Lot 4175
Macrinus, AD 217-218. AE Sestertius (23.9g) minted at Rome. IMP CAES M OPEL SEV MACRINVS AVG. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Macrinus right. Reverse: SECVRITAS TEMPORVM S C. Securitas (Security) standing left, holding scepter in right hand, resting left elbow on column. RIC 202; Cohen 123. Dark forest green patina. Meticulous strike of fine style offering a magnificent depiction of Macrinus. A fabulous coin and undoubtedly one of the finest of its type in existence. Very rare. Superb Extremely Fine.
This handsome sestertius of Macrinus has a magnificent portrait of the emperor who briefly interrupted the Severan dynasty when he arranged for the assassination of Caracalla in AD 217. While Macrinus was serving as praetorian prefect at the time of Caracalla's Parthian campaign, he learned of a prophecy concerning his own future elevation to the throne. Terrified that the emperor would hear of this and order his immediate execution, Macrinus felt that he had no choice but to make the prophecy self-fulfilling by secretly plotting the emperor's murder. Once the deed was carried out along a lonely stretch of road between the Mesopotamian cities of Edessa and Carrhae, Macrinus was proclaimed emperor by the army, which was unaware of his part in the affair. The reverse proclaims the "security of the times," a somewhat extravagant claim given the uncertainty of the situation both for the new emperor himself and for the Roman army in the East.
Estimated Value $25,000 - 35,000.
The Hunter Collection; Ex Superior Stamp & Coin, NYINC Sale, December 8-9, 1995, lot 947; Tkalec (Zurich), October 1992, lot 326.
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| Realized $149,500 |
