Elagabalus Silver Denarius, RIC IV Elagabalus 71d

Monetary Context and Historical Significance

The accession of Varius Avitus Bassianus, remembered historically as Elagabalus, in AD 218 followed the overthrow of Macrinus through a mutiny orchestrated by the Severan dynastic matriarchs and the legions stationed in Syria. The newly installed emperor took the formal imperial name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus to establish direct continuity with Caracalla, whose paternity was claimed on his behalf. In this political climate, the Roman state faced pressing fiscal obligations, primarily the payment of customary accession donatives and standard stipends to the legionaries whose allegiance secured the imperial purple. The denarius remained the primary silver denomination of the empire, serving as the standard unit for state accounting, military wages, and inter-provincial commercial transactions. However, the fineness of the denomination had deteriorated progressively across previous reigns. Following the heavy debasements under Septimius Severus and Caracalla, the silver denarius of Elagabalus was struck at a nominal weight around 3.0 to 3.2 grams with an intrinsic silver purity generally fluctuating between 40 and 46 percent. Although Caracalla had introduced the double denarius, or antoninianus, in AD 215, Elagabalus phased down its production midway through his reign, prioritizing the traditional denarius. RIC IV Elagabalus 71d belongs to this pivotal phase of production, anchoring imperial finances through massive outputs of debased billon silver.

Production and Mint Organization

The vast majority of standard denarii bearing the reverse type of RIC IV Elagabalus 71 are attributed to the central mint of Rome. Although an active eastern imperial workshop operated at Antioch and temporarily in other regional centers during the initial months of the reign while the imperial entourage traveled westward, the specific stylistic and epigraphic characteristics of type 71d reflect the metropolitan die-engravers of the capital. The mint of Rome possessed multiple officinae (workshops), which shared the responsibility of producing vast quantities of silver and bronze coinage simultaneously. Technological analysis indicates that production relied on traditional Roman hot-striking methods using hinged or hand-held dies. Flans were cast in open or two-part molds, occasionally resulting in minor flan cracks, irregular borders, and variable thickness. Die axes for this series are predominantly aligned vertically, conforming to the typical twelve o'clock or six o'clock orientations standard for early third-century Roman imperial issues. Chemical analyses of Rome-minted denarii from this timeframe reveal consistent metallurgy, reflecting closely managed debasement standards across the capital workshops despite the prevailing economic inflation.

Obverse Iconography and Portraiture

The obverse of RIC IV Elagabalus 71d features a youthful male bust of the emperor turned toward the right. He is shown wearing a laurel wreath, tied at the back of the head with ribbons extending down the nape of the neck. Specific to catalogue variety 71d, the bust combines two distinct military and civil elements: the emperor is both draped and cuirassed. The paludamentum (military cloak) is gathered at the shoulder, revealing the segmented metal plates or breastplate of the cuirass beneath. This specific combination of cuirass and drapery distinguishes 71d from parallel entries in the standard catalogue: RIC 71a bears a simple draped bust without armor, RIC 71b features a cuirassed bust without mantle drapery, and RIC 71c denotes a bust with only slight drapery visible at the shoulder. Roman imperial portraiture under Elagabalus evolved from juvenile likenesses closely modeled on Caracalla's youthful iconography toward a more stylized, distinctively individual portrait. On RIC 71d, the depiction presents the young ruler with cropped curls, smooth features, and an upright posture intended to project military authority and legitimate dynastic succession.

Reverse Iconography: Fides Exercitvs

The reverse of the coin is dominated by the personification of Fides, representing the sacred virtue of fidelity, trust, and loyalty. She is depicted draped in a stola and mantle, seated upon an unadorned chair or throne facing left. In her extended right hand, she supports a legionary eagle (aquila), the supreme emblem and religious symbol of each Roman legion. In her left hand, held upright against her torso, rests a vertical military standard (signum), adorned with phalerae and topped with a spearhead or hand. Positioned in the field immediately before the seated goddess is an additional military standard planted upright in the ground. The inclusion of two distinct standards alongside the aquila visually encapsulates the full complement of military insignia that represented Roman legionary detachments and auxiliary cohorts. By depicting Fides seated, the composition conveys stability, steadfastness, and enduring commitment. The iconographic program was designed to communicate that the imperial throne rested safely upon the unshakeable loyalty of the legions, a message of urgent reassurance following the dynastic upheaval that had eliminated Macrinus.

Epigraphy and Legends

The obverse inscription reads unbroken around the imperial portrait: IMP CAES M AVR ANTONINVS AVG. This translates epigraphically as Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus. By deploying this specific sequence of titles, Elagabalus entirely omitted his familial Syrian origins and hereditary priesthood, asserting absolute legal equivalence with Caracalla and Marcus Aurelius. The title Imperator functions here as a praenomen designating supreme military command, followed by Caesar and Augustus as traditional signifiers of imperial rank. The reverse inscription carries the concise legend FIDES EXERCITVS, meaning 'Loyalty of the Army' or 'Faith of the Armed Forces'. The lettering is rendered in standard Roman capital script, typically executed with well-proportioned serifs by the engravers of the Rome mint. The legend forms a direct, unequivocal statement of military support. Unlike dated issues recording tribunician powers (TR P) or consulships (COS), this non-dated reverse could be struck repeatedly across multiple fiscal cycles whenever political messaging demanded an explicit appeal to, or acknowledgment of, military allegiance.

Typology and Chronological Placement

Within the Roman Imperial Coinage typology compiled by Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham, type 71 represents a major thematic issue subdivided into varieties based on minor portrait distinctions. Variety 71d is identified explicitly by the draped and cuirassed laureate bust facing right. The general issue of FIDES EXERCITVS without dated imperial titles was struck across the reign, spanning AD 218 to 222, though many numismatists associate its heaviest output with the earlier half of the period, particularly around AD 218 to 220. During this initial timeframe, Elagabalus made his formal journey from Antioch to Rome, entering the capital in the summer of AD 219. Affirmations of military fidelity were of paramount importance during this transitional phase to consolidate the loyalty of both the western praetorian cohorts and the eastern legions. Later in the reign, reverse iconography shifted increasingly toward religious themes centered on the sun god of Emesa (Elagabal), featuring titles such as SACERD DEI SOLIS ELAGAB. Consequently, the purely militaristic Fides types predominantly represent the initial, consolidation phase of Severan restoration.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Survival

Denarii of Elagabalus circulated widely across the entire Mediterranean basin and the European frontiers. Hoard evidence from Roman Britain, the Rhine-Danube limes, the Balkans, and the Near East consistently documents the presence of Elagabalus's Fides issues. Because the silver content of denarii remained relatively stable from the later reign of Septimius Severus through that of Severus Alexander, coins struck under Elagabalus mixed freely with earlier Severan issues in daily commerce. During the monetary reforms of subsequent decades, particularly under Gordian III and Philip I, older denarii were progressively withdrawn and melted down to provide metal for the double denarius (antoninianus), which became the dominant circulating denomination after AD 238. Despite this reminting, significant quantities of RIC IV Elagabalus 71d survived in terrestrial hoards buried during third-century military crises. Surviving specimens range from well-worn examples reflecting decades of commercial exchange to sharply detailed mint-state specimens that entered hoards shortly after striking.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. pp. 535-538
2. The Metallurgy of Roman Silver Coinage: From the Reform of Nero to the Reform of Trajan Decius. pp. 605-618
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Elagabalus 71d. ric.4.el.71d
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 34, no. 71d