Julia Mamaea Sestertius, RIC IV Severus Alexander 670

Monetary Context and Denominational Function

During the reign of Severus Alexander (AD 222 to 235), the Roman monetary system maintained the traditional tripartite structure of gold, silver, and aes coinage established under Augustus, though under mounting fiscal pressure. The sestertius remained the principal large brass denomination used across Roman urban markets, fulfilling commercial functions between low-value bronze fractions like the dupondius or as and the precious metal currency dominated by the billon denarius. While the silver coinage experienced periodic debasement throughout the Severan period, sestertii retained an important civic presence. Produced from orichalcum, a copper-zinc alloy that imparted a golden hue when freshly struck, the sestertius offered an expansive circular surface ideal for detailed portraiture and programmatic ideological messaging. RIC IV Severus Alexander 670 was issued under imperial authority but preserved the traditional mark S C (Senatus Consulto), reflecting the formal senatorial sanction historically associated with base-metal production at Rome. For the Severan administration, which actively cultivated senatorial goodwill after the excesses of Elagabalus, the regular production of heavy brass sestertii reinforced the perception of constitutional normalcy, economic stability, and civic dignity.

Production Technology and Minting Operations

The entire regular emission of RIC IV Severus Alexander 670 was produced at the primary imperial mint in Rome. Mint operations under the Severan dynasty were organized into distinct officinae (workshops), which operated under bureaucratic oversight to strike regular issues of gold, silver, and aes. Sestertii were struck from individually cast flans made of an orichalcum alloy. Metallurgical analyses of contemporary third-century aes demonstrate variable zinc content, often mixed with small percentages of lead and tin to facilitate metal flow into deep die recesses. The flans were heated to achieve malleability before being placed between hardened bronze or iron dies. The lower die was typically set into an anvil while the upper reverse die was struck with a hammer. As a consequence of manual production, specimens of this type exhibit typical variations in flan thickness, slight off-centering, edge cracking, and die axes that generally align at twelve o'clock or six o'clock. Sestertii of Julia Mamaea from this period typically display target weights centered broadly around twenty grams, although surviving specimens demonstrate considerable variation due to manual blank preparation and post-minting wear.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Image

The obverse of RIC IV Severus Alexander 670 presents a dignified right-facing bust of Julia Mamaea, who held the titles of Augusta and Mater Augusti et Castrorum et Senatus et Patriae. Her bust is shown draped in an imperial mantle, with her hair arranged in the distinctive Severan court fashion: waved horizontally across the sides of the head, drawn up behind in a broad plait, and secured at the crown. She wears a stephane or diadem, signaling her exalted dynastic status as imperial matriarch and de facto ruler beside her youthful son. The portraiture belongs to the classicizing style favored by Severus Alexander's mint masters, which deliberately abandoned the exotic or eccentric modes associated with Elagabalus in favor of refined, austere Antonine models. Die engravers captured her mature facial features with strong profiles, emphasized jawlines, and calm expressions, conveying moral authority, gravitas, and continuity. Variations among surviving dies are limited primarily to minute details in the folds of the drapery, the height of the diadem, and the precise rendering of hair plaits.

Reverse Iconography and Political Symbolism

The reverse displays Felicitas standing draped and facing left, serving as the divine personification of collective happiness, fruitfulness, and good fortune. In her extended right hand, she holds a long caduceus, the winged staff historically associated with peaceful commerce, concord, and divine protection. In her left arm, she cradles a cornucopiae, the horn of plenty overflowing with fruits and grains, signifying agricultural abundance and state-provided welfare. Flanking the lower fields on either side of the figure are the letters S and C, denoting Senatus Consulto. The selection of Felicitas for Julia Mamaea was deeply intentional. As mother of the emperor, Mamaea was celebrated as the guarantor of dynastic continuity and civilian tranquility. The fusion of the caduceus and cornucopiae communicated that under her maternal guidance and her son's virtuous administration, the Roman world enjoyed both peace and prosperity. The reverse motif presented a clear, easily understood iconographic emblem that resonated with both provincial populations and metropolitan citizens.

Epigraphy and Legend Structure

The obverse inscription reads IVLIA MAMAEA AVGVSTA, written continuously along the border from the lower left to the lower right. This concise formulation emphasizes her personal identity and imperial elevation, omitting lengthier titles to preserve a balanced aesthetic around the high-relief portrait. The epigraphy is executed in formal Roman capital lettering with clear serifs, characteristic of the central Rome mint. On the reverse, the legend reads FELICITAS AVG, abbreviating Felicitas Augusti or Felicitas Augustae. The grammatical ambiguity allows a double reading: the happiness of the Augustus (Severus Alexander) or the prosperous fortune of the Augusta (Julia Mamaea herself), thus uniting mother and son under one divine umbrella. Across the reverse field, the letters S and C appear to the left and right of Felicitas, validating the coin as a legal senatorial brass issue. The lettering is well spaced, with consistent height and alignment designed to frame the standing figure without overcrowding the perimeter.

Typology, Dating, and Die Relationships

In the standard typological framework of Roman Imperial Coinage, this issue is catalogued as RIC IV Severus Alexander 670, with parallel listings in the British Museum collection under BMCRE VI and in Alberto Banti's corpus of imperial large bronzes. Dating this specific sestertius within the broader reign of Severus Alexander (AD 222 to 235) relies upon stylistic development, portrait typology, and reverse pairings. Because the legends lack tribunician numbers or consulships, the type cannot be pinpointed to an exact single calendar year. However, stylistic analyses of Julia Mamaea's hair arrangements and comparisons with securely dated denarii suggest that the Felicitas with caduceus and cornucopiae issue was introduced early in the reign, around AD 222 to 226, and likely struck over multiple production phases. RIC 670 belongs to a coherent family of base-metal issues for Mamaea that includes middle bronzes (dupondii and asses) sharing identical iconographic programs, as well as contemporaneous sestertii depicting Juno Conservatrix, Venus Victrix, and Fecunditas.

Circulation Patterns and Archaeological Evidence

Sestertii of RIC IV Severus Alexander 670 circulated extensively throughout the western provinces of the Roman Empire, including Italy, Gaul, the Rhineland, and Britain, where demand for substantial base-metal change was highest. Findspot data and excavation records show that large bronzes from Severus Alexander's reign frequently remained in active commercial circulation for decades, often circulating into the mid-to-late third century alongside later antoniniani and emergency base-metal issues. In eastern provinces, where local Greek imperial civic coinages remained dominant for everyday copper transactions, Roman imperial sestertii appeared less frequently. Archaeological hoard evidence indicates that sestertii of Julia Mamaea were readily accepted across military and civilian contexts alike. Many recovered specimens exhibit heavy wear, smoothing, and occasional edge knocks, attesting to long circulation lifetimes before final deposition during the monetary upheavals and barbarian incursions of the mid-third century.

References

1. I Grandi Bronzi Imperiali: Vol. IV-3, Severus Alexander - Julia Mamaea. Julia Mamaea nos. 10-14
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. VI: Severus Alexander to Balbinus and Pupienus. pp. 196-198
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Severus Alexander 670. ric.4.sa.670
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 125, no. 670