Featured April 4th: CARACALLA the tyrant is born.

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Ocatarinetabellatchitchix, Apr 3, 2021.

  1. Orielensis

    Orielensis Well-Known Member

    That's a fantastic cois with all three of Cerberus' heads clearly struck! A type that I'm actively looking for.

    Here are some more coins of Caracalla from my collection:

    Rom – Caracalla, denar, Providentia – neues foto.png
    Caracalla, Roman Empire, denarius, 210–213 AD, Rome mint. Obv: ANTONINVS PIVS AVG BRIT, laureate head of Caracalla r. Rev: PROVIDENTIAE DEORVM, Providence standing l., holding baton and scepter, globe at feet l. 19mm, 3.07g. Ref: RIC IV–1 227.

    Rom – Caracalla, denar, Apollo mit Leier.png
    Caracalla, Roman Empire, denarius, 215 AD, Rome mint. Obv: ANTONINVS PIVS AVG GERM; laureate head of Caracalla r. Rev: P M TR P XVIII COS IIII P P; Apollo, naked except for cloak flying behind, standing l., holding branch in extended r. hand and with l. hand lyre set on altar. 21mm, 3.04g. Ref: RIC IV Caracalla 254.

    Rom – Caracalla, Antoninian, Venus Victrix stehend.png
    Caracalla, Roman Empire, AR antoninian, 213–217 AD, Rome mint. Obv: ANTONINVS PIVS AVG GERM; bust of Caracalla, radiate, draped, cuirassed, r. Rev: VENVS VICTRIX; Venus, draped, standing l., holding Victory in extended r. hand and spear in l. hand, leaning on shield. 23mm, 4.60g. Ref: RIC IV Caracalla 311C.
     
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  3. gsimonel

    gsimonel Well-Known Member

    temp.jpg
    Silver Denarius
    Rome mint, A.D. 213
    Obv: ANTONINVS PIVS AVG BRIT
    Rev: P M TR P XVI COS IIII P P - Serapis, togate, wearing polos on head, standing, facing left, raising right hand and holding transverse scepter in left
    RIC 208(a)
    19mm, 3.1g.
     
  4. Andres2

    Andres2 Well-Known Member

  5. Cucumbor

    Cucumbor Well-Known Member

    Some nice specimens to illustrate an exquisite writeup. Caracalla was the kind of dude everyone would want to be friend with, to be safe....until he changes his mind.

    Here are my denarii, antoninianus, and provincials of his (Antioch tet, Laodicaea tet, Thracian bronze and Bosporan El stater)

    0190-205.jpg

    0190-210-2.jpg

    0190-220.jpg 0190-410-0214A.jpg

    0190-410-1176.jpg

    0190-430n-aegis.jpg

    0190-450.jpg

    Q
     
  6. ancient coin hunter

    ancient coin hunter 3rd Century Usurper

    caracalla.jpg
    And a medallion. Not in my collection!

    caracalla_medallion.jpg
     
  7. Shea19

    Shea19 Well-Known Member

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  8. Ocatarinetabellatchitchix

    Ocatarinetabellatchitchix Well-Known Member

    I've been asked to give precision about 2 reverse types with the (?) in the OP.
    The two types are mentioned in reference books but remain mysterious. RIC 262, Minos seated in front of Minotaur. It is the RIC which speaks for the first time of Minos, Cohen not having noticed it. But isn't it rather Pluto sitting in front of Cerbere? It is this description which was taken up by the BMC (# 122) but recently modified.

    E99D39F0-FC8A-42F3-9ABE-E94F609DE2AC.jpeg
    36F0EE45-4C19-4970-A613-D61FB749947C.jpeg
    The British Museum coin

    0EC7D12A-FBEF-491B-A9C0-C04428786CC4.jpeg

    Why would there be two types so similar with a seated figure, bearded and wearing a modius, with a rather indistinct creature in front of him, the three heads being easily confused with a head and two horns? More cautiously, the RSC mentions Pluto or Minos and the latest version of Sear Minos.

    D46999BA-9A2D-443D-B3DD-F3C57A472E5D.jpeg



    The second questionable type is the seated Serapis (RIC 291c). There is a denarius of this type, but Cohen also mentions an Antoninianus, while failing to specify the source. Could it be a specimen with Pluto, but tooled to make the creature disappear? Anyway, this coin remains to my knowledge untraceable.

    D7F00520-FF7E-4D85-B73D-C8220195E341.jpeg
    The denarius with seated Serapis

    2144E451-5B5C-4F3C-8C0E-BAC08828761A.jpeg
    Cohen's reference

    13093394-D580-4A70-9BA2-2DF48800C118.jpeg
    The RIC reference

    I just hope a more intelligent person can enlighten me !!!
     
  9. Spaniard

    Spaniard Well-Known Member

    Nice coins everyone.....Here's my scowler!
    RIC IV#224
    CARA.jpg
     
  10. Al Kowsky

    Al Kowsky Well-Known Member

    Another excellent article by Ocat :happy:! Below are some of my favorite Caracalla Tets.

    NGC 2101304-006, AK Collection.jpg NGC 5747260-012, Al Kowsky Collection.jpg 1883002-031 obv..jpg 1883002-031 rev..jpg 100_7071-1.jpg 100_7072-1.jpg Prieur 1204 obv. (2).JPG Prieur 1204 rev. (2).JPG
     
  11. curtislclay

    curtislclay Well-Known Member

    @Ocatarinetabellatchitchix

    The TR P XX antoninianus with Serapis seated, no Cerberus, is rare, but does exist.

    Vienna has two specimens, quite likely the source of Cohen 386, though Cohen left out the V for Vienna. Others are in my collection, the Roth Collection at the Univ. of Düsseldorf, and two others sold online that I have noted.

    Not an antoninianus, but there was an excellent specimen of the corresponding aureus in Triton XV, 2012, lot 1540. See CNG's picture below. CarAurXXSerapisStdTritonXV.jpg
     
  12. hotwheelsearl

    hotwheelsearl Well-Known Member

    I have a more common denarius version of the OP's Venus Victrix ant.
    Caracalla RIC 312d (2020_11_18 03_38_31 UTC).jpeg

    I also have this beat-to-death Nikopolis coin that would have been awesome if it wasn't a slick...
    Caracalla Nikopolis Varbanov 3088.JPG
     
  13. gogili1977

    gogili1977 Well-Known Member

    Beautiful coins in thread.
    Young and adult Caracalla:
    image.jpg
    image(1).jpg
     
  14. curtislclay

    curtislclay Well-Known Member

    Donna,

    Just to keep your record accurate: the date on your final denarius of Caracalla appears to be TR P XIIII = 211 not TR P XIII = 210.

    Regards,

    Curtis Clay
     
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  15. DonnaML

    DonnaML Well-Known Member

    You are correct, of course. Thank you. I usually look carefully to confirm dealers' descriptions, but obviously didn't in this case.
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2021
  16. robinjojo

    robinjojo Well-Known Member

    Here are two more coins while touring the boxes today.

    The first coin appears to be unlisted in RIC, at least around the time I acquired it, back around (I should use circa now) 1991.

    Now, here's what the ticket accompanying this coin says:

    Caracalla
    AR Denarius: AD 213-217
    ANTONINVS PIVS AVG. GERM.
    Head, laureate to right.

    Rv MONETA AVGG. Moneta seated left, holding scales & cornucopia
    (Not in Cohen or RIC; could be ancient forgery or unique var.)
    Mint-Rome (2.6 grams)
    C.167/var.

    The examples that I have seen online of the Moneta reverse have Moneta standing, facing left. Here she is seated (probably was just too tired standing and holding all that stuff!).

    I really don't specialize in Roman denarii, so perhaps some CT specialists might like to opine on this coin.

    Laodicea Mint?

    D-Camera Caracalla denarius 213-217 AD Moneta seated Rome C167-var 2.6 g 4-4-21.jpg

    The second coin that I came across (I know that I have coins - but locating them is an effort bordering on search and rescue) is a sestertius that I bought from Palladium Numismatics (David Michaels) when I still had a little hair at the top of my oversized head, around 1994-95 I think.

    From the ticket:

    Caracalla
    AD 198-217
    Orichalcum sestertius
    OB: Laureate head right
    REV: Securitas seated right, holding scepter, leaning on arm.
    Patina!
    RIC 512d Grade: VF+

    25.6 grams

    The patina is nice, but the surfaces are somewhat rough, hence the lower grade I would assume.

    D-Camera Caracalla sestertius 198-217 AD Securitas Palladium 25.6g RIC 512d 4-4-21.jpg


    If I find anymore interesting stuff, I will post.
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2021
  17. Severus Alexander

    Severus Alexander find me at NumisForums

    Very weird coin! The reverse type is from a Laodicea issue of Sep Sev (RIC 510a?). The style obviously doesn't match the obverse, nor does the "GG" make sense because Caracalla didn't adopt the title Germanicus until after Geta's death. Definitely not an official mint product IMO. I suspect it's either a modern fantasy or someone, at some point, took a genuine Caracalla denarius and restruck the reverse.

    I'll be interested to hear what the specialists say.
     
  18. robinjojo

    robinjojo Well-Known Member

    Thanks.

    There does appear to be some light corrosion on the reverse, probably visible if you enlarge the image.

    The coin came to by way of a local coin seller, who had a box full of Roman coins, mostly 2nd-3rd centuries AD. Apparently they were part of a dealer's stock, as they all had the same style ticket.

    I don't know if anyone recognizes the design:

    D-Camera Dealer Label Caracalla denarius 213-217 AD Moneta seated C167-var 2.6 g 4-4-21.jpg
     
  19. Ocatarinetabellatchitchix

    Ocatarinetabellatchitchix Well-Known Member

    The only one I've ever seen with Moneta seated was probably an ancient imitation :

    1937566A-F71B-41EE-A92C-7D755794CE80.jpeg
     
  20. robinjojo

    robinjojo Well-Known Member

    So, likely a contemporary forgery (or imitation).

    Thanks!
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2021
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  21. Severus Alexander

    Severus Alexander find me at NumisForums

    The problem with this suggestion is that the obverse and reverse are such obviously different styles, the obverse being a good quality Rome mint Caracalla portrait, with the reverse being a sketchy Laodicea Sep Sev. It's hard to explain why, if the forgers were competent to produce such an excellent obverse die, they opted for such inferior work on the reverse. Ocat's coin isn't like that. Also note that Ocat's coin has an obverse appropriate to the reverse, i.e. under Sep Sev so AVGG is right.

    We might suspect that the Laodicea mint - or an unofficial mint - restruck the reverse of a Rome mint coin (which would be cool & very unusual!), but that's impossible, since the Sep Sev Laodicea reverse is from a number of years earlier than the obverse.

    I wouldn't propose the converse, because there's no evidence of an overstrike on the obverse. But there are maybe some indications on the reverse?

    I don't think the corrosion means much either way... it's easy to produce corrosion on silver using acid.
     
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