Severus Alexander Silver Denarius, RIC IV Severus Alexander 246c

Monetary Context and Historical Setting

During the late reign of Severus Alexander, roughly spanning 231 to 235 AD, the Roman imperial monetary system was subjected to sustained fiscal pressure. The denarius, although retaining its nominal standing as the empire's accounting core and regular medium of state disbursements, continued a structural descent in intrinsic silver content that had accelerated across the Severan era. Metallurgical analyses of late Severan silver indicate an average purity fluctuating near forty to forty-five percent, with typical struck weights centering between 2.8 and 3.2 grams. While earlier Severan emperors such as Caracalla had introduced the double denarius or antoninianus to manage silver shortages, Severus Alexander discontinued that denomination in favor of an undivided reliance on the traditional denarius and accompanying aes coinage. The years 231 to 235 AD coincided with extensive campaigning: first against Ardashir I of the emerging Sasanian Empire in Mesopotamia, and subsequently along the Germanic frontier against the Alamanni. These sustained operations necessitated unprecedented disbursements of coin in donatives, regular stipends, and supply procurement. The issuance of martial silver types, such as the MARS VLTOR series represented by RIC IV Severus Alexander 246c, directly served to finance these campaigns while addressing the ideological expectations of the Roman army.

Mint Administration and Production Techniques

The production of RIC IV Severus Alexander 246c was centralized at the primary imperial mint in Rome. By the 230s AD, the eastern mints that had operated intermittently during the earlier Severan period, notably Antioch, had largely ceased regular output of imperial denarii for Severus Alexander, centralizing denarius manufacture in the capital. The mint of Rome functioned with an organized system of officinae or workshops, responsible for mass-producing identical reverse types to meet quotas set by the rationalis, the chief financial administrator of the empire. Blank flans were cast in stepped molds or prepared from flattened silver-copper alloy ingots and individually hot-struck between engraved iron or bronze dies. The high volume of the MARS VLTOR series required dozens of obverse and reverse dies, produced by skilled celators adhering strictly to standardized imperial portraiture and iconography. Die rotation for these late denarii was predominantly upright or slightly offset, though irregular die axes frequently occur due to manual placement in the coin press or anvil setup. Die wear, slight edge cracks, and occasional off-center strikes attest to the rapid rate of coin production driven by military emergencies.

Obverse Portraiture and Typology

The obverse of RIC IV Severus Alexander 246c showcases the mature portraiture of the emperor, oriented to the right. Severus Alexander is depicted wearing a laurel wreath, tied at the nape with trailing lemnisci ribbons, accompanied by drapery gathered at the shoulder and chest. Catalogue variety 246c is explicitly defined by this specific bust convention: draped without cuirass, contrasting with variety 246a, which presents a bare laureate head, and variety 246b, which displays a laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust. The portrait style of the late 230s AD marks a clear evolution from the youthful, delicate features that characterized Alexander's accession in 222 AD. Celators rendered him with more pronounced facial planes, closely cropped hair, and a light military beard rendered in short incised strokes, reflecting both the passage of time and an intentional effort to align the young ruler with standard Roman soldier-emperor aesthetics. The engraving demonstrates meticulous treatment of facial contours and drapery folds, conveying both regal dignity and administrative legitimacy amid turbulent military circumstances.

Reverse Iconography of Mars Ultor

The reverse design of this type features Mars Ultor, Mars the Avenger, advancing actively toward the right. The god of war is depicted in classical military dress, wearing a crested helmet and a light chlamys or paludamentum draped across his shoulders that billows slightly with his forward stride. In his right hand, Mars holds a transverse spear pointed forward or slightly upward, while his left arm supports a round shield held close to his torso. This dynamic posture conveys ready aggression, mobilization, and divine vengeance on behalf of the Roman state. The invocation of Mars Ultor carries deep historical resonance in Roman imperial culture, tracing back to the temple founded by Augustus following the Battle of Philippi and the recovery of the Parthian standards. For Severus Alexander between 231 and 235 AD, invoking Mars Ultor carried immediate relevance to the campaign against the Sasanians, who had invaded Roman Mesopotamia, and later to the punitive expeditions against Germanic tribes across the Rhine. The image offered soldiers and citizens an assurance that Rome took the offensive under divine protection to avenge territorial incursions.

Epigraphy and Legend Structure

The epigraphy on RIC IV Severus Alexander 246c adheres to the formal style characteristic of late Severan epigraphic norms. The obverse legend reads IMP ALEXANDER PIVS AVG, rendered continuously clockwise along the upper and lateral perimeter. This inscription abbreviates Imperator Alexander Pius Augustus, utilizing the titular epithet Pius, which Alexander adopted more prominently in his later reign to emphasize his filial devotion, moral rectitude, and adherence to tradition. The omission of earlier formulaic elements such as CAES or extended patronymic references created space for larger, more legible lettering. The reverse legend is simple and emphatic: MARS VLTOR. Spanning the upper rim of the flan, it identifies the divinity unambiguously. Epigraphic execution is generally neat, with clear serifs on letter terminals. The letter V is consistently used for both vowel and consonant values, and letter spacing was carefully calculated around the top of the helmet and the transverse spear. Die sinkers occasionally condensed letters slightly on flans of tighter diameter, yet errors in lettering are exceedingly rare in this official metropolitan issue.

Typology, Variants, and Chronological Classification

Within the typology of Severus Alexander's reign, the MARS VLTOR coinage constitutes a well-defined chronological horizon placed between 231 and 235 AD. In the fourth volume of Roman Imperial Coinage, type 246 is divided into sub-varieties based on obverse bust drapery: RIC 246a features a simple laureate head, RIC 246b presents a laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust, and RIC 246c presents the laureate and draped bust without visible cuirass. Related contemporary types struck during these final four years incorporate Mars walking left holding an olive branch (Mars Pacifer), or depict the emperor himself sacrificing or riding on horseback. The MARS VLTOR type was struck in parallel across multiple denominations, appearing on bronze sestertii, dupondii, and asses, demonstrating a coordinated propaganda program across all circulating metals. Because these coins lack tribunician numbers (TR P) or consular iterations (COS), precise year-by-year ordering within the 231 to 235 AD window relies on stylistic analysis, bust development, and hoard associations, confirming their heavy concentration in the closing phase of the reign.

Circulation Patterns and Hoard Evidence

Denarii of the RIC 246 group circulated widely throughout the Roman Empire, leaving a substantial footprint in both military encampments and civilian market centers. Hoard evidence from Roman Britain, the Rhine and Danube limes, Gaul, and the eastern provinces illustrates that these late Severan coins remained active in the monetary pool for decades after Alexander's assassination in 235 AD. Because subsequent emperors progressively debased the denarius until its effective replacement by the antoninianus in the mid-third century, Severan denarii were valued for their relatively consistent silver content. They frequently appear in mid-to-late third-century hoards, such as the Shapwick and Dorchester hoards in Britain, often alongside early issues of Gordian III and Philip I. Wear patterns on recovered specimens range from lightly circulated pieces found near military garrisons in Germany to heavily smoothed coins from long-term commercial exchange in the Mediterranean basin. The substantial representation of type 246c in modern museum collections and archaeological contexts confirms the massive scale of its original minting to sustain imperial operations.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. VI: Severus Alexander to Balbinus and Pupienus. pp. 190-192
2. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 89, no. 246c
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Severus Alexander 246c. RIC IV Severus Alexander 246c