Macrinus Silver Denarius, RIC IV Macrinus 60c

Monetary Context and Historical Setting

The emission of RIC IV Macrinus 60c occurred during a turbulent transitional phase in early third-century Roman imperial coinage. Following the assassination of Caracalla near Carrhae in April of AD 217, Marcus Opellius Macrinus, then praetorian prefect, was acclaimed emperor by the eastern legions. As the first ruler elevated to the purple from the equestrian order rather than the senatorial aristocracy, Macrinus faced pressing legitimacy challenges alongside immediate financial strain. The Roman state was burdened by an expensive ongoing war against the Parthian Empire and vast military subsidies instituted by Caracalla. In response, Macrinus sought to enact fiscal reforms aimed at checking monetary debasement. While Caracalla had introduced the double denarius or antoninianus around AD 215, Macrinus largely suspended the mass production of that new denomination at Rome, preferring to concentrate silver output on the traditional denarius. Under Macrinus, the denarius saw an attempt to maintain or slightly restore the metal fineness, which had hovered near fifty percent silver under late Severan issues. Struck against this backdrop, the denarius of type RIC IV Macrinus 60c functioned not only as an instrument of state finance and troop remuneration but also as ideological propaganda aimed at projecting fiscal normalization, legitimacy, and an era of renewed imperial fortune.

Production Standards and Mint Attribution

The production of RIC IV Macrinus 60c is securely attributed to the imperial mint at Rome, which operated continuously to supply the central empire with silver and bronze currency while the emperor remained in the East. Although Macrinus himself never visited Rome during his reign, the senatorial capital maintained regular striking operations using established workshop divisions. Numismatic scholarship, particularly through the classification work of Harold Mattingly and Curtis Clay, separates the imperial coinage of Macrinus between the primary mint at Rome and an eastern mint traditionally located at Antioch. Type 60c belongs to the output of Rome, identifiable by its fabric, classical lettering, and coherent stylistic sequence. Denarii of this period were struck on cast flans with manually engraved dies, resulting in normal manufacturing variations in flan thickness, centering, and die alignment, with reverse dies predominantly oriented in an upright or near-upright position. Weight standards for these denarii typically centered between 2.8 and 3.4 grams, with a nominal diameter between 19 and 21 millimeters. Metallurgical analyses of Severan and Macrinian denarii from the Rome mint indicate an alloy of roughly fifty to fifty-five percent silver, combined with copper and trace lead, reflecting the strict technical controls enforced by the urban moneta.

Obverse Iconography and Portrait Classification

The obverse of RIC IV Macrinus 60c features a right-facing bust of Macrinus, laureate, draped, and cuirassed, notable for its mature beard. Numismatic analysis divides the coinage portraits of Macrinus into distinct stylistic stages. The earliest portraits struck at Rome initially resembled Caracalla or exhibited a shorter, closely cropped military beard, as the urban die engravers had not yet observed the new ruler in person and relied upon official templates or generalized likenesses. As official models arrived from the East, the Rome mint introduced a second, highly distinctive portrait series. This later group depicts Macrinus with an elongated, full beard, a receding hairline, and heavier, dignified facial contours that reflected his actual appearance and mature age. Variety 'c' of RIC IV Macrinus 60 is defined specifically by the combination of this elongated beard with both drapery and a cuirass over the bust, distinguished from varieties featuring only drapery (60a) or only a cuirass (60b). The laurel wreath, tied at the back of the head with ribbons extending down the neck, symbolizes triumph and supreme military command, reinforcing his imperial status to the populace handling the coinage.

Reverse Iconography: Felicitas and Imperial Ideology

The reverse of RIC IV Macrinus 60c displays the standing figure of Felicitas, the Roman personification of good fortune, fruitful success, and general blessedness. The goddess is portrayed in a traditional classical posture, draped in a long stola that falls to her feet, facing left. In her right hand she holds an upright, long caduceus, the staff entwined by snakes that served as an ancient emblem of peace, commerce, and harmonious balance. Cradled in her left arm is a brimming cornucopiae, the horn of plenty signifying agrarian abundance and imperial generosity. This pairing of attributes conveyed a comprehensive message: the peace facilitated by the caduceus naturally brings forth the material prosperity embodied by the cornucopiae. For Macrinus, who inherited a severe military confrontation with Parthia and discontent among the legions over reduced pay rates, the appeal to Felicitas was a deliberate effort to pivot public attention toward peace and social stability. Rather than emphasizing aggressive martial glory, the reverse presented the emperor as the guarantor of peaceful domestic flourishing and institutional equilibrium.

Epigraphy and Titulature Analysis

The epigraphy of RIC IV Macrinus 60c exhibits the well-regulated lettering characteristic of early third-century Rome mint die-cutters, rendered in neat, serifed capital letters. The obverse legend reads IMP C M OPEL SEV MACRINVS AVG. This inscription is a dense contraction of his imperial title: 'Imperator Caesar Marcus Opellius Severus Macrinus Augustus'. Of particular political significance is the inclusion of 'SEV' for Severus. By formally assuming the cognomen Severus into his official imperial nomenclature, Macrinus sought to establish a fictional dynastic continuity with the popular dynasty of Septimius Severus, thereby appealing to the loyalties of the Roman legions and urban citizenry. The reverse legend, FELICITAS TEMPORVM, translates as 'The Felicity of the Times' or 'The Blessed Fortune of the Age'. In the grammatical genitive of description or nominative assertion, this formulaic phrase was a staple of imperial propaganda, asserting that the present era under the ruler's guidance was characterized by divine favor and civic contentment, standing in implicit contrast to the anxieties and violent disruptions of Caracalla's final years.

Typological Variants and Chronological Sequence

Within the typology of Roman imperial numismatics, RIC IV Macrinus 60 represents a widespread reverse type that was executed across several distinct bust varieties. The overarching type 60 pairs the FELICITAS TEMPORVM reverse with Macrinus's titles, but sub-varieties document precise adjustments in mint practice and portraiture. RIC IV 60a comprises specimens displaying a laureate, draped bust; RIC IV 60b comprises those showing a laureate, cuirassed bust; and RIC IV 60c designates the composite drapery and cuirass worn over the shoulder, accompanied by the longer, mature beard style. Chronologically, the emission of type 60 commenced in AD 217 and continued into AD 218. The appearance of the longer beard firmly dates the striking of variety 60c to the latter half of Macrinus's reign, typically assigned to late AD 217 through the spring of AD 218. This chronology is confirmed by hoard contexts and die studies where identical reverse dies of FELICITAS TEMPORVM are linked with obverse dies bearing Macrinus's second consulship (COS II), which commenced on January 1, AD 218, shortly before his overthrow by the forces supporting Elagabalus in June of that year.

Hoard Evidence and Monetary Circulation

Despite Macrinus's reign lasting only fourteen months, denarii of the FELICITAS TEMPORVM series were produced in substantial quantities and entered general monetary circulation across the Roman Empire. Evidence from major silver hoards discovered in Britain, Gaul, the Rhine frontier, and the Danubian provinces demonstrates that Macrinus's Rome-mint denarii circulated alongside both earlier Antonine and Severan silver and subsequent issues of Elagabalus and Severus Alexander. Because Macrinus did not suffer a formal and universal damnatio memoriae that resulted in systematic melting or mechanical defacement of his silver currency, his denarii remained in everyday commercial pools for decades. Hoards such as the Shapwick hoard in Britain and several continental finds reveal that denarii of type RIC IV Macrinus 60c were retained in hoards buried as late as the mid-third century. Progressive wear patterns observed across circulating specimens demonstrate that these coins fulfilled active transactional roles in local economies and frontier military commerce, with their intrinsic silver content allowing them to circulate alongside debased antoniniani until the monetary crises of the AD 250s and 260s drove earlier denarii out of circulation.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. pp. 498-502
2. The Roman Coinage of Macrinus and Diadumenian. Numismatische Zeitschrift 93, pp. 21-40
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Macrinus 60c. ric.4.mcs.60c
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus. p. 10, no. 60c