Empire. Caracalla. Rome. AD 201. AV Aureus (7.27g, 12h). RIC 52; Calicó 2849. Lightly toned. With three lovely portraits. Slightly wavy flan, otherwise, choice extremely fine. From a private collection; Roma Numismatics 2016 (12) lot 852

This is one of the most spectacular of all dynastic issues, and probably one of the rarest. Septimius Severus wears here a radiate crown, equating himself with Sol, while Julia Domna rests upon a crescent moon, equating her with Luna. Such imagery reinforces the long-held idea that the nature of men and women is polar. This issue may in fact be the first time that a Roman empress appears on a crescent, a scheme later used to indicate double denominations, as on silver antoniniani.