Salonina Silver Antoninianus, RIC V Salonina (2) 86

Monetary Context and Debasement

By AD 267, the imperial Roman currency system was experiencing the culmination of decades of fiscal pressure and monetary debasement. Under the sole reign of Gallienus (AD 260 to 268), following the capture of his father Valerian by the Sasanian Empire, the central Roman state lost direct control over key resource areas to the breakaway Gallic Empire in the west and the emergent power of Palmyra in the east. To sustain the substantial military payroll required along the Rhine and Danube frontiers, Gallienus increased the volume of antoniniani while progressively reducing their intrinsic precious metal content. The antoninianus, originally introduced under Caracalla in AD 215 as a double denarius with a silver fineness above fifty percent, had declined dramatically by the late 260s. During the period in which RIC V Salonina (2) 86 was produced, the silver content of the denomination had fallen to roughly two to four percent. The coins were produced as billon or argentiferous bronze blanks that received a chemical blanching or surface pickling treatment prior to striking, which selectively dissolved base metals from the surface and produced a fleeting, silvery appearance. Because the denarius had virtually disappeared from general circulation, the antoninianus functioned as the de facto base transactional unit for imperial military and civil payments. Issues struck in the name of Empress Salonina formed a standard component of these emissions, maintaining the customary visual authority of the imperial family across regional operational sectors.

Production and the Siscia Mint

The workshop responsible for RIC V Salonina (2) 86 was the imperial mint at Siscia (modern Sisak in Croatia). Founded around AD 262 to satisfy the urgent logistical and fiscal needs of the Illyrican and Danubian armies, Siscia rapidly evolved into one of the most prolific mint facilities in the central empire. Its location near major riverine and terrestrial transport routes enabled rapid distribution of newly struck coinages directly to active legionary garrisons. Technological practices at Siscia during AD 267 were shaped by the immense throughput demanded of imperial die-engravers and flan-casters. Blanks were cast in multiple mold clusters, resulting in somewhat irregular circular flans with frequent edge cracking or flan beveling. Die alignment tended to follow regular or inverted vertical standards (six or twelve o'clock), though minor axis drift is common. Although earlier issues at central mints like Rome routinely utilized numbered officina marks in the field or exergue, Siscia's production of this specific type frequently omitted distinct workshop letters or exergual marks, leaving attribution primarily dependent on typological combinations, portrait modeling, and hoard associations verified in numismatic corpora.

Obverse Iconography

The obverse of RIC V Salonina (2) 86 presents a right-facing portrait bust of Cornelia Salonina, styled with the traditional imperial attributes of the Augusta. Her hair is dressed in the elegant, formal braided coiffure typical of third-century empresses, gathered upward along the back of the head and secured beneath a stephane or diadem. The bust is carefully draped at the shoulders. Beneath the truncation of the bust lies a distinct crescent moon, oriented with its cusps pointing upward. In the imperial denomination system established under the Severan dynasty, the crescent served as the female counterpart to the radiate crown worn by emperors, formally signaling the coin as an antoninianus (double denarius) rather than a standard denarius. Stylistically, the Siscia die-cutters rendered Salonina with distinct regional characteristics, featuring a strong, aquiline profile and crisp engraving along the folds of the drapery, setting these dies apart from the softer, more rounded imperial portrait styles produced concurrently at the Rome mint.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse of the type features the standing figure of Venus, draped and turned toward the left. Rather than assuming the conventional peaceful posture associated with Venus Felix or Venus Genetrix holding an apple or adjusting a veil, this composition renders Venus in an explicitly militarized aspect. In her right hand she extends a crested military helmet, while her left hand rests upon a transverse spear; beside her feet sits a grounded oval shield. This synthesis of Venus with the attributes of Mars and Minerva represents an intentional programmatic message under Gallienus. Venus was venerated not merely as the divine ancestress of the Roman people and the guardian of female imperial virtues, but as Venus Victrix, an agent of martial success. By presenting the Augusta's patron deity with the spoils and instruments of war, the coin affirmed the divine protection bestowed upon the imperial couple and promised triumph for the imperial armies campaigning in the Balkans and along the Danubian frontier.

Legends and Epigraphy

The obverse inscription reads SALONINA AVG, an abbreviated formulation of Salonina Augusta. This concise titular phrase was the standard obverse legend employed during the later sole reign of Gallienus, replacing longer forms found in earlier joint-reign issues such as CORN SALONINA AVG. The lettering executed at Siscia exhibits firm, upright capitals with restrained serif details, tailored to fit the tight perimeter between the beaded border and the imperial portrait. The reverse inscription reads VENVS AVG, abbreviating Venus Augusta. This epithet closely binds the divinity to the reigning imperial house, designating Venus specifically as the patroness and protector of the Augusta herself. The absence of additional exergual inscriptions or supplementary control marks directs complete compositional focus to the central deity and the thematic message of imperial martial security.

Typology and Chronology

In the foundational taxonomy of Roman Imperial Coinage, Percy H. Webb catalogued this issue as RIC V.1 Salonina (sole reign) 86, assigning its production to the Siscia workshop within the later phase of Gallienus's independent administration. Modern chronological reassessments, particularly those by Andreas Alfoldi and subsequent mid-third-century specialists, place this specific strike to AD 267, during the intense logistical reorganization preceding the decisive operations against the Goths and Heruls in the Balkans. While contemporary issues for Salonina at Rome and Mediolanum utilized reverse designs celebrating traditional maternal and religious duties such as Pietas, Vesta, and Pudicitia, the Siscia output for the empress incorporated robust martial reverses, including this Venus with helmet, spear, and shield. Minor die variations exist in the exact angle of the spear, the curvature of the crescent below the bust, and the relative size of the ground shield, but the fundamental typological design remained strictly consistent across the issue.

Circulation, Metrology, and Hoard Evidence

Antoniniani of the RIC V Salonina (2) 86 type conformed to the reduced metrological parameters of Gallienus's late monetary phases. Across surviving hoards, antoniniani from this issue typically fluctuate between 2.2 and 3.5 grams, with flan diameters averaging between 18 and 22 millimeters. Because the base billon alloy contained only minimal traces of silver, everyday circulation quickly abraded the superficial silvering, exposing the dark, cuprous core beneath. Hoard evidence demonstrates that coins of this issue moved rapidly through the military supply networks of the Danubian basin, central Europe, and the northern provinces. Specimens are frequently recovered within large mid-to-late third-century hoards, such as the Cunetio and Normanby deposits in Britain and numerous continental hoards across Pannonia, Noricum, and the Rhineland. Although Gallienus and Salonina were assassinated in AD 268, their debased billon issues were not recalled immediately; instead, they continued to circulate extensively alongside issues of Claudius Gothicus, Quintillus, and the early years of Aurelian until the Aurelianic monetary reforms of AD 274 introduced the marked radiate billon coin (aurelianianus) and began driving earlier debased issues from commercial circulation.

References

1. Die Vorherrschaft der Pannonier im Romerreiche und die Entstehung des Kleingrundbesitzes im Donauraum. pp. 1-86
2. Coin Hoards and Hoarding in the Roman Empire. Chapter 4: The Third-Century Crisis
3. Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. pp. 125-157
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC V Salonina (2) 86. ric.5.sala(2).86
5. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. V, Part I. p. 199, no. 86