Otacilia Severa Silver Antoninianus, RIC IV Philip I 126

Monetary Context and Mid-Third-Century Billon

By the reign of Philip the Arab (AD 244 to 249), the antoninianus had firmly eclipsed the traditional denarius as the principal silver denomination of the Roman Empire. Initially introduced under Caracalla in AD 215 as a tariffed double denarius, the coin possessed an intrinsic silver content substantially lower than two denarii, effectively functioning as an overvalued fiat currency. Under Philip, the antoninianus underwent accelerated production to meet mounting fiscal burdens, notably military pay, subsidies along the Danube, and lavish expenditures associated with Rome's Ludi Saeculares in AD 248. The coin catalogued as RIC IV Philip I 126 was struck during a transitional phase of third-century metallurgic history. Analysis of Antoniniani from this phase demonstrates that silver fineness generally hovered between 35 and 45 percent, alloyed with copper, tin, and trace elements of lead. Average weights typically ranged between 3.5 and 4.2 grams, though individual flans frequently exhibited wider variance due to rapid minting practices. The production of coins bearing the name and portrait of the Augusta, Otacilia Severa, fulfilled critical fiscal needs while concurrently circulating political messages emphasizing the stability, lineage, and sacred permanence of the ruling house.

Mint Organization and Production at Rome

RIC IV Philip I 126 was produced entirely by the imperial mint in Rome. During the reign of Philip, the mint operated with an established system of six distinct workshops, or officinae, which divided production quotas among the emperor, Otacilia Severa, and the young Caesar (later Augustus) Philip II. Numismatic scholars attribute specific reverse themes to individual officinae, with issues in the name of the Augusta traditionally assigned to the fourth or dedicated auxiliary officinae that handled familial types. Flans were manufactured by casting globular blanks and striking them between hand-cut iron dies. Die axis orientation for this series predominantly aligns at 12 o'clock or 6 o'clock, reflecting standardized workshop discipline in the capital. Unlike subsequent commemorative issues struck for the Saecular Games in AD 248, which often incorporated explicit officina letters in the reverse exergue or field, RIC IV Philip I 126 lacks workshop numerals. Classification relies on stylistic analysis of the portraiture, consistent epigraphic letterforms, and reverse composition characteristic of mid-reign Roman mint craftsmanship.

Obverse Portraiture and Royal Attributes

The obverse of RIC IV Philip I 126 displays a right-facing bust of Marcia Otacilia Severa, meticulously detailed in the dignified visual language favored by third-century imperial portrait sculptors. She is depicted draped in a stola and wearing a stephane or diadem above an elaborate coiffure. Her hair is rendered in the severe, ridged waves typical of the Syrian and Severan tradition, swept backward and drawn upward from the nape of the neck into a broad, flat braid pinned securely against the crown of the head. Beneath the bust rests a downward-curving lunar crescent, whose upward-pointing horns emerge visibly at the bust's front and rear. In Roman numismatic convention, the crescent served as the female counterpart to the male radiate solar crown, indicating that the coin carried the value of a double denarius. The empress is shown with mature, sober facial features, projecting imperial modesty, pietas, and matrilineal authority, which stood as visual reassurance against the political fragility of contemporary Roman governance.

Reverse Iconography of Imperial Concordia

The reverse design presents Concordia, the divine personification of agreement and communal harmony, seated upon a throne facing left. Draped in traditional flowing robes, she holds a patera (libation bowl) in her extended right hand, positioned directly above a low, burning sacrificial altar set to the left of the composition. In her left arm, she cradles a cornucopia, occasionally documented in stylistic sub-variants as a double cornucopia, symbolizing abundant agricultural and civic prosperity. The presence of the sacrificial altar is a critical diagnostic feature that distinguishes RIC IV Philip I 126 from related reverse varieties, such as RIC IV Philip I 125, where Concordia sits without an altar. The act of pouring a libation over the altar associates civil and marital accord directly with religious devotion (pietas). By honoring the gods through regular cultic sacrifice, the imperial house invoked continuing divine protection for the realm and underscored the moral legitimacy of Philip's reign.

Epigraphy and Inscriptional Content

The inscriptions on RIC IV Philip I 126 are concise, conventional, and deeply political in their framing. The obverse legend reads M OTACIL SEVERA AVG, an abbreviated form of 'Marcia Otacilia Severa Augusta'. This titulature asserts her supreme rank within the Roman state and distinguishes her as the legal consort of the princeps and mother of the heir apparent. The reverse legend reads CONCORDIA AVGG, abbreviating 'Concordia Augustorum' (the Concord of the Augusti). The doubled terminal 'G' signifies a plurality of rulers, explicitly referring to the joint rule of Philip the Arab and his son Philip II, who was elevated from Caesar to Augustus in AD 247. The phrase emphasizes unity between the co-emperors and, by extension, the cohesive bond of the entire imperial family. Letterforms on the Rome dies are executed with neat, tall serifs, showing clean engraving with minimal ligature, reflecting the high standards maintained by the capital's die-cutters during this period.

Typology and Chronological Placement

Within the typology established in Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IV, Part III, the coinage of Otacilia Severa is divided into multiple phases corresponding to Philip's administrative milestones. Type 126 belongs to the central phase of the reign, situated between the elevate-rank celebrations of Philip II around AD 246 and the transformative millennium coinage struck in early AD 248. The inclusion of CONCORDIA AVGG with the plural Augustorum provides strong internal evidence that this type gained widespread production around the promotion of the younger Philip to co-emperor. Numismatists distinguish RIC IV Philip I 126 from neighboring types primarily by reverse accessories: RIC 125 features Concordia seated without an altar, while RIC 127 exhibits a different bust drapery or legend division, and RIC 129 presents Pietas instead of Concordia. The variety with the altar represents a deliberate, standardized die group that remained in production across multiple die pairings until the mint shifted resources toward the secular games animal and temple series.

Circulation Patterns and Hoard Contexts

Antoniniani of Otacilia Severa struck at Rome, including RIC IV Philip I 126, circulated extensively throughout the Roman world. Because silver was primarily disbursed through military stipends and administrative payments, high concentrations of this type appear in military border zones along the Rhine and Danube frontiers, as well as in Roman Britain and Gaul. Hoard analyses, such as those of the massive Dorchester Hoard in Britain and various mid-third-century hoards across modern France and the Balkans, routinely record specimens of this Concordia type. The coins continued to circulate well beyond Philip's death in AD 249, remaining in active commercial pools until the extreme hyper-debasement of the late 250s and 260s under Valerian and Gallienus rendered older, higher-grade billon issues prime targets for private hoarding or official melting and reminting.

References

1. Coin Hoards and Hoarding in the Roman Empire. pp. 112-118
2. Composition of Ancient Coins: The Antoniniani of Philip the Arab. pp. 45-52
3. Roman Coins from the Earliest Times to the Fall of the Western Empire. pp. 130-135
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Philip I 126. ric.4.ph_i.126
5. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part III: Gordian III - Uranius Antoninus. pp. 82-83, no. 126