Log in or Sign up
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
Early (and Rare!) Caracalla Sestertius
>
Reply to Thread
Message:
<p>[QUOTE="Blake Davis, post: 6438710, member: 91820"]Rarity is an odd concept in ancient coins, where, as I have mentioned elsewhere, even collectors of modest means can own coins that are unique. Not that rarity is meaningless, with popular coins and types rarity does mean higher prices. But, to put the issue in more focus, consider the sestertii of Caracalla, in fact, the sestertii of the direct family of Septimius Severus generally. Sometime on or near 200AD, the Rome mint all but ceased the production of imperial bronzes, not striking these types, except in extremely small numbers, until 207AD or so. There were some imperial bronzes struck during this period of inactivity, but sestertii are extremely rare - despite close to 15 years of diligent searching I have not been able to buy a single example of a Caracalla sestertius struck from 200AD to 207AD - not one - and have all of one example as an As (RIC 415(c) - INDULGENTIA AVGG IN CARTH - to be posted).</p><p><br /></p><p> The early sestertii of Geta as Caesar, are all extremely rare, since he rose to the purple during the "no bronzes" period at the Rome mint. - I posted my one example in an earlier article. However, the Rome mint began striking sestertii of Caracalla (as Caesar) in 196 AD. </p><p><br /></p><p> The circumstances under which Septimius struck coins for Caracalla are quite interesting: After the death of Pertinax in 192AD, and the purchase by auction of the loyalty of the Praetorians by Didius Julianus, Septimius decided to make the play for empire. One of his early acts was to enter into an agreement with Clodius Albinus, leader of the legions in Britain under which Albinus was granted the secondary title of Caesar in return for staying put while Septimius dealt with Julianus, which he did. After Pesceinnius Niger, leader of the eastern legions, declared himself emperor, Septimius went east, and defeated Niger in 194AD. Septimius then stayed in the east, battling Parthia, and then taking Byzantium after a two year siege, in 196AD. (I really hope this chronology is correct - all from memory).</p><p><br /></p><p>From Wikkepedia: "In autumn 196, Albinus received word that Severus had appointed his elder son Caracalla as his successor with the title of Caesar and convinced the Senate to declare Albinus himself an official enemy of Rome. Now with nothing to lose, Albinus mobilized his legions in Britannia, proclaimed himself Emperor and crossed from Britain to Gaul bringing a large part of the British garrison with him. He defeated Severus' legate , and was able to lay claim to the military resources of Gaul.</p><p><br /></p><p>On 19 February 197 Albinus met Severus' army, After a hard-fought battle, Albinus was defeated and killed himself, or was captured and executed on the orders of Severus. Severus had his naked body laid out on the ground before him, so that he could ride his horse over it, in a final act of humiliation. Albinus' wife and sons were initially pardoned by Severus, he appeared to change his mind almost immediately afterwards, for as the dead Albinus was beheaded, so were they."</p><p><br /></p><p>Now to the coin - Caracalla sestertius, RIC 397, 14.36 grams, 28mm. Inscribed, MARTI VLTORI. RIC has this as the first sestertius struck for Caracalla, and I most certainly agree. The ancient sources indicate that the Roman Senate was not entirely happy about the appointment of Caracalla as Caesar given that it meant civil war. Septimius would and probably did claim that he forced to do so since Albinus, along with certain members of the Senate, were plotting his demise. </p><p><br /></p><p>I have seen several denarii of the same type as this sestertii, and all are underweight, and poorly made as to the flan, as is this. Continued below:[ATTACH=full]1254891[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1254892[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The earliest sestertii of Caracalla, while not common, are at least available, excepting this type, the first one. Most likely this is an accident relating to the means by which coins survive - I noted in an earlier article that one sestertius type for Septimius could be considered common because, according to acsearch.info all of 50 some odd coins had been sold by major auction houses the last 20 or so years. Listed as "Rare" in RIC, I have only been able to find one other example of the above coin, in the British Museum. The obverse is, however, a die match to the same type I have for RIC 399, SECURITAS PERPETVA.</p><p><br /></p><p>So what does all this indicate? Perhaps not much - the Senate, maybe the people of Rome may have preferred not to have a civil war, maybe even preferred Clodius Albinus over Septimius, but it does not mean that the Rome mint was making a political statement when it struck undersized coins of Caracalla. There could be many other reasons why some of the earliest coins are underweight - additionally, I have several sestertii of Caracalla as Caesar that are in the 25 grams range - although not of PRINCIPI IVVENTUTIS, which with this type might be the first sestertii struck at the Rome mint. After all, heads would certainly (and literally) roll should Septimius discover that the mint was making its own political statements. But, then again, according to an unreliable source, the mint revolted in the reign of Aurelian...</p><p><br /></p><p>One other question - if you could have any ancient coin to add to your collection what would it be? I mean something relevant to what you collect. For me? it would be a sestertius of Caracalla, TRP XX - Pluto and Cerberus, dies made by the Master. Or Geta as Caesar sestertius, DI Patri. RIC 112. dream on....[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Blake Davis, post: 6438710, member: 91820"]Rarity is an odd concept in ancient coins, where, as I have mentioned elsewhere, even collectors of modest means can own coins that are unique. Not that rarity is meaningless, with popular coins and types rarity does mean higher prices. But, to put the issue in more focus, consider the sestertii of Caracalla, in fact, the sestertii of the direct family of Septimius Severus generally. Sometime on or near 200AD, the Rome mint all but ceased the production of imperial bronzes, not striking these types, except in extremely small numbers, until 207AD or so. There were some imperial bronzes struck during this period of inactivity, but sestertii are extremely rare - despite close to 15 years of diligent searching I have not been able to buy a single example of a Caracalla sestertius struck from 200AD to 207AD - not one - and have all of one example as an As (RIC 415(c) - INDULGENTIA AVGG IN CARTH - to be posted). The early sestertii of Geta as Caesar, are all extremely rare, since he rose to the purple during the "no bronzes" period at the Rome mint. - I posted my one example in an earlier article. However, the Rome mint began striking sestertii of Caracalla (as Caesar) in 196 AD. The circumstances under which Septimius struck coins for Caracalla are quite interesting: After the death of Pertinax in 192AD, and the purchase by auction of the loyalty of the Praetorians by Didius Julianus, Septimius decided to make the play for empire. One of his early acts was to enter into an agreement with Clodius Albinus, leader of the legions in Britain under which Albinus was granted the secondary title of Caesar in return for staying put while Septimius dealt with Julianus, which he did. After Pesceinnius Niger, leader of the eastern legions, declared himself emperor, Septimius went east, and defeated Niger in 194AD. Septimius then stayed in the east, battling Parthia, and then taking Byzantium after a two year siege, in 196AD. (I really hope this chronology is correct - all from memory). From Wikkepedia: "In autumn 196, Albinus received word that Severus had appointed his elder son Caracalla as his successor with the title of Caesar and convinced the Senate to declare Albinus himself an official enemy of Rome. Now with nothing to lose, Albinus mobilized his legions in Britannia, proclaimed himself Emperor and crossed from Britain to Gaul bringing a large part of the British garrison with him. He defeated Severus' legate , and was able to lay claim to the military resources of Gaul. On 19 February 197 Albinus met Severus' army, After a hard-fought battle, Albinus was defeated and killed himself, or was captured and executed on the orders of Severus. Severus had his naked body laid out on the ground before him, so that he could ride his horse over it, in a final act of humiliation. Albinus' wife and sons were initially pardoned by Severus, he appeared to change his mind almost immediately afterwards, for as the dead Albinus was beheaded, so were they." Now to the coin - Caracalla sestertius, RIC 397, 14.36 grams, 28mm. Inscribed, MARTI VLTORI. RIC has this as the first sestertius struck for Caracalla, and I most certainly agree. The ancient sources indicate that the Roman Senate was not entirely happy about the appointment of Caracalla as Caesar given that it meant civil war. Septimius would and probably did claim that he forced to do so since Albinus, along with certain members of the Senate, were plotting his demise. I have seen several denarii of the same type as this sestertii, and all are underweight, and poorly made as to the flan, as is this. Continued below:[ATTACH=full]1254891[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1254892[/ATTACH] The earliest sestertii of Caracalla, while not common, are at least available, excepting this type, the first one. Most likely this is an accident relating to the means by which coins survive - I noted in an earlier article that one sestertius type for Septimius could be considered common because, according to acsearch.info all of 50 some odd coins had been sold by major auction houses the last 20 or so years. Listed as "Rare" in RIC, I have only been able to find one other example of the above coin, in the British Museum. The obverse is, however, a die match to the same type I have for RIC 399, SECURITAS PERPETVA. So what does all this indicate? Perhaps not much - the Senate, maybe the people of Rome may have preferred not to have a civil war, maybe even preferred Clodius Albinus over Septimius, but it does not mean that the Rome mint was making a political statement when it struck undersized coins of Caracalla. There could be many other reasons why some of the earliest coins are underweight - additionally, I have several sestertii of Caracalla as Caesar that are in the 25 grams range - although not of PRINCIPI IVVENTUTIS, which with this type might be the first sestertii struck at the Rome mint. After all, heads would certainly (and literally) roll should Septimius discover that the mint was making its own political statements. But, then again, according to an unreliable source, the mint revolted in the reign of Aurelian... One other question - if you could have any ancient coin to add to your collection what would it be? I mean something relevant to what you collect. For me? it would be a sestertius of Caracalla, TRP XX - Pluto and Cerberus, dies made by the Master. Or Geta as Caesar sestertius, DI Patri. RIC 112. dream on....[/QUOTE]
Your name or email address:
Do you already have an account?
No, create an account now.
Yes, my password is:
Forgot your password?
Stay logged in
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
Early (and Rare!) Caracalla Sestertius
>
Home
Home
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Activity
Recent Posts
Forums
Forums
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Posts
Competitions
Competitions
Quick Links
Competition Index
Rules, Terms & Conditions
Gallery
Gallery
Quick Links
Search Media
New Media
Showcase
Showcase
Quick Links
Search Items
Most Active Members
New Items
Directory
Directory
Quick Links
Directory Home
New Listings
Members
Members
Quick Links
Notable Members
Current Visitors
Recent Activity
New Profile Posts
Sponsors
Menu
Search
Search titles only
Posted by Member:
Separate names with a comma.
Newer Than:
Search this thread only
Search this forum only
Display results as threads
Useful Searches
Recent Posts
More...