Elagabalus, 218-222, Antoninianus

Elagabalus, antoninianus, AR, reign 218–222, Rome mint, struck 218–222, 5.12 g, 23 mm. Obverse with radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Elagabalus right, legend IMP CAES ANTONINVS AVG. Reverse with Salus seated left, feeding a snake rising from an altar (type for SALVS ANTONINI AVG), legend SALVS ANTONINI AVG. Well-centred example with clear legends and even detail across the devices. RIC IV Elagabalus 137e.

Issued during the reign of Elagabalus, this antoninianus employs the personification Salus to advertise the emperor’s wellbeing and, by extension, the security of the state; such health-and-safety types were a standard medium for imperial messaging, circulating widely in the early third-century monetary system dominated by the antoninianus as a principal silver denomination.