Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 138 18-19 May 2023
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Caracalla augustus, 198 – 217.
Aureus 201, AV 7.10 g. ANTONINVS PIVS AVG PONT 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 var. (PON). BMC 260 var. (PON). RIC 52 var. (PON). Calicó 2849a.
Very rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. Three portraits of superb
style perfectly struck in high relief on a full flan. Good extremely fine
Ex M&M 15, 1955, 813 and LHS 100, 2007, 524 sales.
Graded Ch AU* Strike 5/5 Surface 4/5, Fine style, NCG certification number 6558859-006
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.
Aureus 201, AV 7.10 g. ANTONINVS PIVS AVG PONT 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 var. (PON). BMC 260 var. (PON). RIC 52 var. (PON). Calicó 2849a.
Very rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. Three portraits of superb
style perfectly struck in high relief on a full flan. Good extremely fine
Ex M&M 15, 1955, 813 and LHS 100, 2007, 524 sales.
Graded Ch AU* Strike 5/5 Surface 4/5, Fine style, NCG certification number 6558859-006
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.