20 Year Effort - First Nine Caracalla Sestertii -

As stated in my posts on this site my focus in this wonderful hobby is sestertii of the reign of Septimius Severus, up to Elagabalus. Why Septimius Severus? He was historically an important emperor, whose reign succeeded, with a few brief intervals, Commodus, and lasted, including his children and grand nephews, from 193AD to 235AD. I have read that it was the policies of Septimius Severus that caused the long slide that ended with Diocletion - but it has also been written that it was Marcus Aurelius, who by choosing his worthless son Commodus as emperor as well as poor economic policies, ended the classical age. It is easy to second guess from a distance of a two thousand years but it seems to go like this: young emperors almost all bad, older emperors, mostly good. There are exceptions - Severus Alexander, but then again he was led by mom, and Tiberius, but under Tiberius it seemed only the Senate suffered - but then again, it was Senators that wrote the histories - and those studying Rome have a habit of casting themselves as imaginary Senators.

But back to the sestertii. CHV Sutherland wrote a wonderful book in 1974 titled "Roman Coins" - it is THE book I wish I had written on the subject. On page 216, Sutherland writes, "Severus, until his death in 211AD, issued an immense coinage in all metals from Rome, and, reverting to earlier practice he gave wide advertisement to members of the imperial house..." Sutherland goes on to list Julia Domna, his sons Caracalla and Geta, and Caracalla's wife Plautilla - and Clodius Albinus, his early co-emperor, as Caesar. On page 217 Sutherland writes that, "In the middle years of Severus' coinage the conceptual and technical skill of the mint of Rome reached a fine level." And later on the same page he mentioned that by the end of the reign of Septimius Severus the artistic skill of the mint of Rome was declining - although, I do not see it. If anything I believe that sestertii struck early in the reign continued the poor standards at the end of Commodus reign, with low relief, and oddly shaped and undersized flans. But this view is purely subjective AND anecdotal.

I have also noticed that many earlier sestertii of Septimius appear to be readily available - or used to be - in poorer grades, which is an opportunity for the collector with knowledge to find rare types. Is this the result of lower relief? No idea. This appears not as true as it used to be, perhaps due to the decline of ebay as a place to buy and sell where many of these coins would appear. Also it could be that more than ever, large auction houses with knowledgeable sales people seem to dominate the trade.

One of the most interesting aspects of collecting the sestertii of Septimius Severus is that ca. 199AD and continuing until 209AD the mint of Rome almost ceased striking bronze coins. Perhaps it was the need to pay the legions in silver and gold, which was supplemented by a huge number of silver coins struck in the east, but for whatever reason the number of bronze coins struck in Rome slowed in the year or two leading up to 199AD and then ceased altogether. The result is that bronze coins struck from 199AD to 209AD of Septimius Severus, Geta, Julia Domna, Caracalla and Plautilla are extraordinarily rare, with some types existing in the single digits. This also means that the condition of these rare types is as you find them but only if you can find them - if the coins exist in the single digits then whether the type exists in high or low grade matters only in the sense that if a collector insists on only collecting in high grades then maybe focusing on Septimius Severus and family is not a good choice.

Although I have collected ancients since 1999 I have now focused on Septimius Severus and family for about 16 years, and just completed a collection of the first nine coins struck for Caracalla at the Rome mint. Are the first nine coins of any significance other than being the first three page for the AES coinage of Caracalla in RIC? No - but it does take the coins from 196/197AD up to 201AD.

Ok enough introduction - time to get to the coins as these appear in RIC - hopefully I will be able to do these in the correct order:



Caracalla as Caesar - sestertius, RIC 397, 26mm, 14.44 grams, purchased on ebay ca. 2005, $50+-. 196/7 AD

The first type, not necessarily the first struck, is quite rare -- I had previously posted this and Curtis Clay, THE expert on the coinage of Septimius Severus and family had noted that one seems to turn up every decade. I had thought that it was undersized since it reflects Caracalla as a lesser rank but have recently seen larger examples. Years ago I came close to selling this coin due to the lack of an inscription but thankfully kept it after noticing no others were appearing for sale, and that almost none turned up on online databases. I like the thick hair on the obverse. The patina is green - I apologize for the poor photography - still not great after 26 years!



Caracalla sestertius RIC 398(a), 196/7 AD. 14.46 grams, 27mm private sale $200 ca. 2014

This type usually appears in similar grade as this, on similarly smaller flans. The only high grade example I have ever seen was recently sold in a European auction. Although this is a small flan but the bust and portrait are perfectly sized exhibiting not only the skill but possibly an advance knowledge of the size of the flan. This may not be true, however, the edge and beading are not shown, which means that the flan does not show the entirely of the detail on the die.
Caracalla sestertius RIC 398(b), 196/7AD, 16.18 grams, 29mm ebay ca. 2023 $300+-

An extremely rare example since it has the M AVR ANTON CAES PONTIF obverse inscription as the prior coin. Anecdotally, the obverse die is the most common of all of the dies for Caracalla of this period, but as will be shown with the next sestertius not with with this reverse. Very few of these exist with this reverse perhaps indicating an increase of honors for Caracalla reflected on the obverse inscription. As a result of poor proof reading skills, I had not realized the existence of this type until a few years ago and was fortunate to find this example soon after finding out that these were struck. The chip on the reverse is fortunately insignificant. Caracalla sestertius RIC 399, 196/7AD, 19 grams, 29mm $200 Coin Show Parsippany NJ ca. 2001 $200

This is by far the more common of the obverses with the inscription M AVR ANTONINUS CAES. Note that you will never find a coin of Caracalla with the name "CARACALLA" which is a much later designation named after a cloak the he allegedly wore. This is one of numerous historical errors that, among many other things, made Gladiator II utterly unwatchable - the movie should have been proceeded with the words. "In a galaxy far far away a long long time ago..."

The coin is a favorite, my second sestertius and purchased from an elderly dealer from Italy at a local monthly coin show. The obverse die is beautifully rendered and is among my favorite coins.



Caracalla sestertius, RIC 400, 24.14 grams, 32mm ebay purchase: $200 ca. 2008

This is a traditional early sestertius, showing priestly objects. It was lacquered when purchased - acetone took care of that. The portrait is nicely rendered but like many sestertii of Caracalla reverse is rough. Again, only anecdotal but why is that?



Caracalla sestertius, RIC 401, 196/7 AD, 26.04 grams, 32mm Gut-Lynt Auction ca. 2023 $800

This is my most beautiful sestertius of Caracalla, and among the most beautiful sestertii I own, with a portrait that this poor photograph does not show very well. Only the mouth could be done a bit better - perhaps the open mouth is a reflection of the personality of the child since it shows a surliness that may have been evident even at this age - pure speculation! The reverse is a common type - in fact none of the reverses thus far really are more than common types. This is last "common" coin of Caracalla and least in RIC as Caesar - those examples after this takes us into the period when very (very) few sestertii were struck.

Caracalla sestertius RIC 409 24.91 grams, 32mm, ca. 201, purchased 2025, for way too much to say. ANTONINUS AUGUSTVS//VIRTUS AVG PONT TRP IIII

We now come to the time when very very few sestertii were struck at the Rome mint. I believe that the increase in pay for the legions required the entirety of the Rome mint to make enough to meet payroll. as to this coin I have found four of five other examples sold since 1999 on acsearch.info. The British Museum also has an example I believe. This coin like so many others, came from the 1995 Friedrich sale and sold for a fraction of what I paid. This is the first time that Caracalla is shown as Augustus. I just do not have time to go through the significance of the inscription but will add to this at a later date. Note that the flan is medallic, like many but not all from this era. I should note that the provinces made up for the lack of bronzes from Rome and Septimius is responsible for the beautiful bronzes struck outside of Rome during this era - although why so few from Spain, Gaul and North Africa is a mystery. The photograph does not show the beauty of this coin - the obverse portrait is my favorite for Caracalla in silver. I have considered further cleaning and perhaps smoothing this coin, but I lack the skill and it is better off left alone. Let me quickly add that I did not SERIOUSLY consider it.

Caracalla sestertius 201AD, RIC 410, 33mm, 22.50 grams, purchased 2021 for too much. ANTONINUS AUGUSTUS RECTOR ORBIS

This is also a lovely portrait on a medallic flan. I have traced this coin to a group lot sold some time ago - the grouping indicated that the seller was unaware of the significance of this coin, which exists in only a handful of examples. The coin is nicer than the photograph but there is no doubt this coin has seen better days. But with maybe four known, I am lucky to have it - the only way I could afford it was in installments over months.


Caracalla sestertius RIC 411, 199-201AD, 32mm, 25.25 grams, purchased in a Euro auction for $600. ANTONINUS AUGUSTUS /SEVERI PII AVG FIL

Hands down my most rare coin - the British Museum, which has the most complete collection of Caracalla sestertii does not have an example and I have not been able to find one anywhere else. Proof positive that if you are into high grade sestertii, and completions, this is not the emperor to collect. Although shown "only" as an "R2" in RIC where are the other examples. This coin is like that guitar in "Spinal Tap" - I am afraid to even look at it since with not much more wear the entire reverse would not be visible. Still I feel extremely fortunate to have an example.


Geta sestertius ca. 203 AD, 25.57 grams, 35mm ebay ca. 2008 $500
PSEPTIMIVS GETA CAES //PRINC IVVENT COS

For the sake of completion and because I can add another coin, here is my one of only example of Geta as Caesar. I woke up one morning to check out the listings of new sestertii on ebay and discovered this coin being sold by a dealer who sold few ancient coins. Where did it come from and how did a coin that exists in a handful of examples, end up being sold by this dealer? The coins unfortunately do not talk, but sometimes one can find the same coin in old auction catalogs or collections long since broken. It only emphasizes that we are only temporary keepers of these pieces.

The portrait and large size of this coin may perhaps reflect that these were presentation pieces - the three riders on the reverse are obviously Septimius, Caracalla and Geta. I assume that the rider in the front is Geta, and his placement more or less on his own reflects his position in the lower rank of Caesar. Still this is a magnificent piece and one of my favorites.

Please put your comments below - thanks for reading this!