CEREREM and IVNONEM. Why the Accusative Case? Two Rare Reverse Legends on Coins of Julia Domna (RIC IV Caracalla 378, 585, 596 and 599)

Abstract

Among the new coin legends that have appeared on Julia Domna’s bronze and (very rare) silver coins throughout the reign of her son Caracalla (211–217) the most interesting seem to be two rare accusatives: CEREREM (dupondius and As RIC IV Caracalla 596) and IVNONEM (quinarius RIC IV Caracalla 378; sestertius RIC IV Caracalla 585; dupondius and As RIC IV Caracalla 599). This paper aims to place such accusatives in a literary and epigraphical context and argues that the accusatives on the reverses of Julia Domna’s coins should depend on the verb form consecravit or dedicavit being understood, and the legends of the entire coins are to be read as IVLIA PIA FELIX AVG(usta) / CEREREM (or IVNONEM) [consecravit/dedicavit]. In the second part of the article, I discuss iconographic variants of types RIC IV Caracalla 596; BMCRE V Caracalla 220–222 and RIC IV Caracalla 585 and 599; BMCRE V Caracalla 208 and 224.