Elagabalus Silver Denarius RIC IV Elagabalus 161b

Monetary Context and Denominational Role

The denarius had served as the backbone of the Roman imperial monetary economy since the Augustan settlement, but by the reign of Elagabalus (AD 218 to 222), it operated in an economic environment shaped by Severan monetary interventions. Caracalla introduced the radiate antoninianus (or double denarius) in AD 215, which temporarily altered denominational relationships until its suspension early in the reign of Elagabalus, leaving the denarius as the primary silver denomination struck in massive quantities. Throughout the Severan era, the silver content of the denarius hovered around 40 to 50 percent purity, with theoretical mass standards typically clustered between 2.8 and 3.3 grams. Struck primarily to finance military commitments, administrative overhead, and imperial donatives, issues such as RIC IV Elagabalus 161b fulfilled pressing fiscal needs while serving as a primary medium for royal propaganda across the provinces.

Production Standards and Rome Mint Operations

Catalogue type RIC IV Elagabalus 161b is securely attributed to the imperial mint at Rome, the dominant minting center of the empire. Although subsidiary eastern facilities (such as Antioch) produced significant volumes of coinage during the initial consolidation of Elagabalus's authority following the defeat of Macrinus, the Rome mint resumed large-scale centralized output once the imperial court was established in the capital. Dies for this type were cut by seasoned engravers adhering to established Severan conventions of relief and portraiture. Blanks were cast and hot-struck by hand between upper and lower dies, leading to predictable variations in planchet thickness, strike centering, and flan irregularity, while maintaining standard denominational mass and metallic parameters.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 161b presents a right-facing bust of Elagabalus, draped and wearing the laurel wreath of imperial authority. Numismatists distinguish this specific subtype (161b) from variant 161a, which features a cuirassed bust in addition to or instead of purely draped drapery. Engravers at Rome depicted the emperor with adolescent features, short cropped hair, and the youthful visage appropriate to a teenager elevated to supreme authority. The laurel wreath symbolizes triumph and imperium, while the drapery over the shoulders projects civic authority and traditional Severan decorum, adhering strictly to dynastic conventions established under Septimius Severus and Caracalla.

Reverse Design and Symbolic Elements

The reverse composition depicts Victory, draped and winged, flying or floating toward the right. In her outstretched hands, she holds an open diadem, taenia, or floral garland. She is flanked by two small ground shields, and a distinct five- or eight-pointed star is positioned in the field. The winged Victory motif constitutes a fundamental Roman victory archetype, yet the inclusion of the star and the diadem introduces distinctive ideological accents. While the diadem had long been an eastern royal emblem and an attribute of victory, the star in the field is widely interpreted as an allusion to the Syrian sun god Elagabal, whose cult the emperor elevated to the head of the Roman pantheon, or as a broader mark of cosmic divine sanction supporting the princeps.

Inscriptions and Epigraphic Analysis

The legends on RIC IV Elagabalus 161b are executed in standard imperial Latin capitals, framing the obverse and reverse fields. The obverse inscription reads IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, an abbreviated epigraphic formula signifying Imperator Antoninus Pius Augustus. By adopting the name Antoninus, the young ruler reinforced his asserted paternity as the son of Caracalla, anchoring his regime directly to the Antonine lineage. The epithet Pius highlighted religious piety and filial devotion, while Augustus confirmed his constitutional position. The reverse legend VICTORIA AVG abbreviates Victoria Augusti (the Victory of the Emperor), attributing all divine martial success to the living sovereign and framing the imperial office as the guarantor of peace and military triumph.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the standard classification established by Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham in Roman Imperial Coinage (RIC), this denarius is catalogued as RIC IV Elagabalus 161b. It belongs to the undated issue sequence of the reign, lacking tribunician (TR P) or consular (COS) numbering, which requires chronological placement through portrait style, epigraphic development, and die link studies across the AD 218 to 222 window. Most scholars situate the appearance of the star on the reverse among issues dating between AD 220 and 222, coinciding with the peak of the emperor's religious reforms in Rome. Subtype 161b is systematically differentiated in the numismatic literature from 161a by the draped versus draped and cuirassed treatment of the obverse bust.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Loss

Denarii of Elagabalus, including the VICTORIA AVG types, entered extensive circulation across the Roman Empire and appear regularly in hoards from Britannia and the Rhine-Danube frontier to Syria and Egypt. Because silver denarii of this era contained around 40 to 50 percent silver, they circulated alongside earlier Severan silver as well as Antonine issues. Following the death and damnatio memoriae of Elagabalus in AD 222, his coins were not comprehensively recalled, owing to the economic impracticality of demonetizing vast quantities of imperial coin. Instead, specimens remained in daily commerce until the severe monetary crises and rapid debasements of the mid-third century led to their gradual hoarding or melting.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. pp. 562-564
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 161b. ric.4.el.161b
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 43, no. 161b