Salonina Billon Antoninianus RIC V Salonina (2) 22

Monetary Context

The antoninianus designated by RIC V Salonina (2) 22 belongs to the monetary environment of the sole reign of Gallienus (AD 260 to AD 268). Following the catastrophe at Edessa in AD 260, where Gallienus's father and co-emperor Valerian I was captured by the Persian king Shapur I, the Roman state faced severe strategic fragmentation. Usurpers arose along the Rhine and Danube, while the Gallic Empire fractured western authority and Palmyra assumed control of the eastern provinces. Under these conditions, the central Roman mint at Rome operated under immense pressure to sustain large-scale emissions of billon coinage for military payrolls and urban administration. During this decade, the precious-metal content of the antoninianus collapsed precipitously. What had begun under Caracalla in AD 215 as an approximately fifty percent silver piece had already fallen to approximately twenty percent by the mid-250s. During the sole reign of Gallienus, the Rome mint reduced the fineness to between two and five percent silver, utilizing surface enrichment via chemical leaching to produce a thin, silver-washed veneer over a predominantly copper flan. Salonina's coinage reflected this fiscal reality. Though formally circulating as a silver denomination, RIC V Salonina (2) 22 was functionally a fiduciary billon coin. Its issuance maintained the established role of the Augusta in state propaganda, asserting stability and divine favor in the face of ongoing imperial collapse.

Production and Mints

Production of RIC V Salonina (2) 22 was concentrated entirely at the primary imperial mint of Rome. In this era, the Rome facility had evolved a sophisticated workshop structure, eventually expanding from six to twelve distinct officinae during the course of Gallienus's reign. These workshops processed immense quantities of base metal, producing planchets from cast strips that were hot-struck with hand-engraved iron dies. Dies for Salonina were executed alongside those for Gallienus by the same officina engravers, ensuring consistent stylistic hallmarks in the hair rendering, drapery folds, and lettering. The average weight of these antoniniani typically clustered between 2.5 and 3.5 grams, although weight standards during this period fluctuated considerably due to rapid production speeds and imprecise flan adjustment. Planchets frequently display irregular edges, crack fissures along the perimeter, and variable thickness. Die axes typically adhere to a roughly aligned six o'clock or twelve o'clock orientation, though minor rotational deviations are common. Striated or pitted surfaces on preserved pieces often result from the corrosion of base copper after the thin silver-enriched exterior worn away during circulation.

Obverse Design and Portraiture

The obverse of RIC V Salonina (2) 22 presents a right-facing bust of Empress Cornelia Salonina, portrayed as diademed and draped, resting upon a horizontal crescent. The crescent was the female equivalent of the radiate crown seen on male imperial portraits, functioning as a denominational marker that established the coin as a double denarius. Salonina's portrait is treated in the distinctive late classical manner favored during Gallienus's sole reign, blending idealized elegance with contemporary court hairstyling. Her hair is carefully waved in horizontal ridges across the crown of the head, drawn backward toward the nape, and turned upward into a broad, braided plait or chignon secured behind the stephane or diadem. Engravers rendered the facial features with a straight profile, distinct nasal bridge, and restrained expression, aligning the empress with traditional ideals of Roman matronly dignity. The drapery wraps around the shoulders in multiple soft folds, creating a balanced compositional base above the upturned tips of the crescent. Variations across individual dies reflect different engravers' hands, with some portraits displaying more rounded facial contours and others exhibiting a stylized, elongated jawline.

Reverse Iconography and Attributes

The reverse of RIC V Salonina (2) 22 depicts the goddess Pietas standing facing left, draped in a traditional stola and palla that fall in vertical lines to her feet. In her hands, Pietas holds an acerra, a small rectangular box designed to contain grains of incense or aromatic perfumes used in Roman sacrificial rituals. The iconography emphasizes religious fidelity, filial devotion, and the piety of the imperial household, virtues that were considered vital for securing the Pax Deorum during military crises. In classical numismatic convention, Pietas personified both ceremonial duty toward the gods and affectionate devotion within the imperial family. While some related reverse types of Salonina depict Pietas extending a hand toward small children or sacrificing over a low altar, this specific catalogue type isolates the personification with her perfume box as the central devotional attribute. The composition is austere and compact, focusing attention on the serene posture of the deity. Subtle differences in die cutting can be observed in the angle of the drapery folds, the precise size and shape of the acerra, and the stance of the goddess, but the central iconographical motif remains uniform throughout the issue.

Inscriptions and Epigraphy

The inscriptions on RIC V Salonina (2) 22 are concise, following the abbreviated epigraphic conventions characteristic of the sole reign of Gallienus. The obverse legend reads SALONINA AVG, expanding to Salonina Augusta. Unlike the elaborate titulature found on early third-century empress coinages, which often cited extended family affiliations and maternal honors, this formulaic legend provides only the imperial name and the paramount title Augusta, maximizing visual clarity on small flans. The reverse inscription reads PIETAS AVG, an abbreviation for Pietas Augustae, meaning the Piety of the Empress, or Pietas Augusti, the Piety of the Emperor. This legend directly contextualizes the image of the goddess, attributing the religious devotion symbolized by the perfume box to the imperial house itself. Letterforms at the Rome mint during this phase are typically neat, with compact sans-serif or lightly seriffed capitals. The letters are arranged circumferentially, reading outward from the lower left to upper right. Die breaks, irregular letter spacing, and occasional missing puncta reflect the high engraving volumes demanded of Rome's workshops during the mid-260s.

Types and Chronology

Within Roman Imperial Coinage Volume V, Part 1, Salonina's coinage is divided into two distinct historical phases: the joint reign with Valerian I (AD 253 to AD 260) and the sole reign of Gallienus (AD 260 to AD 268). Catalogue number 22 is catalogued under the sole reign section, denoted as Salonina (2). During this second period, Gallienus undertook several systematic reorganization cycles at the mint of Rome, introducing specialized officina markings and extensive commemorative series, such as the famous animal series for his protective deities. RIC V Salonina (2) 22 belongs to the broader regular emissions featuring traditional personifications struck in the name of the Augusta alongside Gallienus's own issues. The type is differentiated from earlier joint-reign Pietas issues by portrait style, reduced flan fabric, lower silver content, and specific reverse composition. While some contemporary reverse types incorporate officina letters in the fields or exergue, RIC 22 represents an unmarked reverse variety or an early sole-reign emission before systematic letter marking became universal across all Rome workshops. Chronologically, scholars place the production of such unmarked personification types primarily in the earlier to middle portion of the sole reign, approximately AD 260 to AD 266, before the final debasements and reform attempts late in Gallienus's rule.

Circulation and Hoard Evidence

Billon antoniniani of Salonina struck at Rome circulated extensively across the central territories loyal to Gallienus, including Italy, the Balkans, and North Africa. Due to widespread trade and military movements, they also crossed frontiers into the northwestern provinces governed by Postumus and his successors in the Gallic Empire, as well as the eastern provinces under Odenathus and Zenobia. Hoard data from across the Roman world demonstrates that issues of Gallienus and Salonina from the mid-260s were produced in vast quantities and moved rapidly through the monetary system. Because these coins were struck in very base billon, they were heavily retained in circulation during the hyper-inflationary climate of the late third century. They frequently appear in major western hoards alongside the vast emissions of Claudius II Gothicus and the Tetrici, such as the Cunetio and Normanby hoards in Britain and numerous deposits in France and Germany. Even after the Aurelianic monetary reform of AD 274 introduced marked radiate pieces with guaranteed five percent silver, older debased antoniniani of Gallienus and Salonina continued to circulate at a discounted tariff until the end of the century. Surviving specimens show a spectrum of wear from extensive circulation abrasion to sharp die states preserved in sudden hoard deposits.

References

1. Monnaies de l'Empire romain IV: Sous-groupe Gallien (260-268). pp. 52-85
2. Coin Hoards and Hoarding in the Roman Empire. pp. 145-178
3. Coining Images of Power: Patterns in the Representation of Roman Emperors on Imperial Coinage, A.D. 193-284. pp. 210-234
4. Roman Coins from the Earliest Times to the Fall of the Western Empire. pp. 125-140
5. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC V Salonina (2) 22. ric.5.sala(2).22
6. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume V, Part I. p. 193, no. 22