Silver Denarius - Ancient Rome, c. 198-217 AD
Ruler: Caracalla (Augustus)
Obv: ANTONINVS PIVS AVG GERM – Laureate bust of Caracalla, right
Rev: PM TRP XVII COS IIII PP – Jupiter standing left holding thunderbolt & scepter
Mint: Rome (struck 214 AD)
S-R6832, 19mm,3.56gm
Exceptional portrait - well struck.
"Caracalla" was the popular nickname of Antoninus, Roman emperor of Punic and Syrian descent from 198 to 217. The eldest son of Septimius Severus, he reigned jointly with his father from 198, at age 10, until Severus' death in 211. Caracalla is remembered as one of the most notoriously extravagant and cruel Roman emperors. For a short time he then ruled jointly with his younger brother Geta until he had him murdered later in 211. He was murdered by the orders of Macrinus, the Praetorian prefect in 217.
Caracalla's reign was also notable for the Constitutio Antoniniana (also called the Edict of Caracalla or the Antonine Constitution), granting Roman citizenship to all freemen throughout the Roman Empire, which according to historian Cassius Dio, was done for the purposes of raising tax revenue. Caracalla also commissioned a large public bath-house (thermae) project in Rome the remains of the Baths of Caracalla are still a major tourist attraction of the Italian capital.
