Macrinus Sestertius RIC IV Macrinus 125

Monetary Context and Denominational Role

The sestertius remained the premier heavy copper-alloy denomination of the Roman monetary system during the early third century AD. Established during the Augustan currency reforms as a large orichalcum (brass) coin valued at four asses or one quarter of a silver denarius, the sestertius functioned as the workhorse of domestic accounting, market transactions, and civic state expenditures. By the accession of Macrinus in AD 217, the Roman monetary system was experiencing cumulative fiscal pressure inherited from the Severan dynasty, which had increased military pay and expanded state budgets. Although Caracalla had altered silver denominations through the introduction of the radiate antoninianus and progressively reduced the fineness of the denarius, the large base-metal denominations maintained substantial physical continuity. RIC IV Macrinus 125 represents this conservative monetary tradition at Rome. The sestertius was not merely a medium of exchange; its broad diameter and generous flan surface made it the premier vehicle for state announcements directed toward the civilian population of Rome and Italy, where large bronze coins circulated most intensively. The production of sestertii under Macrinus in AD 217 underscored the administrative normalcy of the state, signaling that imperial distributions, urban commerce, and senatorial ceremonial continued without interruption despite the sudden termination of the Severan dynastic line.

Production Standards and Mint Operation

All specimens corresponding to RIC IV Macrinus 125 were manufactured at the principal imperial mint in Rome. Although Macrinus remained in the East throughout his brief reign and never visited the imperial capital in person, the mint of Rome operated under senatorial administrative tradition and imperial equestrian oversight, executing coin dies according to standard models forwarded to or generated by the urban authorities. Sestertii of this period were struck from cast flans made of copper alloy, traditionally orichalcum, though chemical analyses of early third-century aes demonstrate variable proportions of zinc, tin, and lead. The blank flans were heated prior to striking between engraved iron dies using heavy manual hammers. Surviving examples of RIC IV Macrinus 125 show standard third-century metrological variations, with recorded weights generally spanning approximately 20 to 26 grams and flan diameters ranging between 29 and 32 millimeters. Die alignment was predominantly vertical, adhering closely to the six o clock or twelve o clock axis characteristic of the urban Roman mint. Die engraving at Rome in AD 217 maintained high artistic and technical standards, rendering detailed hair, beard, and textile textures that distinguish urban products from the contemporaneous eastern imperial issues produced at Antioch.

Obverse Portraiture and Iconography

The obverse of RIC IV Macrinus 125 presents the bust of Macrinus facing right, wearing the imperial laurel wreath and military cuirass. Die cutters at Rome faced a notable challenge in early AD 217 because they had to construct the portrait of a new ruler who had never appeared publicly in the city as emperor. Initial dies from the first emission incorporated certain generalized Severan facial mannerisms, notably a heavy brow and compact beard reminiscent of Caracalla. As official models or physical descriptions arrived from the imperial headquarters in Syria, Roman engravers established Macrinus's characteristic iconographic profile: a prominent nose, deeply set eyes, tightly cropped or curled hair bound by the ties of the laurel wreath, and a distinctive, neatly squared beard extending along the jawline. The cuirass, visible at the base of the neck and shoulder, reinforces his status as supreme commander of the Roman military, draped over a tunic and fastened at the shoulder. This militarized depiction served an essential legitimizing function, projecting stern authority, discipline, and vigil to a senatorial establishment that remained suspicious of an equestrian prefect elevated by soldiers.

Reverse Iconography of Salus Publica

The reverse design depicts Salus, the Roman personification of health, well-being, and public safety, seated left upon a low stool or throne. In her right hand she extends a patera, a shallow libation bowl, from which she feeds a sacred serpent that rises and coils around an upright, decorated sacrificial altar set before her feet. In her left hand, Salus holds an upright sceptre or transverse staff, resting her arm comfortably against her side while her drapery cascades in classicized folds across her lap. The motif of feeding a snake at an altar derives from long-standing Greco-Roman cult practices associated with divine healing and the preservation of the state. The serpent represents rejuvenating vital force and protection, while the altar and patera signify continuous religious devotion and ritual propriety performed on behalf of the Roman people. In the context of late AD 217, the personification of Salus Publica carried profound political weight. Coming immediately after the assassination of Caracalla and ongoing military confrontations against the Parthian Empire along the eastern frontier, the image assured Roman citizens that the physical welfare and public security of the commonwealth remained intact under the new regime.

Epigraphy and Legend Analysis

The obverse inscription reads IMP CAES M OPEL SEV MACRINVS AVG, rendering the expanded Latin title Imperator Caesar Marcus Opellius Severus Macrinus Augustus. The legend incorporates the praenomen and gentilicium of Macrinus (Marcus Opellius) while adopting the surname Severus to manufacture nominal continuity with the popular dynasty of Septimius Severus. The titles Imperator and Augustus frame the nomenclature, establishing supreme executive and constitutional authority. The reverse inscription reads SALVS PVBL P M TR P, completed in the lower field by the prominent abbreviation S C across the left and right fields. SALVS PVBL abbreviates Salus Publica (Public Safety or Welfare), directly naming the allegorical deity depicted in the field. The accompanying titles P M TR P represent Pontifex Maximus and Tribunicia Potestate. The absence of an iterative numeral following TR P confirms that the coin was authorized during Macrinus's first tenure of tribunician power, which commenced upon his accession in April AD 217 and lasted until his assumption of the second tribunician power in late December AD 217 or early AD 218. The letters S C represent Senatus Consulto (by decree of the Senate), reflecting the traditional constitutional sanction under which all Roman bronze and brass coinage was officially struck in the capital.

Typology and Chronological Placement

Within the typology of Macrinus's coinage defined by Harold Mattingly and Edward Sydenham in Roman Imperial Coinage, RIC IV Macrinus 125 is classified squarely within the first emission of bronze coinage struck at Rome in AD 217. Chronological assignment is anchored securely by the unnumbered tribunician formula TR P, which precludes attribution to the second tribunician term (TR P II) initiated around December AD 217. Parallel types struck during this inaugural issue feature related reverse personifications, such as Fides Militum, Securitas Temporum, and Felicitas Temporum, forming a coherent thematic program intended to calm domestic anxieties. RIC 125 is specifically distinguished from adjacent catalog entries by its precise combination of portrait bust attributes and reverse iconography: it features a laureate and cuirassed bust rather than a laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust, and depicts Salus seated left rather than standing holding a sceptre or feeding a snake from an altar while upright (which appears under separate catalogue numbers). The rapid succession of tribunician formulas under Macrinus ensures that the production window of RIC 125 was restricted to the second half of AD 217, making it a tightly dated chronological benchmark in third-century numismatics.

Circulation, Hoarding, and Archaeological Context

Because the reign of Macrinus spanned only fourteen months from April AD 217 to June AD 218, the total volume of his coinage was relatively modest compared to the extensive outputs of the Severan emperors before him and Elagabalus after him. Sestertii of RIC IV Macrinus 125 circulated primarily within Italy and the European provinces of the empire, where the civic demand for large bronze denominations remained steady. Archaeological findspots and hoard evidence indicate that early third-century sestertii experienced prolonged active circulation, frequently passing through commerce for decades alongside worn issues of the Antonine and Severan rulers. Because the intrinsic value of base-metal bronze coins was substantially lower than their nominal tariffed rate, specimens were seldom melted down during short-term currency recalibrations. Consequently, extant specimens of RIC IV Macrinus 125 frequently exhibit moderate to heavy surface wear, smoothing of high relief points such as the cheek and laurel wreath, and characteristic green or brown patina resulting from centuries in varied soil environments. Their presence in western coin hoards deposited during the middle of the third century demonstrates the durable utility of early third-century sestertii in regional trade networks.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. p. 518, nos. 115-117
2. The Coinage of Macrinus, Actes du 8eme Congres International de Numismatique. pp. 211-224
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Macrinus 125. ric.4.mcs.125
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 14, no. 125