Julia Maesa Silver Denarius, RIC IV Elagabalus 271

Monetary Context and Dynastic Framing

The denarius of Julia Maesa catalogued as RIC IV Elagabalus 271 belongs to the turbulent monetary and political landscape of the restored Severan dynasty between AD 218 and 222. Following the assassination of Caracalla in AD 217 and the brief reign of Macrinus, Julia Maesa orchestrated the rebellion that placed her teenage grandson Varius Avitus Bassianus, known to history as Elagabalus, on the imperial throne. Because the young emperor's legitimacy depended entirely on his purported descent from Caracalla and the prestige of the Severan maternal line, coinage issued in the name of Julia Maesa carried vital political significance. The imperial administration utilized the precious metal output of Rome not merely for everyday commerce, but as a primary vehicle for public relations and dynastic consolidation. By honoring Maesa with extensive denarius issues, the imperial court reinforced the stability and continuity of the dynasty, presenting her as the venerable matriarch whose presence ensured public security. Economically, the issue belongs to a period when the denarius maintained an average weight around 3.0 grams, though struck at a degraded silver fineness hovering between forty and forty-five percent following the fiscal stresses inherited from Caracalla's military expenditures and salary increases.

Production Standards and Mint Allocation

The type RIC IV Elagabalus 271 was produced at the primary imperial mint in Rome. Under Elagabalus, the central mint operated multiple officinae organized to strike coins concurrently for the emperor, his wives, and his maternal relatives, including Julia Maesa and Julia Soaemias. The striking of Maesa's denarii occurred alongside the large-scale output of imperial silver intended for military distributions and routine civic administration. Physical specimens of this issue generally adhere to the Severan weight standard of the early third century, clustering between 2.70 and 3.40 grams with a typical diameter spanning 18 to 20 millimeters. Dies were engraved in the distinct metropolitan style of Rome, characterized by refined portrait modeling, neat lettering, and standardized iconographic proportions. The metal alloy represents a continuation of the debased billon silver standard established under Caracalla and maintained through Elagabalus, containing roughly forty to forty-five percent fine silver with the balance comprised of copper and trace elements. The Rome mint achieved substantial production volume for this type, evidenced by the broad survival rate of multiple obverse and reverse die combinations across modern collections and European hoards.

Obverse Portraiture and Style

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 271 features a right-facing bust of Julia Maesa. The portrait shows the Augusta draped in standard imperial mantle and stola, conveying dignity, maturity, and modest imperial decorum. Her coiffure is depicted in the traditional Severan fashion: hair arranged in soft, horizontal ridges or waves running back across the head, drawn low at the nape of the neck, and folded upward into a wide, flat chignon or braid pinned at the back of the head. This hairstyle, originally popularized by her sister Julia Domna, was rendered by Rome's engravers with deliberate restraint, accentuating Maesa's advanced age and matriarchal gravitas rather than youthful elegance. The facial features consistently depict a firm profile with a prominent nose, defined jawline, and steady gaze, emphasizing maternal authority. Die cutters working at Rome produced subtle variations in the fullness of the drapery folds and the precise arrangement of the hair waves, yet the fundamental portrait schema remained remarkably uniform throughout the run of the type.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse iconography of RIC IV Elagabalus 271 displays Felicitas standing draped, facing left. In her right hand she holds a patera over a lighted, garlanded altar set on the ground to her left, performing a libation. In her left hand she cradles a tall caduceus, the quintessential Greco-Roman symbol of peace, good fortune, and commercial well-being. Positioned in the right field of the reverse is a distinct celestial symbol, usually rendered as an eight-pointed or six-pointed star. This iconographic combination unites traditional Roman piety with the specific religious program of the reign. While Felicitas with patera and caduceus represented temporal bliss, imperial generosity, and moral correctness, the inclusion of the star introduced a direct reference to the solar deity Elagabal, of whom the emperor served as high priest. The sacrifice performed by Felicitas mirrors the priestly and pietistic duties associated with the imperial house, suggesting that the happiness of the age was directly nurtured by devout religious observance under the guidance of the Augusta.

Inscriptions and Epigraphy

The inscriptions on RIC IV Elagabalus 271 are concise and politically explicit. The obverse bears the legend IVLIA MAESA AVG, reading clockwise along the rim from the lower left. This concise formula combines her personal name with the title Augusta, which had been conferred upon her immediately after Elagabalus assumed power in AD 218. Unlike earlier empresses who occasionally carried maternal or camp-related honorifics in their coin legends, Maesa's obverse titles on this issue remain elegantly simple, reflecting established metropolitan protocol. The reverse features the legend SAECVLI FELICITAS, translating as 'The Happiness of the Age' or 'The Felicity of the Times'. This formula was a standard Severan ideological claim asserting that the ascension of the legitimate lineage had ushered in a golden epoch of peace and prosperity. The epigraphy displays the neat, classical lettering characteristic of the Rome mint in the early third century, with clearly articulated serifs and balanced spacing designed to accommodate both the standing figure and the field star without crowding.

Typology, Dating, and Variants

Catalogued in Roman Imperial Coinage under volume four, part two, as number 271 for Elagabalus, this denarius was minted during the central or later portion of the reign, broadly datable to the span of AD 218 to 222. While Julia Maesa's earliest Rome issues omit the star in the reverse field, numismatists including Harold Mattingly and modern authorities identify the introduction of the star on imperial reverses around AD 220 to 221, coinciding with the heightened prominence of the Emesene solar cult in Rome and the formal consecration of the Elagabalium. The presence of the star on RIC IV 271 firmly distinguishes it from the earlier starless variety catalogued as RIC IV 268. Minor die variants exist within RIC 271, primarily concerning the exact form of the star, which appears with either six, seven, or eight points depending on the engraver, and minor adjustments to the height of the caduceus relative to Felicitas's head. The type was struck exclusively in silver and should not be confused with bronze asses, dupondii, or aurei bearing similar allegorical themes.

Circulation, Hoard Presence, and Afterlife

Denarii of Julia Maesa, including RIC IV 271, entered general circulation alongside both older Severan silver and contemporary issues of Elagabalus and Julia Soaemias. Because the silver content of the denarius under Elagabalus remained stable compared to the baseline established by Septimius Severus and Caracalla, these coins did not face systematic hoarding discrimination against slightly earlier issues under Gresham's Law. Specimens of the type circulated widely across the empire, moving from central Italy to military garrisons along the Rhine and Danube frontiers and into commercial hubs in Britain and the eastern provinces. Significant quantities of this type have been documented in third-century hoards, including major British deposits such as the Shapwick and Falkirk hoards, as well as Continental hoards deposited during the political and military turmoil of the mid-third century. The type continued in active commercial use until the catastrophic inflation and subsequent demonetization of the old silver denarius in the late 260s and 270s AD, when billon antoniniani completely displaced earlier denominations.

References

1. Coin Hoards and Hoarding in the Roman Empire. pp. 112-145
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. pp. 540-542, nos. 44-50
3. Analysis of Ancient Metals. pp. 95-102
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 271. Type record ric.4.el.271
5. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. pp. 60-61, no. 271