Owner Comments:
Cornelia Paula was born of an influential family boasting both patrician Roman and Grecian ancestry. Like any young woman of her status, she was destined for an arranged marriage, with any luck, into a family of even higher status. As it turned out, she did extremely well (or so it might have seemed at the time). In early 219 AD, Paula was betrothed to Elagabalus, the newly ascended Augustus of the Roman Empire. The arrangement was the machination of Elagabalus’ grandmother, Julia Maesa. It was a brilliant move on Julia Maesa’s part, tying her Emesan dynasty into a more traditional, Roman aristocratic one. For Paula, she took on her new praenomen, adding to Rome’s list of influential Julias. Regarding Elagabalus, he went along with the plan, but preferred other designs that materialized in due course.
The wedding ceremony took place in Rome with much pomp and circumstance, concurrent with generous donatives provided to not only the military, but also the senatorial and equestrian classes. Julia Paula was now officially an Augusta, and she was honored commensurately, for example on coins such as this denarius struck in Rome in 220 AD. Her youthful bust is featured on the obverse, with the appropriate inscription IVLIA PAVLA AVG. On the reverse is Concordia, the Roman goddess personifying related concepts such as concord, agreement, and harmony, accompanied by an inscription signifying the same. On Roman coins, Concordia was often employed to convey concord of the Emperor with his subjects, and/or, more importantly, with the Roman military. In this instance, the exact intent is not certain; probably, it refers to concord of the new imperial couple and their extended families.
Almost invariably, Concordia's presence on Roman coinage serves a propagandistic, and ultimately ironic, function. The current example is no exception. After less than a year, Elagabalus declared Julia Paula not bodily suited to continue as his wife. With other sexual exploits in mind, the Emperor not only divorced Julia Paula, but also proceeded into a scandalous marriage with the Vestal Virgin Aquilia Severa. While losing her social state, Julia Paula presumably felt relieved to escape from her increasingly outrageous and narcissistic former husband.
Although these developments embarrassed Julia Paula’s clan, they would recover. Although Julia was stripped of her Augusta title, her father, Julius Paulus, later rose to the post of praetorian prefect under Severus Alexander. As for Julia she apparently withdrew from public life, and her fate afterwards is unknown.
Coin Details: ROMAN EMPIRE, Julia Paula. Augusta, AD 219-220. AR Denarius (20mm, 3.16 g, 6h), Rome mint, struck under Elagabalus, AD 220, NGC Grade: Ch AU, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 4/5, Obverse: Draped bust right, IVLIA PAVLA AVG, Reverse: Concordia seated left, holding patera, star to left, CONCORDIA, References: RIC IV 211 (Elagabalus); BMCRE 172; RSC 6a.