Julia Mamaea Sestertius, RIC IV Severus Alexander 708

Monetary Context and Denominational Function

During the joint administration of Severus Alexander and Julia Mamaea between AD 222 and 235, the Roman monetary system retained the tripartite denominational structure established during the Augustan era, though altered by ongoing inflationary pressures and silver debasement. Within this currency framework, the sestertius served as the core accounting unit and the premier large-module brass denomination for commercial exchange throughout Rome and the western provinces. Valued at one quarter of a silver denarius or four copper asses, the sestertius provided the necessary physical medium for substantial retail purchases, tax disbursements, and everyday marketplace transactions. While imperial silver had experienced severe reductions in fineness under Septimius Severus and Caracalla, base-metal coinage continued to perform an indispensable fiscal function. Struck under the institutional oversight of the Senate as marked by the traditional abbreviation S C, sestertii such as RIC IV Severus Alexander 708 fulfilled both practical monetary needs and dynastic ideological objectives. Julia Mamaea exerted unprecedented executive influence over civilian governance, court appointments, and imperial finances following the deposition of Elagabalus. Her prominent appearance on large-module imperial bronzes reinforced public confidence in the moral renewal and traditional religious propriety proclaimed by the new administration.

Production Standards and Mint Operation

Production of RIC IV Severus Alexander 708 was centered exclusively at the imperial mint in the capital city of Rome. Base-metal coinage of the early third century AD was struck from orichalcum, a copper-zinc alloy that imparted a golden-yellow hue to freshly minted sestertii, although recycling and altered foundry ratios often introduced noticeable quantities of tin and lead into the metal melt. Planchets were prepared by casting round blanks in composite open moulds or sheet-cutting, followed by hot striking between hand-carved steel or iron dies. Weight standards for the sestertius during Severus Alexander's reign fluctuated between approximately 18 and 24 grams, with diameters commonly spanning 28 to 32 millimeters, though individual flans frequently varied according to minting tolerance and wear. Die axes were predominantly aligned near twelve o'clock or six o'clock, reflecting disciplined workshop methods in the capital. The officinae assigned to the imperial Augusta worked in parallel with those producing coins for Severus Alexander and Sallustia Barbia Orbiana, utilizing standard dies crafted by engraving specialists who captured the imperial family's official public portraits with uniform stylistic decorum.

Obverse Iconography

The obverse die of RIC IV Severus Alexander 708 presents a classical bust of Julia Mamaea facing right, draped in traditional Roman matronly attire. Her hair is rendered in the distinctive Severan aristocratic style, combed back from the forehead in tight horizontal waves, gathered behind the head, and folded upward into a wide, plaited chignon secured at the crown. She wears a formal diadem (stephane), denoting her status as Augusta and elevating her above the civilian sphere. The drapery covers her shoulders and bosom with carefully rendered folds, conveying modesty, sobriety, and imperial elegance. Roman court portraiture under Severus Alexander intentionally discarded the exotic nuances associated with the previous regime of Elagabalus, instead adopting a restrained, traditional aesthetic. The portrait of Mamaea balances realistic middle-aged facial features with an idealized poise, portraying her as the authoritative matriarch and guiding custodian of the Roman state.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse iconography depicts Vesta, the ancient virgin goddess of the hearth and guardian of the eternal flame of Rome. Clothed in a long stola and mantle, the goddess stands facing left in a dignified posture. In her extended right hand, she elevates the Palladium, the legendary archaic wooden statuette of Pallas Athena believed to have been rescued from Troy by Aeneas and guarded within the inner sanctuary of the Temple of Vesta on the Forum Romanum. In her left hand, Vesta holds a long spear oriented transversely across her body. Flanking the deity in the lower fields is the standard senatorial authorization formula S C (Senatus Consulto). The depiction of Vesta holding the Palladium was saturated with deep religious and dynastic significance. As the mother of the youthful emperor, Julia Mamaea was conceptually aligned with the ultimate protector of the Roman commonwealth, intimating that the safety, chastity, and traditional piety of the Severan dynasty shielded the empire from external and domestic calamities.

Epigraphic Conventions and Inscriptions

The epigraphy of RIC IV Severus Alexander 708 adheres to concise imperial conventions in Latin lettering. The obverse legend reads IVLIA MAMAEA AVGVSTA, moving clockwise along the perimeter of the coin flan. The omission of extended ancestral or paternal filiations focuses attention directly on her personal name and her constitutional title of Augusta, which granted her supreme prestige within the imperial hierarchy. On the reverse, the legend is reduced to the single nominative divine name VESTA, positioned along the upper margin, while the institutional formula S C occupies the lower field, with S to the left and C to the right of the goddess. The letters S C, signifying Senatus Consulto ('by decree of the Senate'), commemorated the constitutional fiction that brass and copper coinage remained subject to senatorial sanction, in contrast to the gold and silver issues struck solely under imperial prerogative. Letterforms are carved with crisp serifs characteristic of third-century Roman capital script, though variations in letter spacing and die wear are common across preserved specimens.

Typology and Chronological Classification

Catalogued systematically in Roman Imperial Coinage Volume IV Part 2 under number 708, this sestertius belongs to a broad thematic group of base-metal coinages celebrating the religious and domestic virtues of Julia Mamaea. Because the legend IVLIA MAMAEA AVGVSTA lacks dated offices such as tribunician power or consulships, dating depends on portrait style, coiffure evolution, and hoard associations spanning the reign of Severus Alexander (AD 222 to 235). Early issues of Mamaea from AD 222 to around 226 frequently feature a slightly smaller portrait flan and distinct hair arrangements, whereas the mature issues produced into the early 230s present a larger bust and prominent stephane. The Vesta standing with Palladium and transverse spear type was also struck concurrently in other denominations, including silver denarii and gold aurei, demonstrating that this reverse was conceived as a coordinated multimetallic dynastic program rather than an isolated base-metal design. Close catalogue distinctions separate type 708 from parallel issues showing Vesta seated or holding a simpulum and patera.

Circulation, Hoarding, and Archaeological Context

Sestertii of Julia Mamaea saw intense and prolonged circulation throughout the western provinces of the Roman Empire, including Italia, Gaul, the Germanies, and Britannia. Excavations at military fortresses, urban centers, and rural villas along the Rhine and Danube frontiers routinely yield worn sestertii of Severus Alexander and his mother. Due to the progressive diminution of base-metal minting later in the third century AD, sestertii of the Severan period remained in circulation for several decades, often circulating alongside radiate antoniniani and billon coinages through the monetary crises of the mid-third century. Hoard evidence indicates that heavy brass sestertii were frequently culled, stored, or melted during the financial instability of the AD 250s and 260s when inflation made older orichalcum coins intrinsically valuable for their raw copper-alloy content. Many recovered specimens of RIC IV Severus Alexander 708 show moderate to heavy friction wear, countermarks, or corrosion patina, attesting to decades of continuous monetary exchange before deposition.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. VI: Severus Alexander to Balbinus and Pupienus. pp. 195-200
2. Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. pp. 125-132
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Severus Alexander 708. ric.4.sa.708
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. pp. 125-127, no. 708