Elagabalus Silver Denarius, RIC IV Elagabalus 8b

Monetary Context and Silver Standards

When Elagabalus seized power in May and June of AD 218, the Roman monetary system was emerging from the fiscal turbulence of Caracalla and Macrinus. Caracalla had introduced the double denarius or antoninianus in AD 215 alongside a debased denarius, setting the denarius fineness around 50 to 52 percent silver with an average weight between 3.0 and 3.2 grams. Macrinus temporarily suspended production of the antoninianus and attempted a minor restoration of coin quality, but after his defeat outside Antioch, the incoming administration restored the earlier Severan financial parameters. Denarii struck under RIC IV Elagabalus 8b conformed to the reduced standard established by Caracalla, containing roughly 1.5 to 1.6 grams of fine silver within a gross flan weight typically ranging between 2.8 and 3.4 grams. Denarii of this period formed the backbone of military disbursements and urban civilian exchange across the empire, providing the essential liquidity required by an unstable regime that had gained power through armed rebellion and legionary bribery. The decision to strike this traditional denomination in AD 218 at the metropolitan mint served both as immediate compensation for imperial troops and as a public signal that regular fiscal machinery under the Antonine legacy remained fully operational.

Mint Attribution and Production Technology

The denarius catalogued as RIC IV Elagabalus 8b was manufactured at the principal imperial mint of Rome. Operating across several administrative workshops (officinae), the Rome mint commenced production of Elagabalus's coinage shortly after the Roman Senate recognized his victory over Macrinus in late summer AD 218, even while the emperor himself remained in Syria. The mint used traditional Roman hand-striking methods, where blank silver flans were cast in open or two-part moulds, heated, and struck between an obverse die fixed into an anvil and a handheld reverse punch die. Surviving specimens show varying die alignments, though the Rome mint frequently favoured roughly upright or inverted orientations (approximately six or twelve o'clock). Engravers in Rome executed dies with distinctive metropolitan lettering and disciplined classical proportions, contrasting sharply with the provincial eastern style of contemporary issues struck at Antioch. Because Elagabalus had not yet arrived in the capital to present himself for life portraiture, the die cutters at Rome relied upon idealized Severan models and official directives from the imperial court, creating a youthful image of the emperor that drew heavily upon earlier juvenile portraits of Caracalla.

Obverse Design and Portraiture

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 8b displays a right-facing bust of the emperor, laureate and draped. His profile reflects his youth, showing smooth facial planes without the short beard or facial hair that would appear on coins struck later in his four-year reign. The laurel wreath rests securely upon curled hair that resembles the portraiture of the young Caracalla, deliberate visual propaganda intended to reinforce the false claim that Elagabalus was Caracalla's biological son. Drapery is clearly gathered around the neck and shoulder, a sartorial choice that distinguishes sub-type 8b from the bare-shouldered, draped-and-cuirassed, or solely cuirassed variations listed under related catalogue numbers in the Roman Imperial Coinage series, such as RIC IV 8a. Die variations occur frequently in the treatment of the hair curls, the curvature of the laurel ties falling behind the nape of the neck, and the precise arrangement of fabric folds around the truncation of the bust. These variations represent the handiwork of distinct die sinkers operating within the Rome officinae rather than formal administrative design changes.

Reverse Iconography: Roma Seated

The reverse design of this denarius presents Roma, the divine personification of the Roman state and imperial authority, seated left on a stool, throne, or low curule seat. She wears a crested Attic or Corinthian helmet and long flowing drapery that falls to her feet. In her extended right hand, she holds a statuette of Victory, who in turn holds a wreath and palm branch toward the left. Roma's left arm holds a vertical sceptre or spear, while a circular or oval shield rests against the side of her seat, sometimes partially obscured by the lower folds of her garments. This iconographic type is deeply rooted in Antonine and Severan numismatic tradition, evoking military stability, eternal triumph, and the ancestral core of the empire. By portraying Roma extending Victory, the mint of Rome offered an explicit endorsement of the new regime, framing Elagabalus's accession not as an unruly revolt orchestrated by eastern legions, but as an orderly restoration of legitimate Roman rule sanctioned by the sovereign city herself. Engravers introduced minor variations across dies, particularly in the shape of Roma's seat, the detailing of the crest on her helmet, and the angle of the sceptre.

Epigraphy and Legend Analysis

The inscriptions on RIC IV Elagabalus 8b follow standard Roman imperial epigraphic conventions of the early third century AD. The obverse reads IMP CAES M AVR ANTONINVS AVG, broken along the upper periphery of the flan. Translated as 'Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus', this formula omits consular numbers or filiation while asserting all core prerogatives of the princeps. The deliberate assumption of the names Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was the central pillar of the regime's political identity, directly aligning the adolescent ruler with the popular memory of Marcus Aurelius and Caracalla while completely suppressing his birth name, Varius Avitus Bassianus. The reverse legend reads PONTIF MAX TR P, expanding to 'Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate'. This phrase documents his appointment as chief priest of the traditional Roman state religion alongside his first tenure of tribunician power. The absence of a numerical designation after TR P confirms that the issue was struck during his inaugural tribunician year in AD 218, before the renewal to TR P II on 10 December of that year or 1 January AD 219. Letterforms are neat and classical, typical of the Rome mint, though letter spacing varies depending on die diameter and flan shape.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the typological framework of Roman Imperial Coinage, RIC IV Elagabalus 8b is catalogued under the introductory issues of Rome produced in AD 218. It forms part of a coherent group of denarii sharing the reverse legend PONTIF MAX TR P, which paired identical reverse epigraphy with varying personifications, including Roma seated, Mars advancing, Fides Militum, and Salus. Within this group, type 8 is distinguished by the reverse figure of Roma holding Victory and a sceptre. Harold Mattingly and Edward Sydenham subdivided type 8 based on obverse bust drapery: RIC 8a features a draped and cuirassed bust, while RIC 8b denotes a bust that is laureate and draped without cuirass. Parallel silver quinarii and aurei of similar design are documented, demonstrating that the theme was struck across multiple denominations in this inaugural series. The production of RIC 8b was strictly confined to the final months of AD 218. When Elagabalus entered his second consulship and renewed his tribunician power for AD 219, the reverse legend was modified to PONTIF MAX TR P II COS II P P, bringing the unnumbered PONTIF MAX TR P series to an end.

Hoard Evidence and Circulation History

Denarii of RIC IV Elagabalus 8b entered an empire-wide currency pool characterized by heavy mixing of coin issues spanning from Septimius Severus to Severus Alexander. Because the issue was struck for only a brief period during late AD 218, its relative volume within surviving hoards is modest compared to the extensive later issues of AD 219 to 222 bearing Elagabalus's consular and priestly titles. However, specimens are consistently recorded in major third-century hoards across Britain, Gaul, the Rhine frontier, and the Danubian provinces. In these deposits, coins of type 8b typically appear alongside denarii of Septimius Severus, Caracalla, and Julia Domna. Due to their standard 50 percent silver alloy, these denarii suffered steady wear over two to three decades of active circulation before being systematically displaced or melted down following the massive reintroduction and tariffing of the double denarius by Gordian III and Trajan Decius around AD 238 to 251. As mid-third-century inflation accelerated, surviving Severan denarii were either hoarded in bulk or consigned to melting pots, leaving intact specimens in varying states of moderate to heavy wear.

References

1. From Gordian III to the Gallic Empire: The Silver Coinage of the Mid-Third Century AD. pp. 11-25
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. pp. 531-534
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 29, no. 8b
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 8b. Type RIC IV Elagabalus 8b