Elagabalus Silver Denarius, RIC IV Elagabalus 46b

Monetary Context and Denominational Background

During the reign of Elagabalus (AD 218 to 222), the silver denarius continued to serve as the primary accounting unit and principal silver denomination of daily military and civic transactions across the Roman Empire. Following the monetary adjustments of Septimius Severus and Caracalla, the silver fineness of the denarius hovered around 40 to 45 percent, with typical standard weights fluctuating between approximately 2.8 and 3.3 grams. Although Caracalla had introduced the double denarius (antoninianus) in AD 215, Elagabalus largely phased out the production of the larger radiate coin after AD 219, refocusing imperial minting capacity on the traditional laureate denarius. Consequently, issues from AD 221 like RIC IV Elagabalus 46b were struck in substantial volumes to meet the demanding fiscal requirements of the imperial court, legionary pay, and extensive ritual donations associated with the newly instituted cult of Sol Invictus Elagabalus in Rome.

Production Standards and Mint Attribution

The issue RIC IV Elagabalus 46b was produced exclusively at the primary imperial mint in Rome. By AD 221, eastern auxiliary mint activity that had operated during Elagabalus's initial journey from Antioch had wound down, consolidating central coinage production within the capital's specialized workshops (officinae). Die-cutting for this type reflects the distinctive hand of Rome's experienced engravers, who rendered the complex drapery of Syrian priestly garments and intricate altar accoutrements onto compact denarius flans. Striking took place on prepared silver blanks using aligned hammer dies, commonly exhibiting a die axis clustered near twelve or six o'clock, typical of Severan Rome mint practices. Weight standards for this issue adhere to the contemporary Severan baseline, though surviving specimens show minor variance stemming from manual blank casting and mass alloy preparation.

Obverse Design and Portraiture

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 46b features the adolescent portrait bust of Elagabalus facing right, wearing the imperial laurel wreath and draped in the military paludamentum or civilian mantle. The most striking numismatic element of this portrait is the prominent appendage protruding forward from above his forehead, traditionally termed the 'horn' in numismatic scholarship. Variously interpreted by historians and numismatists as a horn of divinity, an amuletic Emesene solar fixture, a dried bull's phallus serving as a talisman of generative power, or a curled priestly headdress component, this feature emerges precisely in AD 221 on Roman coinage. Its deliberate placement alongside the laurel wreath visually proclaimed his non-traditional ritual identity directly to the Roman public, diverging sharply from the sober military portraiture favored by earlier Severan dynasts.

Reverse Iconography and Religious Symbolism

The reverse iconography represents a complete departure from orthodox Roman religious displays. Elagabalus is shown standing facing left, dressed in flowing Syrian priestly robes rather than the traditional Roman togate costume of the Pontifex Maximus. In his right hand, he holds a patera, performing a ritual libation over a lighted, garlanded altar set on the ground. In his left hand, the emperor holds a botanical branch, frequently interpreted in catalogues as cypress or laurel, which served in Emesene cultic rites. In the upper left field, a star is prominently rendered. The star signifies celestial divinity and the cosmic presence of the Emesene sun god, reinforcing the high priesthood exercised by the emperor and elevating the foreign ritual act into imperial state religion.

Epigraphy and Imperial Epigraphic Formulae

The obverse legend reads IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG (Imperator Antoninus Pius Augustus). This legend purposefully anchored the young ruler's identity to the prestigious Antonine heritage claimed through his grandmother Julia Maesa's lineage assertion of paternity from Caracalla. The reverse legend bears the dated sequence P M TR P IIII COS III P P (Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate Quarta, Consul Tertium, Pater Patriae). The formal titles proclaim Elagabalus as Supreme Pontiff, invested with tribunician power for the fourth time, consul for the third time, and Father of his Country. The juxtaposition of strictly traditional Roman constitutional offices in the legend against an explicitly foreign, Emesene sacerdotal ritual scene in the field illustrates the complex ideological synthesis attempted by the regime in AD 221.

Typology and Chronological Classification

The type RIC IV Elagabalus 46b is securely anchored to the year AD 221 by its epigraphic formula. Elagabalus assumed his fourth tribunician power (TR P IIII) in late AD 220 or January AD 221, while his third consulship (COS III) ran throughout AD 221 before he entered his fourth consulship on January 1, AD 222. The catalog entry 46b is specifically distinguished from RIC IV Elagabalus 46a by the treatment of the bust: while 46a features a laureate and horned bust without drapery, 46b possesses the laureate, horned, and draped bust. This type forms part of a coordinated series of priestly issues minted in AD 221 and 222 that systematically recorded the sacrificial acts of the emperor as Sacerdos Amplissimus and Invictus Sacerdos, marking the climax of his religious reform program before his assassination in March AD 222.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Monetary Impact

Denarii of type RIC IV Elagabalus 46b circulated extensively across the empire alongside both earlier Severan issues and subsequent issues of Severus Alexander. Despite contemporary literary hostility toward Elagabalus's religious innovations recorded by Cassius Dio and Herodian, there was no systematic demonetization or mass melting of his coinage following his damnatio memoriae; his silver coins continued to pass by weight and intrinsic tariff. Specimens of this type appear frequently in substantial third century hoards uncovered in Roman Britain, Gaul, and the Rhine-Danube military provinces, demonstrating normal monetary circulation through the mid-third century until the debasements of the AD 240s and 250s drove higher fineness early Severan coins out of general circulation.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. Elagabalus, Rome Mint, AD 221
2. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 31, no. 46b
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 46b. RIC IV Elagabalus 46b
4. Le monnayage d'Elagabale (218-222). no. 176