Lot 4168
Caracalla and Geta. Gold Aureus (7.1g) minted at Rome, AD 199-200. ANTONINVS AVGVSTVS. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right of young Caracalla. Reverse: P SEPT GETA CAES PONT. Bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust right of young Geta. Calicó 2862; RIC 38. Both portraits boldly struck in high relief with lovely 'Boscoreale' rose color toning. Extremely Fine.
An attractive feature of the coinage of the early Severan period is the dynastic series comprising gold aurei, silver denarii, and Alexandrian billon tetradrachms. There are more than thirty recorded types featuring different members of the imperial family in various portrait combinations. The majority were issued in AD 201 with a few types preceding or following the main group. This attractive aureus of AD 201 has portraits of the two sons of Septimius Severus and Julia Domna. The thirteen-year-old Caracalla already bears the senior imperial rank of Augustus to which he had been elevated three years before, while the twelve-year-old Geta has the junior title of Caesar. The age difference appears greater in the portraits with Geta looking more like a child. It is unclear why the younger brother had to wait until he was twenty before being advanced to the rank of Augustus when his elder brother had been only half that age. Whatever the reason, it was clearly a serious error of judgment on the part of Severus as it created a bitter rivalry between the two which eventually led to the murder of Geta at his brother's instigation less than a year after their father's death.
Estimated Value $25,000 - 30,000.
The Hunter Collection; Ex Hess-Leu, April 1969, lot 311. From the Boscoreale hoard of 1895.
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| Realized $86,250 |
