Watch List notes:

Caracalla. AD 198-217. AV Aureus (20mm, 7.18 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 215. ANTONINVS PIVS AVG GERM, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / P M TR P XVIII COS IIII P P, Carcalla, sacrificing over altar and holding scepter, standing left before temple in which stands statue of Aesculapius; small child holding wand to left of cult statue, vexillum between cult statue and emperor, attendant to far right. RIC IV 270b; Calicó 2732a (R4); Biaggi 1194 var. (bust to left). Good VF. Very rare.


Caracalla's health declined precipitously in the final years of his reign. In AD 214, while on his way to campaign against the Parthians, he visited the great temple complex of Aesculapius at Pergamum in the hopes of finding a cure. This interesting aureus commemorates the occasion.