Macrinus Silver Denarius RIC IV Macrinus 24b

Monetary Context

The accession of Macrinus in April AD 217 occurred against a backdrop of deep fiscal strain caused by Caracalla's massive military expenditure and monetary manipulation. While Caracalla had introduced the double denarius or antoninianus in AD 215, the traditional denarius remained the primary silver denomination of imperial Roman accounting, tax payments, and daily transactions. Macrinus inherited an army whose loyalty was precarious and whose expectations of pay remained elevated. Struck to the late Severan weight standard hovering around 3.1 to 3.3 grams, denarii of this emission maintained an alloy composed roughly of 50 to 55 percent silver, continuing the alloy debasement established under his predecessor. Through issues such as RIC IV Macrinus 24b, Macrinus sought to present an image of administrative continuity and constitutional legality, reassuring both the Senate and the provinces that the empire was financially sound and stable under new leadership.

Production and Mints

RIC IV Macrinus 24b was produced by the imperial mint in Rome, which operated under senatorial administrative tradition even while the new emperor remained stationed in the eastern provinces. Although Macrinus also initiated coinage at Antioch to supply the eastern legions, the style, fabric, and epigraphy of RIC 24b are characteristic of the metropolitan mint at Rome. Engravers in Rome worked from official imperial despatches, creating obverse dies that captured the new ruler's portrait based on official models or imperial descriptions sent from Syria. The physical execution demonstrates standard Roman workshop practice of the third century, employing hand-carved bronze dies striking heated silver planchets between hinged or aligned dies, yielding a regular medal or coin orientation typically around 12 o'clock or 6 o'clock.

Obverse Imagery and Iconography

The obverse of RIC IV Macrinus 24b features the laureate, draped, or cuirassed bust of the emperor facing right, specifically catalogued in variant 24b with a cuirassed bust and a longer, fuller beard. This facial treatment is an essential typological marker in the numismatics of Macrinus. Early issues from the metropolitan mint depicted him with a short, cropped beard, reflecting unfamiliarity or early portraits resembling Caracalla, whereas the longer beard reflects his later, standardized likeness depicting mature dignity and intellectual gravitas. The laurel wreath symbolizes imperial authority and victorious prestige, while the cuirass underscores his supreme command over the Roman legions, despite his civilian equestrian background before rising through the Praetorian Prefecture.

Reverse Iconography and Design

The reverse of the coin presents Securitas, the personification of Roman security, safety, and tranquility. She is depicted draped and standing toward the left, her legs casually crossed in an established classical stance indicating serenity and unconcern in the face of peril. Securitas rests her left elbow upon a low column or cippus, a compositional device signifying firm foundation, stability, and enduring support for the state. In her right hand, she holds a long vertical sceptre, denoting sovereignty and divine protection. This imagery functioned as overt imperial propaganda, calculated to assure citizens and troops that the abrupt transition of power and the violent elimination of Caracalla had not compromised the security and peaceful continuity of the Roman world.

Epigraphy and Legends

The obverse inscription reads IMP C M OPEL SEV MACRINVS AVG, representing Imperator Caesar Marcus Opellius Severus Macrinus Augustus. The inclusion of Severus was a deliberate political adoption designed to align Macrinus with the popular memory of Septimius Severus and retain the favor of the Danubian and Syrian legions. The reverse legend carries the imperial titular formula PONTIF MAX TR P COS P P, abbreviating Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate, Consul, and Pater Patriae. The absence of an iteration number following TR P securely places the emission in his first tribunician year, while the single COS confirms production prior to the commencement of his second consulship on January 1, AD 218.

Typology and Chronology

In the standard classification of Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham in Roman Imperial Coinage, type 24 is divided into subtypes based on portraiture and drapery: RIC 24a features a short beard, while RIC 24b features the longer beard with a cuirassed bust. The chronological framework of Macrinus's coinage was refined in modern scholarship by Curtis L. Clay, who established that the mint of Rome operated in distinct phases based on the evolution of imperial portraiture and changes in imperial titles. Because RIC 24b records TR P and COS without iteration, it belongs strictly to the initial issue period of AD 217. It was superseded late in AD 217 and early in AD 218 by issues designating TR P II and COS II, providing a tight chronological window of several months between summer and late December AD 217.

Circulation and Monetary Life

Denarii of type RIC 24b entered general circulation across the European, Danubian, and Mediterranean provinces alongside older Severan, Antonine, and early imperial denarii. Due to the brief duration of Macrinus's reign of fourteen months, his overall volume of mintage was modest compared to the vast emissions of Septimius Severus and Caracalla. Hoard evidence from Britain, Gaul, Germany, and the Balkans demonstrates that Macrinus's denarii circulated until the mid third century, frequently surviving in hoards deposited during the reigns of Severus Alexander and Gordian III. Because they shared the approximate 50 percent silver standard of late Caracallan coinage, they were treated on par with contemporary issues and only disappeared when massive debasement under the mid third-century emperors drove them into hoards or melting pots.

References

1. The Roman Imperial Coinage of Macrinus and Diadumenian, Numismatische Zeitschrift 93. pp. 21-40
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. p. 498
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Macrinus 24b. ric.4.mcs.24b
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 5, no. 24b