Caracalla Silver Denarius RIC IV Caracalla 268

Monetary Context

The emission of RIC IV Caracalla 268 in AD 215 took place during an era of significant fiscal transformation and structural pressure on the Roman imperial currency system. Following the death of Septimius Severus at Eboracum in AD 211 and the assassination of Caracalla's brother Geta in late AD 211, Caracalla ruled as sole emperor. To secure the loyalty of the legions, he instituted substantial pay increases for military personnel, elevating annual legionary stipends to approximately 675 or 750 denarii. Funding these vast military expenditures placed unprecedented demands upon the imperial treasury, prompting further debasement of the silver coinage. Under Septimius Severus in AD 194 to 195, the denarius had been reduced to an intrinsic silver purity of roughly fifty to fifty-five percent, down from the higher standards maintained in the early Antonine era. Caracalla maintained this debased metallic standard, striking denarii with a nominal theoretical weight hovering around 3.2 to 3.3 grams, equivalent to approximately one ninety-sixth of a Roman pound. Furthermore, AD 215 was precisely the year in which Caracalla introduced a new denomination, known modernly as the antoninianus or radiate double denarius. The new coin carried a radiated crown indicating a tariff of two denarii, despite containing only about one and a half times the silver weight of a standard denarius. Within this dual-denomination environment, traditional laureate denarii like RIC IV Caracalla 268 continued to be struck in substantial quantities at the central mint to satisfy the ongoing transactional demands of civil administration, imperial expenditure, and legionary disbursement.

Production and Mints

RIC IV Caracalla 268 was struck exclusively at the principal imperial mint situated in the city of Rome. The Rome mint operated as a highly regimented manufacturing facility organized into separate workshops or officinae, which shared the burden of mass-producing gold, silver, and base-metal coinages. Metallurgical analyses of contemporary Severan denarii reveal a consistent manufacturing process involving cast blank flans that were hammered between hand-engraved bronze dies. The alloy used for denarii during AD 215 was deliberately standardized to approximately fifty to fifty-five percent silver, combined with a copper balance and trace elements of lead, bismuth, and tin that were typical of regional smelting and remelting practices. Surviving specimens of this catalogue number typically range between 2.8 and 3.5 grams in overall mass, reflecting typical ancient weight variations within an issue struck al marco, where a fixed number of planchets were produced from each pound of alloy rather than weighing every blank individually. Die axes on Rome mint products of this era show a predominant tendency toward upright or slightly irregular alignment, typically clustered around twelve o'clock or six o'clock orientations. The engravers at Rome demonstrated a high level of technical proficiency and stylistic homogeneity, rendering crisp imperial lettering and well-proportioned figurative motifs that distinguished metropolitan work from the sporadic provincial imperial strikes produced during Caracalla's eastern travels.

Obverse Iconography and Style

The obverse of RIC IV Caracalla 268 presents a right-facing, mature portrait of Caracalla. The emperor is depicted bare-necked with a laurel wreath tied at the back of the head, the ribbons descending gracefully behind the neck. In contrast to the youthful, idealized portraits of his early co-reign under Septimius Severus, late portraits from AD 215 emphasize a stern, formidable military presence. The artistic treatment showcases deeply carved facial features, including a heavy brow, a tightly set jaw, prominent cheekbones, and short, curly hair paired with a closely cropped military beard. This fierce, energetic expression was an intentional stylistic choice propagated by Rome mint sculptors and die engravers to reflect virtus, disciplined alertness, and solidarity with the Roman army. The laurel wreath rests securely on his head, serving as a time-honored attribute of imperial authority and military triumph, reinforcing his status as an unassailable commander-in-chief.

Reverse Iconography and Design

The reverse iconography of RIC IV Caracalla 268 depicts Pax, the Roman personification of peace and concord, standing draped and facing toward the left. She wears a long chiton or stola that cascades to her feet, rendered with naturalistic folds by the Rome die engravers. In her outstretched right hand, Pax extends an olive branch, the universal classical symbol of reconciliation, clemency, and cessation of hostilities. In her left hand, she holds a long, vertical sceptre resting on the ground, representing sovereign authority, lawful rule, and divine sanction. The juxtaposition of a warlike, stern imperial portrait on the obverse with the gentle figure of Pax on the reverse was a foundational paradox of Roman imperial ideology: durable peace was achieved and preserved through overwhelming military strength. Although Caracalla was heavily engaged in preparations for his eastern campaigns against the Parthians around AD 215, the display of Pax reaffirmed that his strategic victories on the northern frontier had successfully subdued external enemies, bringing peace to the Roman world.

Inscriptions and Epigraphy

The inscriptions on RIC IV Caracalla 268 provide essential historical and epigraphic data that establish the date and public messaging of the type. The obverse legend reads ANTONINVS PIVS AVG GERM, rendered in neat imperial capitals starting from the lower left and running clockwise around the portrait. The abbreviation stands for Antoninus Pius Augustus Germanicus. Caracalla held the official imperial name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Pius Augustus, while the honorific title GERM abbreviates Germanicus Maximus, which had been conferred following his military campaigns against the Alamanni along the Rhine and Danube in AD 213. The reverse legend carries the unabbreviated official titulature P M TR P XVIII COS IIII P P, reading clockwise along the rim. This expands to Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate duodevicesimum, Consul quartum, Pater Patriae. The elements identify Caracalla as Chief Priest, holder of tribunician power for the eighteenth time, consul for the fourth time, and Father of his Country. Because Caracalla received his initial tribunician power in late AD 197 or early AD 198, the eighteenth iteration of his tribunician authority began on December 10, AD 214, and extended through December 9, AD 215, conclusively fixing the production of this coin type within AD 215.

Typology and Chronological Sequence

Within the standardized typology established in Roman Imperial Coinage Volume IV, Part I, RIC 268 forms part of a cohesive series of dated issues struck during the year of Caracalla's eighteenth tribunician power. The mint of Rome organized output during AD 215 around a diverse programmatic repertoire of reverse personifications, deities, and imperial actions. Parallel denarius types bearing the identical reverse formula P M TR P XVIII COS IIII P P feature representations of Jupiter holding thunderbolt and sceptre, Apollo holding a branch and lyre, Mars in full armor, Aesculapius with a staff and serpent, Fides Militum holding legionary standards, and the emperor himself sacrificing or driving a quadriga. Within this broader emission cycle, RIC 268 is defined specifically by the standing figure of Pax holding a branch and sceptre. The type must be distinguished from neighbouring catalogue entries, such as RIC IV 267 (which depicts Apollo), RIC IV 269 (which depicts Serapis), or earlier issues of Pax struck during Caracalla's joint reign with Septimius Severus or Geta that carry different tribunician years or obverse titulatures lacking the GERM epithet. The strict presence of TR P XVIII dates the production of RIC 268 unequivocally to AD 215, making it an essential chronological benchmark in Severan numismatics.

Circulation, Hoards, and Deposition

Following its manufacture in Rome, RIC IV Caracalla 268 entered a widespread circulation network that spanned both western and eastern sectors of the Roman Empire. Denarii struck under the Severan dynasty circulated extensively through the middle of the third century AD. Despite the parallel issuance of the new antoninianus beginning in AD 215, laureate denarii remained the primary silver denomination used for daily commercial market transactions and civilian accounting for over two decades. The debased alloy of around fifty percent silver prevented significant melting or hoarding compared to older pre-Severan high-purity silver, allowing coins of Caracalla to travel far along military frontiers. Specimens of Caracalla's AD 215 denarii are frequently recorded in coin hoards discovered throughout Roman Britain, Gaul, the Rhineland, the Danube basin, and the Levant, often found alongside later issues of Elagabalus, Severus Alexander, and the Gordians. They only fell out of regular circulation when the rapid silver crises of the AD 240s and 250s, coupled with the massive production of billon radiates under Trajan Decius, Trebonianus Gallus, and Valerian, effectively drove early third-century denarii out of active market exchange and into hoard concealment.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. pp. 450-452
2. Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. pp. 125-132
3. Coining Images of Power: Patterns in the Representation of Roman Emperors on Imperial Coinage, A.D. 193-284. pp. 177-185
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Caracalla 268. ric.4.crl.268
5. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part I: Pertinax to Geta. p. 250, no. 268