Elagabalus Silver Denarius RIC IV Elagabalus 115

Monetary Context and Severan Silver Policy

The denarius catalogued as RIC IV Elagabalus 115 was issued within the complex economic and fiscal environment of the Severan dynasty. By the reign of Elagabalus (AD 218 to 222), the Roman monetary system faced persistent financial strain resulting from military pay raises instituted under Septimius Severus and Caracalla, alongside administrative expenditure and imperial donatives. Caracalla had sought to manage these pressures through the introduction of the double denarius, or antoninianus, in AD 215, yet the traditional denarius remained the primary unit for routine accounting, tax payments, and commercial exchanges across the empire. Following the overthrow of Macrinus in AD 218, Elagabalus's government initially suspended the production of the antoninianus at Rome, directing imperial bullion reserves almost entirely into the striking of standard denarii and gold aurei. The denarius thus regained primary standing in the mint output of the capital. Metallurgical investigations by numismatists have shown that denarii of Elagabalus maintained a silver fineness typically ranging between 40 and 46 percent, continuing the baseline debasement established under Caracalla. The target weight of these pieces centered roughly between 2.8 and 3.2 grams. RIC IV Elagabalus 115 therefore represents the typical daily specie of the early third century AD, balancing state fiscal expediency against public confidence in the established imperial coinage.

Production Methods and Mint Organization

The issue RIC IV Elagabalus 115 is securely assigned to the principal imperial mint situated at Rome. While regional eastern workshops, such as Antioch and potentially other Syrian facilities, struck substantial quantities of silver for Elagabalus upon his initial accession, the distinctive stylistic execution, die alignment, and flan manufacture of this type identify it as a product of the metropolitan establishment. The mint of Rome operated via a structured system of officinae (workshops). Although explicit officina marks do not appear on silver denarii of this era, the regular rotation and parallel striking of standard reverse themes indicate that several discrete shops shared responsibility for silver production. Blanks for RIC IV Elagabalus 115 were cast in spherical molds or cut from cast strips, heated, and struck between hand-carved intaglio dies. Die axes for this series are predominantly regular, often adhering to a conventional six o'clock or twelve o'clock alignment, though minor manual rotational deviations occur naturally in hand-struck coinage. Surviving examples exhibit the expected variations of metropolitan manufacturing, including occasional flan cracking along the perimeter and slight flow lines generated during striking.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Representation

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 115 depicts a right-facing bust of Elagabalus shown laureate and draped. The young emperor is portrayed with the youthful facial contours characteristic of his early imperial iconography, devoid of the heavy mature beard seen on later Severan portraiture, though light sideburns or subtle whisker growth can appear on dies cut later in his reign. The laurel wreath, secured behind the head with trailing ribbon ties, denotes victorious imperial authority, while the drapery arranged across the truncation of the bust imparts dignity and civic presence. In Roman numismatic art, the precise rendering of the bust can vary between dies depending on the individual engraver's treatment of the fabric folds and hair curls. The hair is generally cut in tight, layered locks surrounding the crown and temple, adhering closely to the official metropolitan portrait tradition established for Caracalla during his early joint rule. This visual parallel was deliberate, reinforcing the dynastic claim propagated by Elagabalus's grandmother, Julia Maesa, who asserted his direct paternity from Caracalla to secure the loyalty of the praetorian guard and legionary formations.

Reverse Typology: The Seated Libertas

The reverse composition of RIC IV Elagabalus 115 features Libertas draped and seated facing toward the left. In her outstretched right hand she holds the pileus, the traditional conical felt cap presented to freed slaves upon manumission, serving as Rome's quintessential symbol of emancipation and civic freedom. In her left hand, she holds a long vertical sceptre, an attribute that underscores divine majesty, governance, and imperial sovereignty. Libertas sits comfortably upon a low chair or throne, her garments falling in deep folds down to her feet. Within imperial ideological messaging, Libertas was an enduring and flexible motif. Rather than signifying democratic liberty in a modern sense, Libertas Augusti proclaimed the benevolence and constitutional restraint of the emperor, emphasizing freedom from tyranny, the restoration of constitutional order, and the preservation of legal protections for citizens. Under Elagabalus, the invocation of Libertas served a pointed propagandistic function following the civil war against Macrinus: it cast the accession of the young Severan heir as a liberation of the Roman state and Senate from an illegitimate usurpation.

Epigraphy and Legend Structure

The legends on RIC IV Elagabalus 115 are rendered in classical Roman epigraphic capitals, characterized by neat, uniform lettering cut into the dies with serifs at the letter terminals. The obverse legend reads IMP ANTONINVS AVG, progressing clockwise along the rim. This concise formula combines the military imperatorial salutation (Imperator, abbreviated IMP), the official dynastic name Antoninus, and the core imperial epithet Augustus (abbreviated AVG). By omitting the name Elagabalus entirely, an appellation that appears only in retrospective literary accounts and never on imperial currency, the inscription firmly integrates the young monarch into the lineage of Marcus Aurelius and Antoninus Pius. The reverse legend reads LIBERTAS AVGVSTI, arranged along the upper and lateral margins of the field. Grammatically structured in the nominative subject and genitive attribute, the phrase translates as 'The Freedom of the Augustus' or 'Imperial Liberty'. The absence of tribunician numbers, consulships, or paternal titles on this issue creates an undated reverse legend, a frequent practice on Severan thematic issues that permitted continuous production without annual re-engraving of chronological indicators.

Typological Classification and Chronological Placement

In the standard reference corpus compiled by Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham, this coin is designated as RIC IV Part II, Elagabalus 115. It occupies a distinct place among the non-dated issues of the Rome mint. While dated denarii of Elagabalus track his tribunician renewals (TR P to TR P V) and four consulships (COS to COS IIII) between AD 218 and 222, undated thematic types such as RIC 115 were struck concurrently to satisfy general currency requirements. Stylistic analysis of the obverse portrait offers the principal numismatic criterion for dating individual specimens within the broader AD 218 to 222 window. Early dies feature an idealized, almost childlike portrait resembling the adolescent Caracalla, typical of production in AD 218 and 219. Dies carved toward AD 221 and 222 exhibit fuller facial modeling, distinct sideburns, and occasionally the curious horn-like amulet associated with Elagabalus's later ritual attire, although standard civic types like RIC 115 generally favored traditional imperial portraiture. Related variants within the wider Severan catalogue feature Libertas standing with pileus and sceptre, standing with cornucopia, or holding an abacus, but RIC 115 is strictly defined by the seated posture of the goddess accompanied by pileus and sceptre.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Loss Patterns

Denarii of the type RIC IV Elagabalus 115 entered wide circulation throughout the provinces of the Roman Empire. Evidence from major hoard discoveries across Britain, Gaul, the Rhine-Danube frontier, and the Balkan provinces demonstrates that silver denarii minted under Elagabalus circulated alongside surviving Antonine and earlier Severan issues. Because their silver fineness (approximately 40 to 46 percent) closely matched that of Caracalla's denarii, they were readily accepted and pooled in commercial transactions without extensive immediate sorting or tariffing. Hoard analyses, such as those documenting Romano-British and European deposits from the mid-third century AD, show that denarii of Elagabalus remained in active circulation for decades following his death. They continued to pass hand-to-hand until the massive monetary crises and hyper-debasements of the AD 250s and 260s drove earlier billon and silver out of formal circulation. Wear patterns observed on excavated specimens range from pristine, lightly circulated strikes from rapid hoard burial to well-worn surfaces resulting from prolonged circulation in provincial markets.

References

1. Coin Hoards and Hoarding in the Roman Empire. pp. 112-148
2. The Metallurgy of Roman Silver Coinage: From the Reform of Nero to the Reform of Trajan Decius. pp. 583-610
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 115. ric.4.el.115
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 35, no. 115