Philip II Silver Antoninianus, RIC IV Philip I 224

Monetary Context and the Roman Millennium

The antoninianus, originally introduced under Caracalla in 215 AD as a double denarius tariffed at two denarii but struck at the weight of roughly one and a half, had evolved by the reign of Philip I (244 to 249 AD) into the indisputable workhorse of Roman imperial silver coinage. The traditional denarius had been reduced to a ceremonial or fractional denomination rarely issued in significant volume. In 248 AD, the Roman state celebrated the completion of Rome's tenth century since its traditional founding by Romulus in 753 BC. To mark this millennium (Saeculum Novum), Philip I orchestrated grand public spectacles known as the Secular Games (Ludi Saeculares), drawing upon ancient ritual precedent to demonstrate divine favor, dynastic legitimacy, and imperial continuity amid compounding external military pressures on the Danube and eastern frontiers. Financing these lavish celebrations, alongside the customary imperial distributions (congiaria) to the populace and donatives to the military, placed immense demands upon the imperial treasury. The antoniniani struck for the millennium festivities reflected the monetary reality of mid-third-century Rome. While still legally treated as silver currency, the metal alloy had suffered systematic debasement, with silver purities falling to between thirty-five and forty-five percent, balanced with copper and minor trace elements. RIC IV Philip I 224 was struck within this specific sociopolitical and fiscal milieu. Although catalogued under the general heading of Philip I in the fourth volume of Roman Imperial Coinage, the coin was issued for Philip II, who had been elevated from Caesar to full co-Augustus in the summer of 247 AD. Striking matched denominations simultaneously for Philip I, Otacilia Severa, and Philip II reinforced the dynastic solidarity of the ruling house before the Roman public during the greatest ceremonial milestone of the imperial era.

Production Standards and Mint Organization

RIC IV Philip I 224 was produced exclusively at the imperial mint in the capital city of Rome. The Secular Games coinage is renowned in Roman numismatics because it provides clear epigraphic evidence for the internal administrative structure of the Rome mint during the mid-third century. At this date, the mint operated with at least six coordinated officinae (workshops), which were systematically numbered from I through VI using Roman numerals on the reverse exergue of commemorative issues. Under this administrative scheme, the mint authorities distributed the dynastic portraiture and associated ceremonial themes methodically across the workshops. Officina I, II, V, and VI were predominantly assigned to issues bearing the portrait of the senior emperor Philip I, displaying animals such as the lion, wolf and twins, stag, and antelope. Officina IV was assigned to Empress Otacilia Severa, famously striking the hippopotamus reverse type. Officina III was assigned to the junior emperor Philip II, producing RIC IV Philip I 224 with its characteristic goat reverse and the exergual numeral III. Die preparation followed standard imperial techniques of the period: hand-engraved bronze or iron dies were used to strike cast billon blanks that had been chemically treated, typically via an acid blanching process that removed surface copper to produce a bright, silver-enriched exterior layer. The target weight standard for antoniniani in 248 AD hovered around 3.8 to 4.3 grams, theoretically representing an average struck at roughly eighty-four to ninety-six coins per Roman pound (libra of approximately 327 grams). However, individual specimens show considerable dispersion due to al marco striking, where mint workers weighed batches of blanks against total standards rather than adjusting every flan individually. Flans of RIC IV Philip I 224 were typically compact, averaging 21 to 23 millimeters in diameter, with axial die alignments demonstrating a strong tendency toward six o'clock (inverted) or twelve o'clock (upright) die axes, characteristic of central Roman mechanical striking practices.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Titulature

The obverse of RIC IV Philip I 224 presents the official imperial portrait of Philip II as co-Augustus. The young emperor is depicted facing right, rendered with a youthful, beardless countenance appropriate to his age, as he was approximately ten to eleven years old in 248 AD. The head is adorned with the radiate crown, which served in third-century imperial numismatics as the formal mark of value distinguishing the antoninianus from the laureate denarius. The bust is dressed in military attire, shown as draped and cuirassed, visible at the shoulders and chest. The cuirass signifies the emperor's theoretical role as commander of the armed forces, while the heavy folds of the military cloak (paludamentum) convey administrative majesty. The style of portraiture produced by the third officina displays the hallmark features of the central Rome mint during the late 240s AD: a rounded skull, neatly articulated hair arranged in short, closely cropped locks beneath the spikes of the radiate crown, and a straight nasal profile. Die engraving exhibits fine technical competence, although under the pressure of vast commemorative output, some dies exhibit slightly shallower relief or simplified rendering of the cuirass straps. Variations within the obverse type are confined to minor artistic liberties in the fullness of the drapery folds or the exact angle and spacing of the radiate crown rays, but the core portrait formula remains strictly uniform.

Reverse Design: The Millenary Goat

The reverse of RIC IV Philip I 224 depicts a goat walking toward the left. The animal is rendered with naturalistic vitality, shown with two sweeping, ridged horns curving backward over its neck, a raised or level tail, and hooves articulated in mid-stride. In the exergual space beneath the baseline ground plane, the Roman numeral III is engraved to designate the third officina of the Rome mint. Numismatists and historians have explored multiple layers of symbolic meaning in the depiction of the goat on this millenary issue. In the primary context of the Ludi Saeculares, the goat directly represents the exotic and domestic beasts assembled in Rome for the games, parades, and animal combats (venationes) staged in the Colosseum and Circus. Contemporary and later literary sources, such as the Historia Augusta and Zosimus, emphasize the vast menagerie of creatures gathered by Gordian III for his planned Persian triumph and subsequently exhibited by Philip during the thousandth anniversary celebrations. Beyond spectacle, the animal holds strong religious and ritual significance. Goats were traditional sacrificial victims dedicated to deities such as Mercury, Apollo, and Liber Pater (Bacchus), gods associated with prosperity, harvest, and the renewal of time. Furthermore, the goat was occasionally linked in imperial allegory to the constellation Capricorn or to rural abundance, signifying the tranquil and fertile pastoral order promised under the dawn of the new Saeculum. While some older catalogues occasionally misidentified the beast as a gazelle or antelope, numismatic consensus follows the explicit classification of RIC IV as a goat, distinguishing it from the slender-bodied antelopes struck by other workshops for Philip I.

Epigraphy and Legend Structure

The legends on RIC IV Philip I 224 are concise, functional, and deeply embedded in contemporary imperial ideology. The obverse inscription reads IMP PHILIPPVS AVG, beginning in the lower left field and proceeding clockwise along the perimeter. This legend represents an abbreviated form of Imperator Philippus Augustus. By omitting the parental qualifiers previously used during his tenure as Caesar (such as M IVL PHILIPPVS NOB CAES), this legend confirms Philip II's status as full Augustus, sharing equal titular dignity with his father. Because both father and son used identical imperial nomenclature on standard issues, the youthful portraiture on the obverse remains the fundamental distinguishing factor for attribution. The reverse inscription reads SAECVLARES AVGG, accompanied by the exergual numeral III. The term Saeculares refers directly to the Ludi Saeculares, celebrating the completion of the age (saeculum). The word AVGG is the standard epigraphic abbreviation for Augustorum, where the duplication of the letter G explicitly signifies the joint rule of two Augusti, Philip I and Philip II. Thus, the reverse legend can be translated as 'The Secular Games of the two Augusti.' The placement of the workshop numeral III below the groundline served an internal quality-control function, enabling mint overseers to hold the staff of the third workshop accountable for alloy purity, flan weight, and production quotas during a period of massive monetary output.

Typology and Chronological Placement

The striking of RIC IV Philip I 224 is securely fixed to the year 248 AD, coinciding with the celebration of the Roman millennium in April of that year. The coin belongs to the fourth main substantive coinage phase of Philip's reign, specifically the millenary commemorative series, catalogued across numbers 12 to 25 for Philip I, numbers 116 to 123 for Otacilia Severa, and numbers 224 to 226 for Philip II in the standard RIC classification. Within the specific series produced for Philip II, RIC 224 represents the principal animal type assigned to his name. A neighboring type, RIC IV Philip I 225, shares the identical obverse and reverse legends but replaces the walking goat with a column or cippus inscribed with celebration details, while RIC IV Philip I 226 features a trophy with captives or sacrificial themes. Because officina III was dedicated to Philip II for the animal emissions, specimens of RIC 224 are virtually always marked with numeral III, though rare die-engraving oversights or eroded exergual marks can obscure the numeral on poorly struck specimens. The production of this type was intensely concentrated, likely commencing shortly before the formal celebrations in April 248 AD and winding down before the end of that calendar year as mint resources pivoted back to routine administrative and military coinages, such as the VIRTVS AVGG and adventus emissions, and ultimately the emergency wartime issues responding to the rebellions of Pacatian, Iotapian, and Decius in 249 AD.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Monetary Impact

Despite its commemorative purpose, RIC IV Philip I 224 was struck in vast numbers and was fully intended for active circulation rather than as a presentation medallion. Millions of antoniniani were injected into the Mediterranean economy to settle imperial expenses and fund the games. The type circulated rapidly throughout the Roman Empire and appears consistently in major mid-third-century hoard deposits across Britain, Gaul, the Rhine frontier, the Balkans, and the Levant. In monumental hoard assemblages, such as the Normanby hoard in Lincolnshire, the Cunetio hoard in Wiltshire, and numerous continental French and German hoards, the millenary issues of Philip I and Philip II represent a prominent chronological horizon. The presence of RIC 224 in these deposits demonstrates that the coins remained in daily commercial circulation for several decades after 248 AD. Because subsequent emperors, notably Gallienus and Claudius II Gothicus, accelerated the debasement of the antoninianus down to five percent silver or less during the crisis of the 260s AD, the earlier, higher-grade billon issues of Philip I were aggressively hoarded and withheld from circulation in accordance with Gresham's Law. Many circulating specimens show substantial wear, indicating that they passed through countless transactions before being sequestered in emergency caches during the barbarian incursions and civil wars of the 260s and 270s AD. Die studies of hoard material confirm that the Rome mint utilized a high number of active obverse and reverse dies for RIC 224, reflecting both the extraordinary volume of the 248 AD emission and the intense industrial scale of the Roman capital's monetary workshops.

References

1. The Cunetio Treasure: Roman Coinage of the Third Century AD. British Museum Publications, London
2. Coin Hoards and Hoarding in the Roman Empire. Oxford University Press, Oxford
3. Monnaies de l'Empire Romain XII.1: D'Aurélien à Florien (275-276 après J.-C.). Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
4. The Great Millenary of Rome: The Secular Games of A.D. 248. The Numismatic Chronicle, Series 6, Vol. 8, pp. 125-146
5. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Philip I 224. ric.4.ph_i.224
6. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IV, Part III: Gordian III to Uranius Antoninus. p. 96, no. 224