Severus Alexander Silver Denarius, RIC IV Severus Alexander 27

Monetary Context and Denominational Role

During the accession of Severus Alexander in AD 222, the Roman imperial monetary system continued to rely heavily on the silver denarius as its principal accounting and transactional unit, despite decades of gradual debasement. Under Septimius Severus and Caracalla, the denarius had seen its silver content reduced to roughly 50 percent, followed by the introduction of the double denarius, or antoninianus, under Caracalla in AD 215. While Elagabalus struck antoniniani in substantial numbers alongside traditional denarii, the regime of Severus Alexander implemented a notable monetary pivot upon taking power. Antoninianus production was suspended almost entirely at the principal mint of Rome, returning the single denarius to prominence as the core silver denomination of the empire. RIC IV Severus Alexander 27 exemplifies this renewed focus on the classic denarius denomination during the emperor's second year of rule in AD 223. The denomination was essential for meeting the continuous fiscal demands of the state, most prominently the regular stipendium and donatives owed to the legionary forces and the imperial guard, as well as the functioning of urban markets and regional administrative taxation. Although minted with a debased alloy averaging between 40 and 45 percent fine silver, the coin circulated at an official face value guaranteed by imperial decree, maintaining transactional viability throughout the western and eastern provinces alike.

Production and Mint Organization

The entire series belonging to RIC IV Severus Alexander 27 was produced exclusively by the imperial mint operating in Rome. During the early third century AD, the Rome mint was organized into multiple officinae, or workshops, each operating under the administrative authority of the procurator monetae. These workshops coordinated the preparation of round silver flans, die engraving, heating, and manual striking with heavy hammers. Flan preparation for the denarius at this stage involved casting flans in open or multi-cavity moulds, resulting in slightly irregular circular blanks that often exhibited minor beveling or small cooling cracks along their perimeters when struck. The dies themselves were hand-engraved into iron or bronze die blocks by skilled engravers (scalptores). Engravers used standardized punches and drills for letters and recurring decorative elements, but finished the portrait and drapery details freehand, leading to minor stylistic variations between individual die pairings. Die axis orientation at Rome during this period was predominantly aligned either near 12 o'clock or 6 o'clock, reflecting careful placement within the striking apparatus, although slight rotational divergence is frequently observed across surviving specimens. The production volume for the tribunician year TR P II was substantial, as the new administration sought to replace worn coinage and reinforce ideological legitimacy through wide distribution across the capital and provincial garrisons.

Obverse Typology and Portraiture

The obverse of RIC IV Severus Alexander 27 presents an official right-facing portrait of the young ruler, rendered as a bust with drapery clearly visible over the shoulders. He wears the laurel wreath (corona triumphalis), tied at the back of the head with two fillets that trail downward toward the nape of the neck. Because Severus Alexander was only approximately fourteen or fifteen years old in AD 223, the die engravers at Rome portrayed him with smooth facial features, a youthful jawline, and short-cropped hair styled according to the military fashion of the third century. The drapery indicates imperial status and civilian decorum, deliberately contrasting with the more aggressive military cuirassed busts that became common later in his reign and under subsequent barracks emperors. The portrait style reflects a deliberate return to dignified Severan realism, seeking to evoke visual parallels with the celebrated youthful likenesses of Caracalla from his earliest Caesar and Augustus coinages. The high relief of the portrait dominates the central field, positioned within an outer border of dots that separates the image from the circumferential inscription.

Reverse Iconography and Attributes

The reverse design of this issue features the divine personification Pax, embodying the virtue of peace and political conciliation. Pax is depicted standing with her body oriented to the left, dressed in long, fluidly draped garments consisting of a chiton and himation that fall to her feet. In her extended right hand, she holds up an olive branch, the universal classical symbol of reconciliation, clemency, and cessation of hostilities. In her left hand, Pax holds a sceptre, positioned either vertically or diagonally across her body, representing sovereign authority, stability, and legitimate governance granted by the gods. The choice of Pax in AD 223 carried profound domestic resonance. Following the assassination of Elagabalus and the purge of his immediate court favorites, the regime needed to reassure the Roman Senate, the military, and the civilian population that internal factionalism had ended. Pax on imperial coinage rarely denoted mere passivity; rather, it asserted that imperial power maintained order, harmony, and security across the Mediterranean world through just rule and divine favor.

Inscriptions and Epigraphy

The inscriptions on RIC IV Severus Alexander 27 are struck in clean, upright Latin capital letters, arranged in a continuous arc framing the figures on both faces. The obverse legend reads IMP C M AVR SEV ALEXAND AVG, expanding in full Latin to Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander Augustus. The formula combines the supreme military title Imperator with Caesar, while incorporating the prestigious names Marcus Aurelius and Severus to solidify genealogical and ideological legitimacy with both the Antonine dynasty and Septimius Severus. The concluding Augustus affirms his rank as primary sovereign. The reverse inscription reads P M TR P II COS P P, which abbreviates Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate II, Consul, Pater Patriae. This epigraphic formula catalogues the emperor's foundational offices: supreme pontiff of the Roman state religion, holder of tribunician power for the second time, consul, and father of his country. The inclusion of the numeral II securely dates the reverse die to AD 223, as his first tribunician renewal took place either on December 10, AD 222 or January 1, AD 223 according to prevailing mint dating practices. The epigraphy displays neat letterforms with distinct triangular serifs, executed with high technical discipline characteristic of the Rome mint.

Typology and Chronological Classification

Within the numismatic arrangement codified by Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham in Roman Imperial Coinage volume IV, part B, Severus Alexander 27 is categorized under the emperor's second dated issue of Rome. Because Roman imperial titulature updated tribunician power annually, the combination of TR P II with COS and P P isolates this specific type to the calendar year AD 223. Severus Alexander took his first consulship in AD 222 alongside Elagabalus, meaning that during AD 223 he remained COS rather than COS II, a title he would not assume until AD 226. The Pax type in this year appeared across multiple denominations, including gold aurei and bronze sestertii, forming an integrated denominational emission. RIC IV Severus Alexander 27 is catalogued alongside related reverse types of AD 223 featuring Jupiter, Mars, Salus, and Providentia, each representing different facets of divine guardianship and administrative foresight. Numismatists distinguish RIC IV 27 from neighboring catalogued entries based on its precise combination of laureate and draped bust drapery on the obverse and the specific stance and attributes of Pax on the reverse.

Circulation Patterns and Hoard Contexts

Denarii of Severus Alexander from AD 223 entered deep and widespread circulation across the Roman Empire, moving rapidly through military distribution channels from Rome to frontier garrisons along the Rhine and Danube rivers, as well as throughout the eastern provinces and Roman Britain. Because the silver standard of Severus Alexander remained consistent with that of the late Severan period, coins of this type circulated freely alongside older denarii of Septimius Severus, Caracalla, and Julia Domna. Hoard evidence throughout Western Europe, such as the Shapwick and Dorchester hoards in Britain and numerous continental hoards in Gaul and Germany, consistently reveals early denarii of Severus Alexander preserved in substantial quantities. These coins often display moderate to heavy circulation wear, demonstrating that they remained active in daily commerce for decades, frequently staying in circulation until the widespread monetary crises and drastic debasements of the mid-third century AD under Valerian and Gallienus. Even when the antoninianus returned as the dominant coin under Gordian III and Philip I, Severan denarii were retained in circulation and hoarded because of their comparatively superior intrinsic silver value relative to later base-metal issues.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume VI: Severus Alexander to Balbinus and Pupienus. Severus Alexander, Rome mint, AD 223
2. Roman Coins from the Earliest Times to the Fall of the Western Empire. Chapter on Severan Monetary Policy
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Severus Alexander 27. RIC IV Severus Alexander 27
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IV, Part B: Severus Alexander to Trajan Decius. Pages 71-73, No. 27