Geta Denarius

This was a neat one that came today. A bit of a weak strike on the reverse, and a bit harder to photograph but has a nice bearded portrait of the brother of Caracalla.



Geta, as Augustus, Denarius. 210 AD. IMP CAES P SEPT GETA PIVS AVG, laureate head right / PONTIF TR P II COS II, Felicitas standing left, holding cornucopiae and long caduceus. RIC 69a

 

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Great addition Randy, love the portrait. Shame about the reverse but I have some pieces like that.

 

This is when Roman history starts to get confusing and chaotic. Unfortunately, the third century is one of the most poorly documented periods in Roman history. Within twenty years, we lose the century's best historian (Cassius Dio AD 229).

The changing and evolving portraiture is amazing:




RS26849. Silver denarius, references: RIC IV 34b; condition: gVF, mint: Rome, weight: 3.308g, maximum diameter: 18.4mm, die axis: 0o, date struck: 203 - 208 A.D.; obverse P SEPTIMIVS GETA CAES, bare-headed and draped bust right, from behind; reverse PONTIF COS, Minerva standing left, resting right on shield, spear in left. ex-FORVMANCIENTCOINS


guy

 

Ancient Doug has a nice article on the Geta coin:

http://dougsmith.ancients.info/geta.html

Note the nice display of the evolving and maturing Geta busts. :thumb:
Strong work, Ancient Doug.

guy

 

I agree, very nice portrait. I find a lot of reverses of the period like that. You have to remember the reverse die took all of the beating from striking, so they wore out much, much faster than the obverses.

Still, in all, a very nice style on the portrait. I imagine it would be very difficult to ever find a better one.

Chris

 

Thanks. Indeed, I don't think I will another I like, in the price range I like with this bust type. It much better than my other choices of Geta, one, a teenage-ish bust, resembling cartoony ET (the alien)and the other, a younger portrait of an interesting, but not so appealing eastern style.

 

How can we forget the lovely Severus family portrait reflecting the love and admiration Caracalla had for his deceased (murdered brother) :devil:.



Septimius Severus with Julia Domna, Caracalla, and Geta whose face was most probably defaced by Caracalla's henchmen.

guy