Silver Antoninianus of Philip I RIC 27b

Silver Antoninianus (22mm 3.85g) Struck AD 247 Rome

Obv: IMP M IVL PHILIPPVS AVG Radiate and draped bust right

Rev AEQVITAS AVGG Aequitas standing left with scales & cornucopia

RIC 27b, Sear 8918
ex. Ancient Imports

The Front (Obverse) — The Emperor's Power Suit

On the front of the coin, you see the side profile of Philip I looking pretty serious.

• The Spiky Crown: See those spikes coming off his head? That’s a radiate crown, symbolizing the rays of the sun god. In Roman coin-speak, this crown was like a giant shortcut to let everyday people know, "Hey, this coin is worth double the normal silver coin!"
• The Letters: The text reads IMP M IVL PHILIPPVS AVG.
  • IMP stands for Imperator (Commander/Emperor).
  • M IVL PHILIPPVS is his actual name, Marcus Julius Philippus.
  • AVG stands for Augustus, the official title for the supreme ruler of Rome.

The Back (Reverse) — The Ultimate Propaganda

The back of the coin is where the political messaging really shines. Emperors didn't just put random art on their money; they used it to send messages to the public, almost like a 3rd-century Twitter feed or billboard.

• The Figure: You see a lady standing there holding two things: a pair of balance scales in one hand, and a massive cornucopia (horn of plenty) overflowing with good stuff in the other.
• Who is she? This is Aequitas, the Roman goddess of fairness, justice, and equality.
• The Letters: The text says AEQVITAS AVGG. The extra "G" at the end of AVGG is super important! In Latin abbreviations, doubling a letter means it's plural. So AVGG means "Of the two Augusti." Philip had recently made his young son, Philip II, his co-emperor, so this coin is speaking for both of them.

What was the message?

During the Crisis of the Third Century, Rome was super unstable. Emperors were getting overthrown left and right, the economy was a mess, and people were panicked.

By blasting out coins showing the Goddess of Fairness and Honest Dealing holding a horn of plenty, Philip and his son were trying to tell the empire: "Don't worry, everyone! Under our joint rule, the economy is fair, the money is honest, and times will be plenty!" (Spoiler alert: the economy was still quite messy, but it made for great marketing!)