Caracalla

Caracalla. AD 198-217. Æ Sestertius (32mm, 29.28 g, 11h). Rome mint. Struck AD 201-209. M AVREL ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, laureate bust right, slight drapery / CONCORDIAE AVGG, S C in exergue, Caracalla and Geta standing facing one another, clasping right hands; Caracalla being crowned by Liber standing behind, Geta being crowned by Hercules. RIC IV 459; Banti 7. Fine, rough brown surfaces with brassy highlights. Rare.

From Dr. Clay:

A rare and interesting type, known to me on only three rev. dies, two of them (including that of your coin) used for both Caracalla and Geta, the third so far attested for Getaonly, though maybe a Caracalla sestertius struck from this third die will turn up in due course! Despite wear and corrosion, your specimen reproduces the types and legends quite clearly, and was struck on an impressively broad and heavy flan!

Your obv. die was the most prolific of the period, and was used not only in 210 (Caracalla TR P XIII), but early in 211, before Septimius' death in February (Caracalla TR P XIIII, but not yet P M or P P). BMC pl. 49.8-9 illustrates two very fine sestertii from this obv. die, used in this case with two undated VICTORIAE BRITTANNICAE rev. types.

The die links make it clear that your date of AD 201-9 for the coin is too early; this type must have been struck either in 210 or early in 211. We know for sure that a dated version of the same type was struck for Geta as Augustus in 210, with legend PONTIF TR P II COS II (BMC pl. 59.4).

I forgot to observe that the use of your obv. die in 211 (Caracalla TR P XIIII) was incorrect, clearly deriving from continued use of an old obv. that had been engraved and first used in 210, because it omits the victory title BRIT, which was assumed by the three emperors in the course of 210, as their denarius coinage clearly shows. So in 210 there were two issues of denarii for Caracalla as TR P XIII, first without BRIT and then with BRIT, and both quite substantial, doubtless taking several months to produce. For example Caracalla's TR P XIII Concordia seated type, without BRIT 38 specimens in the Reka Devnia hoard, with BRIT 24 specimens.

The relevance to your coin is that despite its omission of BRIT, it could still have been struck in late 210 or early 211, from an old obv. die that had improperly not been retired when that victory title was voted c. late summer-fall 210.

Collection : Roman Imperial Coins