Double Feature: Two Brothers, Then One

Unlike most of the coins I buy, this first one wasn't actually on my want list. I was aware that it was a desirable type, and that this was a respectable example, particularly the reverse, but I knew I wouldn't seriously gun for it. I did some quick research on pricing when saw it in an auction catalog, put in a bid at its opening price, and was pleasantly surprised when I won without any competition. It was only four weeks later when I opened the package it arrived in and I held it in my hand that its sheer historical coolness really struck home.

The story the coin tells is one that just about anyone who collects ancients will know. Pictured on the reverse are the two brothers, 13-year old Caracalla and 12-year old Geta, sons of the emperor, Septimius Severus. The confronted busts and the legend AETERNIT IMPERI speaks to Septimius's hope for the reign of his sons over an eternal empire, one he had fought a bloody civil war some years earlier against three other claimants to win.

At the time this coin was struck, young Caracalla was already co-emperor, but Septimius would later also raise Geta to the same status, the idea being that his sons would rule jointly after his death. The boys, however, despised each other with a passion, and if one needs to know how sibling rivalry gets settled in ancient Rome, one needs to look no further than Romulus and Remus, the original Roman brothers.

While this type also comes with Severus on the obverse, I've always felt the variety with Julia Domna was more poignant. She was born to an aristocratic family and was well-known for her intelligence and scholarship. She was no doubt a strong woman who wielded great power and influence as empress, but she was also a mother. On my coin, she seems to wear a serene smile, unaware that in a mere 10 years' time, one of her sons would be dying in her arms, murdered on the orders of the other. She would not even be allowed to grieve for him. As the senator and historian Cassius Dio relates it:

"She was not permitted to mourn or weep for her son, though he had met so miserable an end before his time, but, on the contrary, she was compelled to rejoice and laugh as though at some great good fortune; so closely were all her words, gestures, and changes of colour observed. Thus she alone, the Augusta, wife of the emperor and mother of the emperors, was not permitted to shed tears even in private over so great a sorrow."


JULIA DOMNA
AR Denarius. 3.0g, 19.5mm. Rome mint, AD 201. RIC 540; Vagi 1723; BMC 4. O: IVLIA AVGVSTA, draped bust right; hair elaborately waved. R: AETERNIT IMPERI, laureate and draped bust of Caracalla right, vis-à-vis bareheaded and draped bust of Geta left.
Ex Dr. Walter Neussel Collection

This isn't where the story ends, however. Caracalla wasn't satisified with the mere death of his brother, or even the deaths of Geta's 20,000 partisans whom he had slaughtered. He also issued a damnatio memoriae against Geta, an official condemnation of his memory which traditionally was seen as a fate even worse than death. Geta's statues would have been torn down, inscriptions of his name erased, and his portraits defaced. Again in the words of Cassius Dio, "Indeed, if anyone so much as wrote the name Geta or even uttered it, he was immediately put to death."

Dio also tells us that Caracalla had Geta's coins melted down, but clearly any efforts against his imperial coinage must have been symbolic at best, as they exist in abundance. We do, however, have clear numismatic evidence of the damnatio enforced at a number of provincial mints, where coins showing Geta were recalled and had his portrait and name erased.

My damnatio of Geta coin wasn't as easy a win as the one above was. I was overseas at the time, logged on using my phone, gritting my teeth over the sputteringly slow internet connection, and trying to get a grumpy 5-year old ready for his evening bath as the lot came up in the live auction. Perhaps the added pressure helped to put me in the right mood for the challenge one rival bidder had in store for me, but after a volley of back-and-forth bids that seemed to go on forever, the lot was mine. It's not a pretty coin (and was a pain to photograph), but for me, it is the very definition of "keeper"!


CARACALLA & GETA
AE36. 17.85g, 36.2mm. CARIA, Stratonicaea, circa AD 209-211. Jason, son of Cleobulus, gramatteus. SNG von Aulock 2686; SNG Cop 512. O: Confronted busts of Caracalla right and [Geta] left, both laureate, draped, and cuirassed; c/m: ΘЄOY within rectangular incuse, head of Minerva right within circular incuse. R: Hekate standing left holding patera and torch; to left, hound standing left, head right.
Ex Dr. Walter Neussel Collection
Notes: On most of these defaced issues of Stratonicaea, Geta's entire bust is chiselled away, but on this coin, unusually, only his face has been erased.

 

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WOW!!

Both coins are spectacular to my eyes---the story behind each would have compelled me to chase them. The reverse 'double feature' of the boys with Julia Domna is simply wonderful!

Loved the write-up!!!

 

Nice coins, Z. That Domna would be welcome to my collection anyday.

 

Great Domna and Congrats on the acquisitions! Two really interesting coins.

 

Really nice coins and very cruel story .


Thanks,
Jacob

 

Wow! Those Severan dynastic issues are very desirable and in high-demand! Great acquisition for your collection.

 

Thanks for the comments, all. I should note that the Stratonicaea purchase owes a tip of the hat to @dougsmit, who it seems showed his example here too often and made me go from “interesting coin” to “okay, I gotta have one of those!” in short order. Question: how much money did Doug cause the rest of you to spend this year?

 

Ooooh, I've been waiting with bated breath for this post, and it doesn't disappoint!! I agree, the Domna version is to be preferred, and adding the damnatio with the same provenance enhances both coins. Congratulations, a phenomenal pair!!

 

Fantastic coins! A demnatio memoriae of Geta is certainly on my list!

 

"Too often!" You don't see it here but be warned it will come out in my Best of 2017 post unless I get quite a few better coins in the next couple weeks. I do wonder what you paid compared to what I paid. Yours is nicer and the only one I have seen with the 'face only' removal. There are many Stratonicaea double portrait coins and very few show up in great condition which means people who turn their noses up at 'experienced' coins don't want them. There is another Caracalla vs. Geta coin waiting for my year end post so not to be shown here but I will trot out another old favorite of the series where the countermark was considered offensive by someone and removed with no finesse whatsoever. There are several different countermarks used where yours has Minerva. I have seen one called 'Caracalla' but never one called 'Geta'. I don't believe the experts have a firm grasp on these marks or their purpose. Many but not all of the series include the ΘЄOY and I have no idea of its purpose here.

Septimius Severus and Julia Domna Stratonicaea minus countermark - was it Geta?


Those dynastic denarii are not rare but super popular, high demand and more than I pay. The best one has Septimius on the obverse and Julia with both boys on the reverse. It may be more common as the aureus but I really don't plan on getting that one. The example in Triton XX went for $32,500.
https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=324980

Don't you realize that my main purpose in life is to cause people to spend big money to get a better specimen of coins I have shown in poor shape? If you want something really rare, seek out a coin of this type where Geta was not removed. I have seen two but there are probably more.

 

Two envy-inducing coins there, Z.

Indeed, but we must add your name to that list

 

Those are some great coins @zumbly with wonderful historical appeal. Congrats on two first rate acquisitions.

 

That is one fascinating story. Super acquisitions.

 

Congrats zumbly, on a fantastic pic up well deserved especially in difficult circumstances.

 

Two excellent additions, and a fascinating write-up to go along with them. Congrats, and thanks for sharing.

 

Both are very nice!

 

I suppose it was "too often" only because my susceptibility was high to begin with . The price here is before the 12.5% premium. I paid a fair bit more than you did, but I think it was decent enough. Hmmm, now you're trotting out the one with the removed countermark a little "too often" for my liking... thankfully, I have a feeling another one of those is not going to be showing up on the market any time soon .

 

Thanks! Until I received the damnatio coin, it actually didn't occur to me that the two were from the same collection. October and November were busy months for me and the coins were actually from two different auctions held over two weeks apart. Having them both definitely enhances my appreciation of each one.

 

I’m saving the matter of how much we cost each other for another post .

 

True but you really do need a Stratonicaea with a different reverse from the Hecate. May I suggest the mounted Zeus as on my Caracalla/Plautilla? That same reverse comes with Geta coins as well. Any dealers out there that feel obligated to give me a kickback from all this zumbly business can be aware I really would like one of those 'Geta not removed' Stratonicaea issues.