Dating Caracalla

No, not that "Dating"
I realize my title may be a bit ambiguous, this thread has nothing to do with Caracalla's love life, or Plautilla and her relationship with Caracalla (a sad story for which there are other threads and books e.g. thread from @Sallent, and this book).


What date for this coin?
Instead, this post is focused on trying to decide - "could I narrow the date range for my coin". In Review: For "Fans" of Caracalla from @Jwt708 , there was discussion of portrait types for Caracalla and coins promoting harmony between Caracalla and Geta. The thread prompted a closer look at a Roman provincial coin from Augusta Traiana, wondering "how close to the death of Septimius was the minting of this coin"?

Although the my coin is undated, the portrait does provide some clues. I decided to compare portraits of Caracalla from Augusta Traiana, across ~250 coins in each of ACSearch and Corpus Nummorum.

Sequence of Portraits for Caracalla
After picking a few representative portrait types for Augusta Traiana, I found this 2014 study, written in German, with beautiful pictures of coins and a detailed portrait study from Andreas Pangerl, "Roman Imperial Portrait Types of Caracalla and Geta". I used the portraits from this article as my timeline. Here is the rough progression of portraits from Augusta Traiana that I assembled with the dated Roman mint coins aligned.

Here's the summary of how Pangerl classifies the portraits of Geta and Caracalla:

• Children
  • with short hair (Caracalla Type 1, Geta Type 1)
  • with curly hair (Caracalla Type 2)
• Adolescent to adult with short hair
  • no beard (Caracalla Type 3, Geta Type 2)
  • with sideburns (Caracalla Type 4, Geta Type 3)
  • with cheekbones without a mustache (Caracalla Type 5, Geta Type 4)
  • with cheekbones and mustache (Caracalla Type 6, Geta Type 5)
  • short full beard (Geta Type 6)
  • with long full beard and fringes (only Geta type 7 looking a lot like his father)
  • short full beard + laurel wreath begins on coins - starts in 209, probably with get raised to Augustus, youthful and emotionless (Caracalla Type 7)
  • short full beard, deep forehead wrinkles, "wild" facial expression starting 212 -(Caracalla type 8)
  • short full beard, less pronounced forehead wrinkles – starting 213-214 (Caracalla Type 9)

He also considers another type for Caracalla looking "exhausted or resigned" starting in 217, but considers it too close to Type 9 to separate. There is an interesting suggestion in the paper: Geta's portraits may suggest the Geta was attempting to overthrow his brother, portraying himself as "Septimius-like".

My provincial portrait seems to align well with portrait type 7 for Caracalla which becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish from portrait type 6 of Geta as political messaging focused on secure succession with two Augusti, i.e. AD 209-211.

Additional notes
There is an Augusta Traiana coin of Geta, as Augustus, with a portrait very similar to the one of Caracalla on my coin. Which I will link to discussion from Pangerl "At the death of Severus in February 211, the portraits of the two brothers can hardly be distinguished from one another" politically supporting the decision that the two would be together successors.

I found two additional reverses that seem to be associated with the same obverse die, although I don't see any additional date information from these matches. (match1?, match2?)

Aligned with the portraits, the sharing of the globe on the reverse, seems to suggest the time when both were Augusti, if not the period when they co-ruled after Septimius. Both also shown with laurel wreaths on the reverse.

The coin
Here is the coin of Caracalla as Augustus with the two loving brothers sharing a globe. This seems to be a very rare coin - only one, possibly two, others that I have found of this type, other than this coin, both with matching dies (one in ACSearch). The exact coin not listed in Varbanov, however Corpus Nummorum has a coin that also looks like it might be the same dies (CN 9717).

Thrace, Augusta Traiana, Caracalla (198-217)
Obv: AVT K M AVPH ANTΩNINOC, laureate bust right, with slight drapery.
Rev: AVΓOVCTHC TPAIANHC, Caracalla and Geta standing facing one another, both togate holding globe
Ref: Varbanov 1092 (unlisted variant, no globe), CN 9717 (same dies?)
Note: Could the globe be a die break? Possibly, I was not able to find a die match without the globe. Without more evidence, I will assume the globe is intentional. And for anyone who didn't fall asleep well before this point, this coin also reminds me of a post from @David Atherton, although I remain skeptical of the idea that this coin shows Caracalla stealing the basketball from Geta.

Conclusion
With all of this, I have reasonable confidence that I can narrow this coin's date to the time period between Geta rising to Augustus (end of AD 209) and Geta's death (December, AD 211), and perhaps even a bit closer, before or after, to the death of Septimius Severus.

Any advice or comments on the logic of dating applied or anything else in this post, is always much appreciated, as are references to other resources on the coins of Augusta Triaina. Post anything you find interesting or entertaining.

 

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Was your basketball coin "colorized" by the U.S. mint?

 

I didn't buy it from them - but now that you mention it, it does look similar to this coin.

 

AMAZING group of Plautillas And brilliant article Thanks so much for your contributions
I imagine dating Caracalla to be like dating any normal sociopath megalomaniac... who actually was the most important man on the planet.
He'd take you on magic rides on dolphins:
show you images of himself when he was young:


Poor Plautilla

Concordia right until death.

Ps, nailed the, "Aaand, Caracalla with the steal!"

 

Thought-provoking write-up, @Sulla80 !

Here's one which Hill dates to AD 211. The obverse portrait is very similar to that on your provincial of Augusta Traiana:


Caracalla AD 198-217.
Roman AR Denarius 3.37 g, 19.7 mm.
Rome mint, AD 211.
Obv: ANTONINVS PIVS AVG BRIT, laureate head, right.
Rev: INDVLG FECVNDAE, Julia Domna as Indulgentia, wearing polos, seated left on cerule chair, extending right hand and holding scepter.
Refs: RIC 214; BMCRE 73; RCV 6805.

 

Nice article, @Sulla80 ... such an evil creature...

Caracalla:

RI Caracalla 198-217 AR Quinarius CE 213 1.3g 13.6mm Laureate - Victory Wreath Palm RIC IV 101 RSC 450 RARE


Plautilla:


RI Plautilla 202-205 CE m Caracalla AR Denarius 3.7g Concordia patera scepter RIC 363

 

LOL, thanks @Ryro, I have to say "any normal sociopath megalomaniac..." is a useful phrase I can see re-purposing in the future

Interesting - thanks for posting - it has the "wild" look or wrinkled forehead of Pangerl's "Type 8".

 

Caracalla is by far the best emperor Rome or better say world has ever seen

 

I find interest in this Marcianopolis showing both portraits wearing the laurel wreath but Caracalla strikes me as young. The legend lists both as "AVK" so it must date to the first period after Geta was elevated.


Of course my favorite is the Domna tet of Alexandria dated LK (beginning September 211 so after the death of Septimius). The reverse shows the boys as Augusti but one (Caracalla) has his other hand on his sword. Both are veiled (in mourning for their father who died 6 months earlier. This obverse die is known also with a reverse of different type dated year 18. Few coins were made during this period so obverse dies lasted a while. I continue to believe this is the only type showing the pair together after the death of their father. Please prove me wrong on this by posting other coins.

 

You’ve made this statement several times recently. Why exactly do you believe that statement and what makes an emperor “best”? I would think “best” may mean something like, Most improved or vigorously maintained the lives, safety and health of those under his reign.

Caracalla was not this type of emperor... he had a cruel streak and other than granting citizenship to provincials... what did he do that was positive to you? ...besides being a tough guy that murdered people at weddings.

 

haha... yes, I forget... it’s Friday, I have wine and am ornery right now. Back to the coins.

 

Is Augusta Traiana the same city as Traianopolis? If so... there’s a Caracalla from Traianopolis.

Caracalla - Traianopolis - Varbanov 2793

 

Very informative thread. I do not have many Caracallas in my collection, but this frowny-face as appears to have a specific date of 213 A. D. (based on OCRE, etc.) thanks to having PM/TRP/COS information reverse:



Caracalla Æ As
(213 A.D.)
Rome Mint
[ANTONIN]VS PIVS AVG BRIT, laureate head right / PM TRP XVI COS IIII [P P]
S C Serapis standing front, head to left, raising right hand, holding scepter in left hand.
RIC 505; BMC 257.
(9.33 grams / 22 mm)

 

I love tough guys who are tug and rule like a tug with iron feast. Any politician who rule with iron feast is a hero in my dictionary. I said before and I repeat again, for me lord Machiavelli theory is like bible to live by. Emperors or dictators who lived by the rules laid out by lord machiavelli in his book "The Prince" are to be utmost praised in my dictionary.

 

There is a separation that can be made between what we find exciting historically and what we feel is "best" for governance. I like reading about Tiberius, Commodus, Caracalla and the others more than Antoninus Pius but I'd rather not live under their rule.

There are reasons why people are more successful, safer and healthier under the modern democratic governments.

Caracalla is a fun person to read about but not someone who I'd pick for my emperor.

 

I would be happy to live under him as my thought are aligned with him it is guaranteed that me and him will get along just well. I would be the type of 'Yes' man who is extremely loyal to him and execute the orders without any emotions. History showed that people like me will be loved and favored by people like Caracalla. so It is guaranteed I would enjoy a great wealth and power under him. There are people who have ethics of right o wrong that prevents them to serve the orders of a dictator I am not one of those!

 

Well... there are still some places in the world where you can get a similar experience. Go search those places out and let me know how it goes. I wish you the best. Now, show us some of your coins.

 

My hero with his strong and tough facial features that even now put fears in the hearts of his enemy!

 

How do you know I am not?? I am probably living in one of those countries now and serving its leaders