Elagabalus Silver Denarius RIC IV Elagabalus 184

Monetary Context and Historical Setting

The emission of RIC IV Elagabalus 184 occurred within the volatile period of the Severan dynasty's restoration following the brief reign of Macrinus. Declared emperor at Emesa in Syria in May AD 218 under the claim of being the natural son of Caracalla, Elagabalus assumed the prestigious imperial name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. The silver denarius was the foundational unit of military and administrative accounting across the Roman Empire. By the early third century AD, the denarius had experienced substantial debasement under Septimius Severus and Caracalla, settling at an average weight around 3.0 to 3.2 grams and a silver fineness of approximately 40 to 45 percent. The issue of imperial denarii bearing the adventus theme fulfilled urgent operational needs, allowing the new administration to pay eastern legions, settle loyalty gratuities, and publicize the regime's legitimacy across the provincial military infrastructure.

Mint Attribution and Production

In Roman Imperial Coinage Volume IV Part 2, Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham catalogued this issue under the mint of Antioch in Syria. Antioch functioned as one of the preeminent administrative, military, and minting centers in the Roman East, equipped to strike massive volumes of imperial silver denarii alongside local tetradrachms. Modern numismatic research, including studies by Roger Bland and Curtis Clay, has extensively analyzed Severan eastern coinage, noting stylistic and die-link connections across eastern issues. While Antioch remains the standard catalogue attribution, scholars have frequently debated whether eastern silver was concentrated exclusively at Antioch or shared with military field facilities or Emesa during the immediate aftermath of Macrinus's defeat. Hand-engraved dies produced these coins, yielding subtle stylistic differences in bust drapery, portrait maturity, and equine dynamism across surviving dies.

Obverse Iconography

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 184 presents a right-facing bust of Elagabalus. The portrait is laureate and draped, depicting the ruler with youthfully rendered features characteristic of his early imperial portraiture. The drapery covers the shoulder and neck, arranged in classical folds that signify civil and imperial dignity, while the laurel wreath symbolizes victorious military authority. Unlike his later portraits struck at Rome, which often showcase the prominent ritual horn associated with his priesthood of Elagabal, eastern portraits produced in the opening phase of the reign emphasize dynastic continuity with the Antonine and Severan lineage.

Reverse Iconography

The reverse iconography features Elagabalus in military dress mounted on a horse that prances toward the left. The emperor raises his right hand in the traditional gesture of adlocutio or benevolent greeting, while holding the reins or an attribute in his left. This motif constitutes a classical formulation of the adventus Augusti, the ritual and ideological arrival of the sovereign. Equestrian adventus imagery underscored the emperor's mobility, martial vigor, and command over the Roman armed forces. On coins struck in eastern provincial settings, this iconography held profound resonance, signaling either the arrival of the prince into Syrian urban centers, his triumphant reception, or his initial embarkation toward the imperial capital.

Epigraphy and Legends

The obverse inscription reads IMP ANTONINVS AVG, short for Imperator Antoninus Augustus. By invoking Antoninus, Elagabalus rejected his birth name Varius Avitus Bassianus and reinforced his fabricated descent from Caracalla, adopting the titular pedigree most revered by the Roman legions. The reverse inscription reads ADVENTVS AVG, an abbreviation for Adventus Augusti, designating the imperial arrival. The epigraphy reflects eastern die-engraving conventions, typically displaying slightly sharper, elongated letterforms compared to the contemporary output of the mint at Rome.

Typology and Chronology

RIC IV Elagabalus 184 is assigned a general date range of AD 218 to 222 in Roman Imperial Coinage, corresponding to the entirety of Elagabalus's reign. However, numismatic chronology places the production of eastern adventus types primarily within the opening phase of his governance, specifically between AD 218 and 219. During this window, the court resided in the East before undertaking the long journey through Asia Minor and the Balkans to Rome, where the emperor entered the capital in summer AD 219. The horse-prancing-left variety under RIC 184 stands alongside closely related issues featuring a horse stepping or walking, as well as parallel adventus emissions struck subsequently at Rome with distinct imperial titulature.

Circulation and Hoard Evidence

Denarii of Elagabalus struck in the East circulated widely throughout the provinces of the Levant, Asia Minor, and the Danubian frontier, mingling freely with western products of the Rome mint. Eastern hoards from Syria, Jordan, and eastern Turkey frequently yield contemporary eastern denarii of Elagabalus, reflecting high local concentrations tied to military supply lines. Furthermore, eastern denarii travelled into western European hoards deposited across the western provinces and Roman Britain during the mid-third century AD, demonstrating that debased Severan silver functioned seamlessly across provincial boundaries until the systemic monetary reforms of the mid-third century AD.

References

1. The Coinage of Vabalathus and Zenobia from Antioch and Alexandria. Discussion of Eastern Severan Mint Operations
2. Coining Images of Power: Patterns in the Representation of Roman Emperors on Imperial Coinage, A.D. 193-284. pp. 225-240
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 184. ric.4.el.184
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 44, no. 184