Caracalla Bronze Sestertius RIC IV Caracalla 536B

Monetary Context and Denominational Function

During the early third century AD, the sestertius remained the foundational heavy bronze denomination of Roman token currency, operating as the primary fractional bridge between everyday retail transactions and high-value silver coinage. Historically minted from orichalcum (a brass alloy of copper and zinc), the third-century sestertius under the Severan dynasty experienced a progressive reduction in zinc content, shifting closer to standard bronze or mixed copper alloys, alongside minor declines in target striking weights. Despite these gradual metallurgical changes, the denomination retained its traditional tariff of four sestertii to the silver denarius. In the fiscal framework of Caracalla's sole reign, substantial expenditures on military pay increases, donatives, and monumental urban building projects, such as the grand thermae in Rome, placed immense demands upon the imperial treasury. The production of base-metal coinage like RIC IV Caracalla 536B fulfilled essential municipal and regional commerce requirements while providing an uncommonly broad physical canvas for state messaging. Because sestertii circulated widely through civilian markets, markets frequented by soldiers, and domestic commerce, their reverse designs conveyed carefully formulated political and ideological programs directly to the provincial and Italian populace.

Mint of Rome and Manufacturing Standards

The sestertii designated under catalogue number RIC IV Caracalla 536B were produced exclusively by the imperial mint at Rome (Moneta Augusti). By AD 213, the urban mint was organized into specialized workshops, or officinae, which coordinated the engraving of dies, preparation of flans, and striking of coins across gold, silver, and bronze denominations. Blank flans for sestertii were cast in open or two-part moulds, producing thick, circular planchets that were frequently adjusted for weight before striking. The obverse and reverse dies were individually cut by skilled artisans using gravers, drills, and punches. Striking was performed by hand while the bronze flans were heated to enhance malleability, allowing the heavy relief of the emperor's portrait and the intricate drapery of Securitas to transfer clearly into the metal. The standard weight of Severan sestertii typically clustered between 20 and 26 grams, with flan diameters commonly measuring between 30 and 34 millimetres. Surviving examples of this specific issue demonstrate moderate variations in flan thickness, centering, and die orientation, reflecting the swift pace of production required to satisfy the state's heavy monetary output during Caracalla's German campaigns.

Obverse Typology and Imperial Iconography

The obverse of RIC IV Caracalla 536B features an imposing, mature portrait of Caracalla facing right, adorned with a laurel wreath, imperial drapery, and a military cuirass. This specific portrait typology distinguishes itself clearly from the youthful effigies executed during the reign of Septimius Severus. By AD 213, official portraiture portrayed the emperor with a determined, stern facial expression, short cropped hair, and a tightly trimmed beard, aligning his personal image with the rugged ideals of professional soldiering and physical resilience. The laurel wreath symbolizes supreme imperatorial authority and triumphal virtue, tied at the nape with flowing ribbons. The combined depiction of paludamentum (military cloak) and cuirass highlights Caracalla's permanent role as supreme commander of the Roman legions, an identity he actively cultivated during his personal management of the campaigns against the Alamanni along the Raetian and Upper German limes in AD 213. The die carvers captured muscular modelling in the jaw and neck, reflecting the distinctive veristic style of the late Severan artistic renaissance.

Reverse Iconography of Securitas Perpetua

The reverse iconography of RIC IV Caracalla 536B presents Securitas, the Roman divine personification of safety, stability, and freedom from anxiety, seated facing right upon a low, draped stool or throne. Securitas props her head pensively on her right hand, with her right elbow resting against her knee or the back of her seat, adopting an iconic compositional posture traditionally employed in Graeco-Roman art to represent complete repose, absence of dread, and effortless vigilance. In her left hand she supports a vertical or slightly inclined sceptre, a long-established attribute of divine sovereignty and imperial majesty. Positioned directly in front of her is a lighted altar, emphasizing the religious foundation of state security and alluding to imperial pietas, through which the emperor's sacrifices secured the favor of the gods. In the lower field or flanking the design, the bold letters S C (Senatus Consulto) signify the formal, traditional authority of the Senate in approving the emission of bronze coinage. The composition projects a deliberate message of calm assurance to a public that had recently weathered imperial dynastic bloodshed and border warfare.

Epigraphy and Titulature Analysis

The obverse inscription reads M AVR ANTONINVS PIVS FELIX AVG, which expands in Latin as Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Pius Felix Augustus. This legend reflects the standard high-titulature of Caracalla's sole reign. The adoption of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus anchored his legitimacy in the illustrious Antonine dynasty, a political fiction initiated by Septimius Severus. The epithet Pius had been assumed early in his joint reign, but the formal addition of Felix ('the Fortunate' or 'Blessed') into regular mint epigraphy became prominent from AD 213 onwards, consolidating the dual blessings of piety and auspicious fortune that Caracalla claimed in his governance. On the reverse, the legend SECVRITATI PERPETVAE is formulated in the dative case, translating as 'To Perpetual Security'. This dedicatory formulation frames the coin as a permanent tribute to the enduring protection guaranteed to the Roman commonwealth under Caracalla's rule. The abbreviation S C, for Senatus Consulto, reaffirms senatorial sanction over bronze production according to long-standing administrative conventions preserved through the Severan era.

Typological Classification and Chronological Placement

Catalogue number RIC IV Caracalla 536B is classified within the standard reference work The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IV, Part I, edited by Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham. The type is dated securely to the window of AD 213 to AD 214 based on the specific combination of obverse titles and the thematic introduction of the SECVRITATI PERPETVAE series following the conclusion of Caracalla's northern military operations. While allied reverse types from this period also feature Securitas seated to the left or incorporate explicit tribunician dating (such as TR P XVI or TR P XVII), type 536B belongs to an undated thematic bronze issue where the obverse legend includes both PIVS and FELIX. It is differentiated from catalogue number 536A by specific bust details, where 536B encompasses the laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust variant, whereas neighboring entries record variations such as laureate-only or laureate-and-draped busts without complete cuirassing. The type stands alongside contemporaneous issues celebrating military victories (VICTORIA GERMANICA) and health (SALVS AVG), reflecting a coordinated multi-officina emission designed to reinforce civilian confidence.

Circulation Patterns and Monetary Survival

Upon leaving the mint at Rome, sestertii of Caracalla entered a vast monetary system spanning Italy and the western and Danubian provinces. In the eastern provinces, local civic bronze currencies dominated low-denomination transactions, whereas in Italy, Gaul, Britain, and the Rhine frontier, Roman imperial base-metal coins served as the primary everyday exchange medium. Archaeological excavations and hoard evidence indicate that Severan bronze sestertii circulated actively for several decades following their striking. Due to their substantial intrinsic metal value relative to the increasingly debased silver antoniniani introduced in AD 215 and later Severan issues, sestertii were frequently hoarded during the economic disruptions of the mid-third century AD. Many surviving examples of RIC IV Caracalla 536B exhibit moderate to heavy surface wear, corrosion typical of acidic soil deposition, and softened legend details, evidencing sustained commercial velocity before their final loss or deposition.

References

1. Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. pp. 125-132
2. Coining Images of Power: Representations of the Roman Emperor on Coinage, A.D. 193-284. pp. 201-218
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IV, Part I: Pertinax to Geta. p. 294, no. 536B
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Caracalla 536B. ric.4.crl.536B