Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Æ21 - Caracalla
| Issuer | Carrhae (Mesopotamia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 198-217 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Bronze |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Caracalla facing right, seen from behind, borne upon the back of an eagle in flight to the right with head turned left. Greek imperial legend encircling the field reads ΑΥΤ Κ Μ ΑΝΤΩΝΕΙΝΟϹ, identifying the emperor by his formal titulature. The composition, with the imperial bust carried aloft by an eagle, evokes themes of apotheosis and divine elevation characteristic of eastern provincial coinage under the Severan dynasty. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | ND (198-217) |
| Additional information |
Carrhae occupies an uncomfortable place in Roman memory — it was where Crassus and seven legions were destroyed by the Parthians in 53 BC, and where Caracalla himself traveled in 217 AD, reportedly reenacting Alexander's campaigns before being murdered on the road to the city by a soldier who needed to urinate and used the stop as cover. The town's civic coinage under Caracalla reflects its status as a frontier garrison point rather than a prosperous urban center, which accounts for the generally rough fabric and inconsistent striking pressure seen across the type.