Philip I Silver Antoninianus RIC IV Philip I 25B

Monetary Context

During the mid-third century AD, the antoninianus (or radiate) had established itself as the principal silver-denominated coin of the Roman Empire, having largely displaced the traditional silver denarius in daily circulation. Originally introduced by Caracalla in AD 215 as a two-denarius piece tariffed at a premium over its intrinsic silver content, the denomination underwent recurring reductions in fineness and weight over subsequent reigns. By the reign of Philip the Arab (AD 244 to 249), the silver alloy of the antoninianus stood at approximately forty to forty-five percent fineness, with flans typically weighing between 3.5 and 4.5 grams. The year AD 248 marked the millennial anniversary (the celebrated one-thousandth year, or Parilia) of Rome's traditional foundation in 753 BC by Romulus. To celebrate this milestone, Philip staged lavish Secular Games (Ludi Saeculares) featuring beast hunts, theatrical performances, public largesse, and widespread sacrificial offerings. The imperial administration utilized the Rome mint to produce a coordinated commemorative series of antoniniani, aurei, and bronze sestertii. Within this expansive festal program, the issue catalogued as RIC IV Philip I 25B articulated the ideological theme of renewal under the slogan of the new age, translating the monumental celebrations into durable metallic media distributed across the army, aristocracy, and plebeian population.

Production and Mints

The antoninianus RIC IV Philip I 25B was produced exclusively at the primary imperial mint of Rome. In this period, the Rome mint operated through an organized system of numbered or lettered workshops, known as officinae, which coordinated mass production for major imperial celebrations and military distributions. While other components of Philip's commemorative coinage explicitly bore officina marks such as Roman numerals or Greek numerals, the reverse die designs for the SAECVLVM NOVVM hexastyle temple issue were predominantly struck without officina numbers in the exergue or field, though some associated variants within the broader emission exhibit workshop marks. Flan preparation at Rome during AD 248 utilized cast blank discs that were subjected to thermal treatment before being struck between engraved iron dies. The striking process was conducted with manual hammer blows, yielding moderate variations in flan thickness, centering, and die alignment. Metallurgical analyses of mid-third-century Rome mint antoniniani reveal deliberate surface enrichment, wherein blanks were pickled in organic acid baths prior to striking to dissolve base metals from the exterior, presenting a brighter, silver-enriched surface to the public.

Obverse Design

The obverse of RIC IV Philip I 25B features an official portrait bust of Philip the Arab facing right. The emperor is shown draped and cuirassed, wearing the spiked radiate crown that served as the universal diagnostic attribute of the antoninianus denomination and double-value imperial denominations since the Severan period. The military cuirass visible at the neck and chest emphasizes Philip's position as supreme commander of the legions, while the drapery imparts civic dignity. The portrait style adheres to the veristic tendencies of mid-third-century Roman portraiture, characterized by a rounded visage, closely cropped military haircut, short stippled beard, and furrowed brow. This facial modeling projected an image of austere military vigilance and mature administrative competence, intentionally breaking with the youthful, idealized depictions of the preceding Gordianic dynasty while maintaining continuity with established equestrian and military standards.

Reverse Design

The reverse iconography centers on a frontal perspective of a monumental hexastyle temple, defined by six exterior columns supporting an entablature and pediment. Situated centrally within the intercolumniation sits an enthroned statue of Roma, holding a spear in one hand and supporting a small figure of Victory (Victoria) or a globe in the other, flanked by the column shafts. The pediment occasionally displays ornamental sculptural details in fine-style dies. Numismatists and architectural historians identify this depiction with the famous Temple of Venus and Roma located on the Velian Hill in Rome, originally designed by Emperor Hadrian and dedicated in the second century AD. As the architectural nexus of the state cult dedicated to the eternal city (Roma Aeterna), the temple served as the natural symbolic focal point for the celebration of Rome's foundation millennium. By portraying this iconic shrine, the coin celebrated the divine protection of Roma and asserted that the city had entered a revitalized epoch under Philip's rule.

Legends

The obverse legend reads IMP PHILIPPVS AVG, an abbreviated form of 'Imperator Philippus Augustus'. Starting clockwise from the lower left rim, this concise epigraphic formula was standard for Philip's mid-to-late Rome mint coinage, having superseded earlier, longer titles. The abbreviation IMP identifies the ruler with supreme military command, while AVG asserts sacred imperial authority. The reverse legend is rendered as SAECVLVM NOVVM, reading continuously around the upper perimeter above the temple structure. Translating to 'A New Age' or 'A New Century', the legend directly reflects the Saecular ideology of cosmic regeneration and cyclical renewal. Rooted in ancient Etrusco-Roman religious conceptions of the saeculum, the phrase conveyed that the conclusion of Rome's first millennium marked not an endpoint, but the auspicious commencement of a glorious new era under the reigning emperor.

Types and Chronology

RIC IV Philip I 25B occupies a precise position within the broader millenary issue struck in AD 248. In Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham's classic cataloguing structure in Roman Imperial Coinage (RIC), number 25 was subdivided to capture slight bust variations and workshop markers. Entry 25B specifically designates the antoninianus type featuring the radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust combined with the SAECVLVM NOVVM temple reverse lacking prominent workshop letters, distinguishing it from adjacent variants that feature cuirassed-only busts or distinct officina signatures. Chronologically, this type was issued concurrently with the famous millenary animal series of antoniniani, which depicted wild beasts brought to the Colosseum for the Secular Games, such as the lion, stag, gazelle, hippopotamus, and wolf with the twins. Whereas the animal reverse types commemorated the physical spectacles and the deities presiding over them, the SAECVLVM NOVVM hexastyle temple issue provided the primary architectural and religious manifestation of the millennium, establishing a clear dual focus between earthly celebration and sacred imperial tradition.

Circulation

Because the commemorative issues of AD 248 were produced on a massive scale, specimens of RIC IV Philip I 25B entered mainstream monetary circulation immediately, circulating alongside earlier Severan silver, Gordian III antoniniani, and standard issues of Philip's reign. Hoard evidence from Britain, Gaul, Italy, the Balkans, and the Danubian frontier demonstrates that these celebratory radiates were not hoarded purely as keepsakes, but circulated rapidly throughout military camps and commercial hubs across the empire. Due to continued debasement under Decius, Trebonianus Gallus, and Valerian over the subsequent decade, Philip's antoniniani were gradually treated as relatively high-grade bullion among the increasingly baser billon coins of the late 250s and 260s AD. Consequently, large quantities of these pieces were removed from circulation and buried during the chaotic barbarian incursions and civil wars of the AD 260s, which explains the high survival rate and regular representation of RIC 25B in mid-to-late third-century coin hoards throughout the European provinces.

References

1. Coin Hoards and Hoarding in the Roman Empire. pp. 142-158
2. Roman Coins from the Earliest Times to the Fall of the Western Empire. pp. 129-136
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Philip I 25B. ric.4.ph_i.25B
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part III: Gordian III - Uranius Antoninus. pp. 68-73, no. 25B