Salonina Silver Antoninianus, RIC V Salonina (2) 71

Monetary Context

The coinage struck under the authority of Gallienus following the catastrophe of 260 AD reflects the most intense phase of debasement experienced by the Roman monetary system during the third century. Upon the capture of Valerian I by the Persian king Shapur I, the Roman state splintered into rival factions, with the Gallic Empire establishing independent rule in the west and Postumus claiming the allegiance of Rhine legions, while the eastern provinces faced usurpations by Macrianus and Quietus before Palmyra asserted regional autonomy. Deprived of significant territorial tax bases and facing relentless Germanic incursions along the Rhine and Danube, Gallienus relied heavily on accelerated coin production to finance the loyal mobile field armies. The principal denomination issued throughout the empire was the antoninianus, originally introduced under Caracalla as a nominal double denarius. By the early 260s AD, the denomination had lost virtually all connection to earlier silver weight standards. The silver fineness of imperial antoniniani fell rapidly from roughly fifteen to twenty percent early in the joint reign to under five percent, and frequently below two percent, during the final years of Gallienus. While contemporary official accounting treated these billon radiates as silver coin, they were in practice base-metal tokens given a brief chemical surface enrichment or light silver wash before leaving the mint. The issue of RIC V Salonina (2) 71 belongs to this degraded monetary climate, representing an official billon issue struck for the Augusta to maintain ideological presence and fiscal fluidity across the central Danubian provinces.

Production and Mints

The mint of Siscia, situated at modern Sisak in Croatia along the Kupa and Sava rivers, was established by Gallienus around 262 or 264 AD to serve as a principal operational mint for military operations in Pannonia, Illyricum, and northern Italy. Prior to its foundation, coin production in the region relied heavily on shipments from Rome or northern Italian military workshops. Siscia provided direct access to vital communication corridors connecting Aquileia, Sirmium, and the Danubian defensive perimeter. Production of RIC V Salonina (2) 71 is securely attributed to the mint of Siscia based on stylistic criteria, die-cutting conventions, and metal fabric typical of the Pannonian establishment during the sole reign of Gallienus. The mint operated with an organized system of officinae or workshops, though early emissions often lacked explicit workshop marks in the reverse field or exergue. Dies for this type were executed by regional engravers whose work displays distinctive portrait modeling: the empress's facial features are treated with crisp linear details, a slender neck, and a compact, neatly braided coiffure. Flans for these issues were cast rapidly in gang molds, resulting in irregular edges, frequent cracks along the perimeter, and noticeable variations in overall module and flan thickness.

Obverse Design and Iconography

The obverse of RIC V Salonina (2) 71 presents the right-facing bust of Empress Cornelia Salonina, portrayed as draped and wearing a stephane or crescent-like diadem. Below the truncation of the bust rests an upturned crescent moon, an iconographic marker integral to third-century Roman imperial denomination structures. Just as the radiate crown signified a double denomination for male rulers on the antoninianus and dupondius, the crescent beneath an empress's bust distinguished the antoninianus from the standard silver denarius or bronze sestertius. Salonina's portrait reflects the courtly hairstyle popular during the mid-third century, often termed the Scheitelzopf or ribbed-wave coiffure. The hair is carefully arranged in horizontal parallel ridges that sweep upward from the brow and temples to a broad, braided plait laid flat against the back of the head. The drapery is gathered at the shoulder, revealing the fabric folds across the chest. The portrait conveys the dignified sobriety characteristic of Gallienic imperial portraiture, balancing classical artistic revivalism with the urgent stylistic simplifications necessary for mass die production.

Reverse Design and Iconography

The reverse of the type features the goddess Concordia, personification of harmony, seated facing left on an ornate curule chair or throne. She holds a circular patera in her extended right hand and cradles a double cornucopiae, the horn of abundance, along her left arm. The drapery of her stola and palla falls in layered folds over her seated frame, illustrating traditional Roman religious and civic personification conventions. The attributes held by Concordia communicate deliberate public messages. The patera emphasizes pietas and the correct performance of religious rites, offering libations to ensure the goodwill of the gods for the imperial family. The double cornucopiae underlines material fertility, prosperity, and plentiful provisioning, reassuring the populace and soldiers of the regime's capacity to maintain civil order and imperial abundance despite ongoing shortages. Concordia played a central role in female imperial typology: her presence affirmed marital fidelity, domestic accord between Gallienus and Salonina, and the unbroken unity of the imperial house.

Inscriptions and Epigraphy

The obverse inscription reads SALONINA AVG, an abbreviated formulation of Salonina Augusta. This concise titular legend was standard for her sole-reign coinages across European mints, replacing the earlier joint-reign obverse formula CORN SALONINA AVG. The abbreviated titling accommodated smaller die diameters and expedited engraving, presenting her recognized imperial title with absolute clarity. The reverse inscription is CONCOR AVG, abbreviating either Concordia Augusti (the harmony of the Augustus) or Concordia Augustorum (the harmony of the Augusti). Given that this type was struck during the sole reign of Gallienus after the death or captivity of Valerian I, the singular reading Concordia Augusti is numismatically preferred, referring directly to the harmony surrounding Gallienus or the mutual accord binding the emperor and empress. The lettering at the Siscia mint during this phase exhibits broad, clearly defined Latin capitals with distinctive serifs, although spacing between letters often fluctuates due to the rapid execution of hand-cut working dies.

Typology and Chronological Placement

In the standard reference classification Roman Imperial Coinage, compiled by Percy H. Webb in Volume V, Part 1, this issue is listed under the sole reign of Gallienus as RIC V Salonina (2) 71 within the mint series of Siscia. Later chronological and die-typological research by Robert Göbl in Moneta Imperii Romani (MIR 36) refined the internal sequence of the Siscian emissions, situating the opening of the mint between 262 and 264 AD and organizing its output into distinct chronological phases. The CONCOR AVG reverse type for Salonina at Siscia is closely associated with broader family-level Concordia types struck concurrently for Gallienus. While neighboring types at Siscia introduce specific workshop letters or symbols, such as letters in the exergue indicating the active officina, RIC V 71 designates the unmarked emission. The type remains distinct from earlier Joint Reign issues struck at Rome, Milan, and Asian workshops, which often carried longer legends such as CONCORDIA AVGG. Within the Siscian series, the unmarked Concordia seated type belongs to the primary opening phases of billon antoniniani before systematic officina numbering was universally applied across all Pannonian reverse dies.

Circulation, Hoards, and Deposition

Antoniniani of the sole reign of Gallienus circulated across the remaining central provinces of the Roman Empire, primarily concentrated in northern Italy, the Illyrian frontier, and along the Danube valley. In the western provinces controlled by the Gallic Empire, Gallienic radiates from Siscia appear infrequently in contemporary domestic circulation, though they entered mixed hoards in increasing volumes following the reincorporation of Gaul under Aurelian in 274 AD. Siscian issues are regularly encountered in Danubian and Balkan coin hoards buried during the chaotic decades between 268 and 282 AD, when frequent invasions by the Goths, Heruli, and Sarmatians prompted regional populations to conceal their portable wealth. Due to their low silver content, these coins circulated rapidly alongside contemporary issues from the mints of Rome and Milan. The subsequent monetary reform of Aurelian in 274 AD, which introduced the silver-washed radiate marked XXI, led to large-scale demonetization or undervaluation of Gallienic billon issues, resulting in massive hoard deposition across the European provinces.

References

1. Studien zur Geschichte der Weltkrise des 3. Jahrhunderts nach Christus. pp. 1-45
2. Coin Hoards and Hoarding in the Roman Empire. Chapter 4
3. Die Münzprägung der Kaiser Valerianus I., Gallienus, Saloninus (253/268), Regalianus (260) und Macrianus/Quietus (260/262). MIR 36, Siscia emissions
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC V Salonina (2) 71. ric.5.sala(2).71
5. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume V, Part I. p. 197, no. 71