severan succession, reflecting official portrait types designed to emphasize his supposed lineage as the son of Caracalla. The laurel wreath rests securely upon his cropped hair, its ties extending behind the neck, serving as an ancient symbol of military triumph and supreme authority. The bust treatment combines drapery over the shoulders, rendered with delicate, parallel folds that reveal the tunic and paludamentum. In third-century imperial portraiture, the draped bust served as an official civic and military presentation, balancing the imperial regalia with conventional Roman dignity. Engravers at the Rome mint captured the youthful physiognomy of Elagabalus through smooth facial planes, a slightly upturned nose, and closely trimmed sideburns or light facial hair that appeared on dies cut as the emperor matured. The surrounding inscription is bordered by a neat border of dots, standard for imperial dies of this era.

Reverse Iconography of Fortuna Redux

The reverse of the coin portrays the goddess Fortuna standing draped and facing toward the left. In her right hand, she grasps the tiller of a ship's rudder, which rests upon a globe placed at her feet. In her left arm, she cradles a cornucopiae overflowing with fruits and produce. This particular visual arrangement is steeped in classical Roman allegory: the rudder signifies divine guidance over human destiny and the ship of state, the globe expresses universal Roman dominion over land and sea, and the cornucopiae embodies abundance, peace, and the material blessings that attend divine favor. Within imperial numismatic vocabulary, the figure of Fortuna standing with rudder and cornucopiae is explicitly associated with the invocation of Fortuna Redux. The iconography emphasizes the safe transit and successful return of the emperor, either anticipating or commemorating his arrival in the capital from distant provinces. The drapery of the goddess falls in long, vertical folds down to her feet, rendered with the refined drapery style characteristic of the Rome mint engravers, accompanied by a ground line beneath her feet and an enclosing beaded border.

Epigraphy and Legend Analysis

The legends on RIC IV Elagabalus 83A are executed in clear, classical Latin capitals, following standard Severan epigraphic forms. The obverse legend reads IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, presented continuously along the rim beginning at the lower left and terminating at the lower right. The formulation expands to Imperator Antoninus Pius Augustus. By adopting the name Antoninus alongside the honorific title Pius, Elagabalus directly anchored his public identity to the respected Antonine dynasty and to Septimius Severus and Caracalla, reinforcing the official dynastic fiction that bolstered his regime. The reverse legend reads FORTVNAE REDVCI in the dative case, translating as 'To Fortuna who brings back safely' or 'To Fortuna the Bringer-Back.' Dedicatory dative legends were standard across imperial issues to express piety and formal gratitude toward divine patrons. The letters are neatly spaced, with consistent height and well-formed serifs, reflecting the disciplined standards of the metropolitan dies. The absence of specific consular or tribunician numbers in these legends places this type among the undated ideological coinages of the reign.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the standard reference classification of Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham in Roman Imperial Coinage, this variety is catalogued as RIC IV Elagabalus 83A, distinguished by its specific bust type and legend combination. It forms part of a broader group of Fortuna issues struck during the reign, which includes variants where the goddess is shown seated rather than standing, or where the emperor's portrait is depicted simply as laureate and cuirassed rather than laureate and draped. Chronologically, this issue fits within the period from AD 218 to 222. The title IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG was employed extensively on denarii produced at Rome following Elagabalus's formal entry into the capital in AD 219. While some scholars associate the Fortuna Redux issues specifically with the emperor's arrival in Rome from Syria between late AD 218 and mid AD 219, the absence of dated tribunician marks means that the broader production range of AD 218 to 222 remains the standard catalogued span in modern corpora such as OCRE. Cataloguers distinguish RIC 83A from related entries primarily through the precise obverse bust posture and drapery details.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Survival

Denarii of Elagabalus circulated extensively throughout the Roman world alongside older Severan coinage and earlier issues extending back to the Flavian and Antonine periods. Because their intrinsic silver content was comparable to that of Septimius Severus and Caracalla, coins of type RIC IV Elagabalus 83A moved freely through market transactions, military payment systems, and provincial taxation networks. Hoard evidence from Britain, Gaul, the Rhine frontier, and the Danubian provinces regularly documents the inclusion of Elagabalus's Rome-mint denarii in mid-third-century concealment deposits. During the monetary instability of the mid-to-late third century, older denarii were frequently recalled or hoarded as successive emperors progressively reduced the weight and fineness of the antoninianus. Many Severan denarii nevertheless survived in circulation well into the joint reign of Valerian and Gallienus. Today, RIC IV Elagabalus 83A is represented across major public collections, such as the British Museum and the American Numismatic Society, as well as private holdings, providing durable physical evidence of the imperial messaging and workshop craftsmanship of third-century Rome.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. pp. 535-585
2. Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. pp. 125-132
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 83A. ric.4.el.83A
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 34, no. 83A