Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XIV 21 Sep 2017
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Macrinus AV Aureus. Rome, AD 217. IMP C M OPEL SEV MACRINVS AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / PONTIF MAX TR P COS P P, Felicitas standing left, cradling cornucopiae with her left arm and holding long caduceus with her right. RIC 20c; BMCRE 34; Hunter -; C. 64; Calicó 2954. 6.50g, 22mm, 6h.
Near Mint State; stunning lustre. Extremely Rare.
Having orchestrated the assassination of Caracalla, we are told by Cassius Dio (79.4), on account of a prophesy that had been noised abroad that he and his son were destined to hold imperial power, Macrinus was declared emperor by the army four days after his predecessor's death. He had used the intervening time well, communicating with all the nearby detachments of soldiers to obtain their allegiance. The Senate, so far away, was powerless to intervene, and so because he had removed the hated Caracalla and more importantly because he had the support of the army, Macrinus was accorded the title Augustus, and the title of Caesar was conferred on his son Diadumenian. Macrinus himself, the first emperor to hail from the equestrian class and the first emperor of Mauretanian descent, took the name Severus to suggest continuity with the Severan dynasty who had ruled since 193.
A shameful end to the campaign against Parthia, now under Macrinus' direction, was reached when the emperor agreed to pay a large indemnity in return for peace, so that he might instead face the threats from Dacia and Armenia. His popularity fell further when he undertook to return Rome to economic stability following the ruinously profligate spending of Caracalla; as part of his reforms Macrinus proposed to reduce the burden of military spending by lowering the pay of future recruits to the level set by Septimius. Though the veteran soldiers were to be unaffected by the pay reduction, they viewed the policy as a foreshadowing of eventual reductions in their own privileges and pay, thus significantly reducing Macrinus' popularity with the legions that had declared him emperor.
For the whole of his short reign, Antioch was Macrinus' principal residence and an imperial mint was set up there to meet the immediate monetary demands of the emperor. The coinage struck at this mint was Roman in character and style, rejecting local references in favour of traditional and time-honoured themes, such as Felicitas as depicted here, who represented the virtue of harmony that resulted from good governance and was closely associated with the 'blessedness' renewed under each new reign. Such an association was particularly important for an emperor raised by an army previously loyal to Caracalla and the Severans, of which house there were still a number of living members.
Near Mint State; stunning lustre. Extremely Rare.
Having orchestrated the assassination of Caracalla, we are told by Cassius Dio (79.4), on account of a prophesy that had been noised abroad that he and his son were destined to hold imperial power, Macrinus was declared emperor by the army four days after his predecessor's death. He had used the intervening time well, communicating with all the nearby detachments of soldiers to obtain their allegiance. The Senate, so far away, was powerless to intervene, and so because he had removed the hated Caracalla and more importantly because he had the support of the army, Macrinus was accorded the title Augustus, and the title of Caesar was conferred on his son Diadumenian. Macrinus himself, the first emperor to hail from the equestrian class and the first emperor of Mauretanian descent, took the name Severus to suggest continuity with the Severan dynasty who had ruled since 193.
A shameful end to the campaign against Parthia, now under Macrinus' direction, was reached when the emperor agreed to pay a large indemnity in return for peace, so that he might instead face the threats from Dacia and Armenia. His popularity fell further when he undertook to return Rome to economic stability following the ruinously profligate spending of Caracalla; as part of his reforms Macrinus proposed to reduce the burden of military spending by lowering the pay of future recruits to the level set by Septimius. Though the veteran soldiers were to be unaffected by the pay reduction, they viewed the policy as a foreshadowing of eventual reductions in their own privileges and pay, thus significantly reducing Macrinus' popularity with the legions that had declared him emperor.
For the whole of his short reign, Antioch was Macrinus' principal residence and an imperial mint was set up there to meet the immediate monetary demands of the emperor. The coinage struck at this mint was Roman in character and style, rejecting local references in favour of traditional and time-honoured themes, such as Felicitas as depicted here, who represented the virtue of harmony that resulted from good governance and was closely associated with the 'blessedness' renewed under each new reign. Such an association was particularly important for an emperor raised by an army previously loyal to Caracalla and the Severans, of which house there were still a number of living members.