Aquilia Severa Silver Denarius RIC IV Elagabalus 228

Monetary Context and Historical Setting

During the reign of Elagabalus from AD 218 to AD 222, the Roman imperial monetary system maintained the framework established under Septimius Severus and Caracalla, relying on the silver denarius as the principal transactional coin alongside the double-denarius or antoninianus. By AD 220, the intrinsic silver fineness of the denarius fluctuated around forty to forty-five percent silver, reflecting decades of fiscal strain and military expenditure. When Elagabalus divorced his first wife, Julia Paula, in late AD 220 to marry the Vestal Virgin Julia Aquilia Severa, the union shocked the Roman senatorial aristocracy and traditional religious priesthoods. The imperial court sought to manage this social crisis through official propaganda, deploying coins such as RIC IV Elagabalus 228 to emphasize harmony, dynastic legitimacy, and religious renewal. The inclusion of the imperial couple on the coinage was an established method of reassuring both the Roman populace and the legions that the imperial house remained unified and divinely protected.

Mint Production and Technical Standards

RIC IV Elagabalus 228 was minted exclusively at the imperial mint in Rome. By the early 220s AD, the Rome mint operated through multiple coordinated officinae capable of producing substantial volumes of silver and bronze coinage simultaneously. Silver denarii of this issue adhere to the contemporary Severan standard, possessing an average weight range between 2.8 and 3.3 grams, with flan diameters typically spanning 18 to 20 millimeters. Dies were hand-engraved with distinctive high-relief portraiture on the obverse and balanced multi-figure compositions on the reverse. Striking was performed using heavy manual hammers, often resulting in slight flan irregularities, minor off-centering, and variable die axes, with twelve o'clock and six o'clock alignments being the most frequent. The alloy consisted of a debased silver and copper mixture, occasionally treated by surface depletion techniques during blanching to give freshly struck coins a bright, silver-rich exterior.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 228 presents a right-facing, draped bust of Empress Julia Aquilia Severa. Engravers at the Rome mint captured the empress with marked Severan stylistic conventions, showcasing an elegant yet restrained portrait. Her hair is styled in horizontal waves across the crown and drawn toward the nape of the neck, where it is secured in a wide, flat plait turned upward along the back of the head. This coiffure closely reflects the fashionable court style established by Julia Domna and Julia Maesa, emphasizing imperial continuity and feminine gravitas rather than youthful novelty. The drapery folds across the shoulders are finely rendered, conveying status through imperial vestments. Surviving specimens show careful engraving around the facial profile, rendering a straight nose, firm chin, and calm expression intended to present the controversial Augusta as an established, venerable member of the ruling dynasty.

Reverse Imagery and Ideological Symbolism

The reverse design of the type features Emperor Elagabalus and Empress Julia Aquilia Severa standing face to face, clasping their right hands in the formal gesture of dextrarum iunctio. Elagabalus stands on the left, togate, representing his civilian and religious authority as chief magistrate and pontifex maximus, while Aquilia Severa stands on the right, fully draped in feminine imperial attire. A prominent star appears in the upper field between or beside the figures. The dextrarum iunctio was a revered Roman motif denoting marital concord, mutual fidelity, and institutional agreement. Within the contentious context of this marriage, the gesture served as explicit visual propaganda asserting that the union was legitimate and solemnized according to Roman civic tradition. The accompanying star reinforced the solar theology promoted by Elagabalus, linking the earthly partnership to the cosmic protection of the sun god Elagabal.

Epigraphy and Legend Analysis

The inscriptions on RIC IV Elagabalus 228 are clear and concise, adhering to established Severan epigraphic patterns. The obverse legend reads IVLIA AQVILIA SEVERA AVG, expanding to Julia Aquilia Severa Augusta. This legend unequivocally confirms her elevated legal rank as empress, placing her name in the direct lineage of imperial women who carried the title of Augusta. On the reverse, the legend is the singular noun CONCORDIA, meaning harmony or unity. Engraved in a neat circular layout along the perimeter, the word directly informs the viewer of the scene's conceptual meaning. The epigraphy displays typical early third-century lettering, featuring sharp serifs and consistent letter sizing, although crowded spacing near the star or figure heads occasionally required minor adjustments by the individual die cutter.

Typology and Chronological Placement

The striking of RIC IV Elagabalus 228 is situated between late AD 220 and early AD 222, corresponding to the phases when Aquilia Severa was officially recognized as Augusta. Elagabalus married her late in AD 220, divorced her briefly in mid-221 to marry Annia Faustina under political pressure from his grandmother Julia Maesa, and remarried Aquilia Severa before the end of AD 221. Numismatists distinguish this marriage type from other issues of Aquilia Severa that feature Concordia standing alone sacrificing over an altar (such as RIC IV Elagabalus 225 and 226). In Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham's Roman Imperial Coinage classification, type 228 is isolated by the specific interaction of the two standing figures clasping hands in combination with the field star. Because both marital phases were brief, determining whether individual dies belong to the first or second marriage remains difficult without hoard context, leading most modern catalogues to assign the broad issue bracket of AD 220 to 222.

Circulation and Monetary Reception

Upon release from the Rome mint, denarii of RIC IV Elagabalus 228 circulated alongside older Severan, Antonine, and early imperial silver coins. Hoard evidence across Britain, Gaul, the Danube frontier, and Syria reveals that these denarii entered military pay streams and interprovincial commerce, although in noticeably smaller quantities than the prolific issues struck for Elagabalus himself or his grandmother Julia Maesa. Following the assassination of Elagabalus and the accession of Severus Alexander in March AD 222, the memory of Elagabalus was condemned by the Senate. While private individuals and merchants continued to spend Severan silver denarii regardless of portraiture due to intrinsic metal value, official production of coins for Aquilia Severa ceased immediately. Over subsequent decades, these coins gradually disappeared from circulation through Gresham's law dynamics, reminting under the mid-third-century monetary crises, and inclusion in long-term savings hoards.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. pp. 574-576
2. Roman Coins from the Earliest Times to the Fall of the Western Empire. pp. 140-155
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 228. RIC IV Elagabalus 228
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 44, no. 228