Macrinus Bronze Sestertius, RIC IV Macrinus 209

Monetary Context and Denominational Function

During the brief fourteen-month reign of Marcus Opellius Macrinus from April 217 to June 218 AD, the imperial currency system maintained the traditional denominational hierarchy established under Augustus and modified by the Severan dynasty. Within this framework, the sestertius occupied a central role as the largest regular base-metal denomination in daily commerce. Historically struck in orichalcum, a brass alloy of copper and zinc, the sestertius by the early third century AD had experienced noticeable metallurgical drift, often containing recycled scrap bronze, minor lead admixtures, and depleted zinc levels. Despite these metallurgical shifts, the sestertius retained its tariffed value of four copper asses, two dupondii, or one-quarter of a silver denarius. The broad flan of the denomination made it the preferred vehicle for public political communication and monumental imperial ideology, circulating widely among the civilian populations of Italy and the western Roman provinces. In contrast to smaller silver denominations which were frequently absorbed into military pay chests and rapidly hoarded or exported, large bronze issues like RIC IV Macrinus 209 functioned primarily within domestic markets, making them ideal platforms for broadcasting state victories, senatorial harmony, and imperial legitimacy.

Production Standards and Mint Operation

RIC IV Macrinus 209 was produced exclusively at the primary imperial mint in Rome. An exceptional circumstance of Macrinus's principate was that the emperor never visited the capital; his entire reign unfolded in the eastern provinces, primarily in Syria and Antioch, following the assassination of Caracalla near Carrhae. As a result, the production of base-metal coinage at Rome was managed by the senatorial and equestrian mint administration through imperial dispatches, portrait models, and written instructions forwarded from the East. Die engravers in Rome prepared heavy cast flans that were subsequently hot-struck between engraved iron dies. Sestertii of Macrinus exhibit considerable weight dispersion due to al marco striking, where a specified number of coins was produced from a given pound of metal rather than individually adjusted to strict tolerances. Documented specimens of this general issue span roughly 19.5 to 27.0 grams, centering around 22.0 to 24.5 grams, with die diameters consistently exceeding 30 millimeters. Production relied on standard vertical die alignment or slightly rotated orientations customary at the Rome mint during the late Severan era.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC IV Macrinus 209 presents the laureate, cuirassed bust of Macrinus facing right. In numismatic scholarship, the portraiture of Macrinus at the Rome mint is divided into distinct chronological phases, as demonstrated in the foundational studies of Curtis L. Clay and Harold Mattingly. Upon Macrinus's accession, the mint engravers in Rome possessed no firsthand likeness of the new ruler. Consequently, the earliest Rome dies rendered Macrinus with severe, heavily furrowed features, a short cropped beard, and an aggressive scowl that strongly mirrored the established portrait style of Caracalla, intended to smooth the dynastic transition. As authentic portrait sketches arrived from Antioch during the autumn of 217 AD, the die-cutters adopted a longer, flowing beard, a more aristocratic profile, and a more benevolent countenance. On RIC IV Macrinus 209, the emperor is depicted wearing military armor, with the breastplate cuirass visible beneath the imperial drapery or laurel ties, visually reinforcing his position as commander-in-chief of the legions despite his equestrian origins and lack of extensive senatorial military prestige.

Reverse Iconography: Victoria Parthica

The reverse design displays the personification of Victoria, winged and draped, seated toward the right upon a military cuirass. Her left knee is elevated to support a round or oval shield, which she prepares to inscribe with an honorific inscription or record of victory using her right hand. Piled beneath and behind the seated goddess is an assemblage of captured enemy arms and armor, including additional shields and possibly greaves or bows. This intricate iconographic scheme represents an adaptation of classical Hellenistic and Roman victory monuments, specifically celebrating the Victoria Parthica. In Roman visual culture, the seated Victory inscribing a shield symbolized the durable institutionalization of military success, conveying that the triumph had been accomplished, recorded for posterity, and ratified by the gods. The design deliberately transformed the costly and bloody engagements of the 217 AD Parthian campaign, in which Macrinus's forces suffered heavy tactical losses outside Nisibis against the armies of Artabanus IV, into an unalloyed Roman conquest. Flanking the seated goddess in the lower field are the large letters S and C, denoting the formal authority of the Senate.

Epigraphic Analysis and Titulature

The inscriptions on RIC IV Macrinus 209 combine standard imperial titles with an explicit foreign victory claim. The obverse reads IMP CAES M OPEL SEV MACRINVS AVG, expanding to Imperator Caesar Marcus Opellius Severus Macrinus Augustus. The initial Imperator and Caesar denote supreme military imperium and imperial status, while Marcus Opellius represents Macrinus's family and gentilic nomenclature. Crucially, the inclusion of SEV for Severus represents an intentional political fiction: though Macrinus was an equestrian from Caesarea in Mauretania with no genealogical connection to Septimius Severus, adopting the Severan name was vital to conciliate the legions and senatorial elite devoted to the memory of the dynasty. The reverse legend reads VICTORIA PARTHICA, an unambiguous declaration of victory over the Parthian Empire. Unlike many contemporary issues that include dated tribunician designations such as TR P or TR P II, or consular notations such as COS, this reverse type relies entirely on the thematic victory epithet. The accompanying field inscription S C abbreviates Senatus Consulto, certifying that the coinage was issued under the traditional decree of the Senate in Rome.

Typology and Chronological Sequence

RIC IV Macrinus 209 forms part of a coordinated multi-metallic propagandistic issue struck alongside corresponding gold aurei and silver denarii carrying the Victoria Parthica reverse. Following the indecisive Battle of Nisibis in the summer or early autumn of 217 AD, Macrinus negotiated a peace treaty with King Artabanus IV, agreeing to substantial financial indemnities and the return of captive personnel in exchange for the cessation of hostilities. To maintain imperial authority, the regime concealed the financial settlement and announced a complete victory over the Parthians to the Senate in Rome. The production of the Victoria Parthica coinage commenced in late 217 AD, once dispatches concerning the eastern settlement reached the capital, and continued into early 218 AD. Within the typology of Macrinus's bronze coinage, RIC 209 is cataloged as a distinct entry based on the specific cuirassed bust combination, standing alongside related variants featuring draped busts or alternative imperial gestures. It represents the primary base-metal expression of the Parthian victory program before the rebellion of Elagabalus in May 218 AD brought an abrupt end to the reign.

Circulation, Hoards, and Archaeological Context

Because sestertii of Macrinus were produced over a period of less than a year, they are substantially scarcer in the archaeological record than issues of long-reigning Severan predecessors such as Septimius Severus or Caracalla. Sestertii struck at Rome circulated predominantly throughout the Italian peninsula, the Danubian frontier, and the western provinces including Gaul, Britain, and Hispania. In these territories, large bronze pieces remained in circulation for decades, often passing hand to hand until the monetary disruptions of the mid-third century AD. Hoard evidence demonstrates that third-century bronze currency pools frequently contained a low percentage of Macrinus sestertii mixed among worn second-century specimens and heavier third-century types. When retrieved from excavation sites, surviving examples of RIC IV Macrinus 209 typically show moderate to heavy circulation wear, reflecting the intensive commercial use of bronze coins during the inflationary period preceding the reign of Gallienus, after which the sestertius ceased to be produced as an effective commercial denomination.

References

1. Coin Hoards and Hoarding in the Roman Empire. pp. 88-102
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. pp. 512-515
3. The Roman Coinage of Macrinus and Diadumenian. Numismatische Zeitschrift, Vol. 93, pp. 21-40
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Macrinus 209. ric.4.mcs.209
5. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 20, no. 209