Septimius Severus Silver Denarius, RIC IV Septimius Severus 228

Monetary Context and Denominational System

By 209 AD, the Roman denarius occupied a modified position within the imperial monetary hierarchy compared to its earlier second-century predecessors. Following his accession and subsequent civil conflicts in the 190s AD, Septimius Severus oversaw a notable debasement of the silver currency to fund military bonuses and increased legionary pay. Metallurgical analyses demonstrate that the silver content of the Severan denarius was reduced to approximately fifty to fifty-five percent fine silver, with base copper making up the remainder of the alloy. Despite this intrinsic reduction in precious metal purity, the denarius remained the chief transactional coin of state expenditure, taxation, and military remuneration throughout the empire. The production of RIC IV Septimius Severus 228 was embedded in a high-volume output framework required to support imperial operations in the western provinces, particularly the British campaigns initiated in 208 AD. In this context, denarii served as portable instruments of imperial authority, conveying consistent ideological motifs while meeting immense administrative liquidity demands.

Production Standards and Mint Attribution

The issue RIC IV Septimius Severus 228 is securely assigned to the principal imperial mint at Rome. Earlier in the reign, auxiliary eastern mints such as those in Antioch, Laodicea ad Mare, and Alexandria produced denarii to service eastern forces, but by the early third century AD, precious metal coinage was once again concentrated primarily in the imperial capital. Striking was executed with hand-held steel dies using cast silver flans prepared to target weight standards typically averaging between 3.1 and 3.3 grams, though individual specimens demonstrate normal variations stemming from batch-casting tolerances. Die alignment tends to cluster around twelve or six o'clock, reflecting standardized workshop practices at Rome. The technical execution shows the characteristic deep engraving of the central mint's skilled artisans, producing well-modeled facial features on the obverse and fluid anatomical proportions for Neptune on the reverse.

Obverse Typology and Imperial Iconography

The obverse of RIC IV Septimius Severus 228 displays the mature, laureate portrait of Septimius Severus facing right. In accordance with the stylistic conventions established in the late 190s and continued throughout the 200s AD, the portrait abandons the earlier Antonine-style long corkscrew beard in favor of a full, segmented beard and tightly curled hair. The laurel wreath rests upon the imperial brow, with ribbons trailing down the nape of the neck. The portrait conveys authority and seasoned military command, suited to an emperor actively engaged in frontier warfare. The engraving captures firm facial contours, a prominent brow, and deep-set eyes, exemplifying the refined realism cultivated by the master die-engravers of the Roman urban mint during this period.

Reverse Iconography: Neptune and Maritime Control

The reverse of the type features the sea god Neptune standing toward the left, largely nude except for drapery draped across his left shoulder and wrapping over his right arm. His right foot rests upon a small terrestrial globe, a classical iconographic device denoting dominion over the oceans and waterways. In his left hand, Neptune holds his defining attribute, an upright trident, while his right arm is positioned forward or rested near his knee. This marine imagery holds direct historical relevance to the military events of 209 AD. As Septimius Severus and his sons Caracalla and Geta campaigned in northern Britannia, naval support from the Classis Britannica was essential for ferrying forces across the North Sea, operating along the eastern Scottish coastline, and securing maritime supply lines against Caledonian and Maeatian resistance. The invocation of Neptune thus served as religious thanksgiving and imperial propaganda, asserting that Roman arms commanded the seas as effectively as the land.

Epigraphy and Imperial Titulature

The legends on RIC IV Septimius Severus 228 are concise and strictly official, reflecting the standardized titular formulas adopted in the later half of the reign. The obverse legend reads SEVERVS PIVS AVG, representing an abbreviation of Severus Pius Augustus. The epithet Pius was formally adopted following the defeat of Clodius Albinus to emphasize the emperor's self-proclaimed devotion to the deified Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius, cementing his retroactive adoption into the Antonine dynasty. The reverse inscription reads P M TR P XVII COS III P P, expanding to Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate XVII, Consul III, Pater Patriae. The formula details his position as chief priest of the Roman religion, his third ordinary consulship assumed in 202 AD, and his honorary title of Father of the Fatherland. Most importantly for chronologists, the designation of the seventeenth tribunician renewal provides an unambiguous epigraphic marker for dating the issue.

Typological Classification and Chronological Placement

In the typological framework established by Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham in The Roman Imperial Coinage, this coin is catalogued under number 228 within the Rome mint series for Septimius Severus. The tribunician iteration TR P XVII explicitly fixes the production of this type to 209 AD, as Severus's tribunician renewals occurred annually in December. Within the broader thematic output of 209 AD, RIC 228 belongs to a discrete group of reverses celebrating victories and military deities, minted alongside types depicting Jupiter, Salus, and personifications of Victory. A parallel issue featuring Neptune standing left with his foot on a globe was also produced for Caracalla during his joint rule, underscoring the coordinated dynastic messaging of the Severan administration during the British expedition.

Circulation Patterns and Archaeological Recovery

Denarii of the Severan period circulated extensively throughout the Roman world, functioning as the monetary backbone of military garrisons, urban markets, and provincial administrations. Hoard evidence from western provinces such as Britannia, Gallia, and the Germanies reveals that denarii of 209 AD integrated rapidly into the active currency pool. The massive influx of new coin to northern Britannia during the Severan campaigns left a pronounced numismatic signature, with Severan silver frequently appearing in both military site finds and civilian savings hoards buried during the third century. Because the intrinsic silver content of these coins was lower than that of second-century issues, earlier fine silver coins were gradually hoarded or exported, leaving Severan denarii like RIC 228 to dominate mid-third-century everyday transactions until the rise of the double denarius or antoninianus.

References

1. Septimius Severus: The African Emperor. pp. 170-187
2. The Metallurgy of Roman Silver Coinage: From the Reform of Nero to the Reform of Trajan Decius. pp. 581-587
3. Money and Government in the Roman Empire. pp. 211-237
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Septimius Severus 228. ric.4.ss.228
5. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IV, Part I: Pertinax to Geta. p. 119, no. 228