Caracalla augustus, 198 – 217.
Aureus 201, AV 7.10 g. ANTONINVS PIVS AVG PON TR P IIII Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Caracalla r. Rev. CONCORDIAE AETERNAE Jugate busts r. of Septimius Severus radiate, draped and cuirassed and Julia Domna diademed, draped and on crescent. C 1. BMC 260. RIC 52. Calicó 2849. Very rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. Three magnificent portraits of fine style perfectly struck and centred on a full flan. Light reddish tone and good extremely fine Ex Hess 25 March 1929, Vogel, 896; Vinchon 15 November 1989, 153; Vinchon 5 May 2019, 2891 sales. Probably form the Karnak Hoard of 1901.

Graded Ch AU* Strike 5/5 Surface 5/5, NGC certification number 6030740-002.

The Severans, not unlike previous emperors, often associated themselves with certain deities. In general terms Septimius Severus likened himself to Serapis, Caracalla to Hercules, and Geta to Bacchus. On this dynastic aureus we find entirely different associations: Septimius wears a radiate crown, equating himself with the sun-god Sol, and Domna's bust rests upon a crescent moon, equating her with the moon-goddess Luna, the celestial consort of Sol. Such imagery reinforces the long-held idea that the very nature of men and women is polar: night and day. This form of expression for that distinction extends through much of Roman coinage, especially later in the empire when double-denominations are indicated, in which case if it is a coin depicting a male, he typically he wears a radiate crown, and if the coin bears the portrait of a female, her bust usually rests upon a crescent.