Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Triton XXIV 19-20 Jan 2021
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Caracalla. AD 198-217. AV Aureus (19mm, 6.96 g, 5h). Ludi Saeculares (Secular Games) issue. Rome mint. Struck AD 204. ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / COS LVDOS SAECVL FEC, Liber on left, naked except for leopard skin, standing right, holding cup downward in right hand and vertical thyrsus in left; on left, leopard standing left, head turned right, to catch drops from cup; facing him, on right, Hercules, naked, standing left, holding club resting on ground in right, lion skin over left arm. RIC IV 74b; Calicó 2668; BMCRE p. 207, note 275A; Adda 416 (same obv. die); Biaggi 1174; Jameson –; Mazzini –; J. Hirsch XXIX (9 November 1910), lot 1163 (same obv. die). Matt surfaces, brushed/hairlines. VF. Very rare, only three in CoinArchives, and neither the British Museum nor the Bibliothèque Nationalee possess an example.
From the Peter J. Merani Collection. Ex Berk BBS 167 (3 December 2009), lot 21; A. Hess 257 (12 November 1986), lot 370; Münzen und Medaillen AG X (22 June 1951), lot 72.
The Ludi Saeculares were celebrated at the close of every saeculum (a length of time corresponding to the maximum age an individual might live, usually defined as 100 or 110 years). This issue, struck in AD 204, celebrated the seventh Ludi Saeculares in roman coinage 220 years after the Augustan celebration.
From the Peter J. Merani Collection. Ex Berk BBS 167 (3 December 2009), lot 21; A. Hess 257 (12 November 1986), lot 370; Münzen und Medaillen AG X (22 June 1951), lot 72.
The Ludi Saeculares were celebrated at the close of every saeculum (a length of time corresponding to the maximum age an individual might live, usually defined as 100 or 110 years). This issue, struck in AD 204, celebrated the seventh Ludi Saeculares in roman coinage 220 years after the Augustan celebration.