The Wonderful World of Ancient Coin Collecting
Coinage of the Roman Empire


Obverse
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Coin Details

  

Set Details
Coin Description:
Grade: NGC VF Surface: 4/5 Surface: 4/5
Owner: RAM-VT
 
Set Category: Ancients
Set Name: The Wonderful World of Ancient Coin Collecting
Slot Name: Coinage of the Roman Empire
Research: Currently not available

Owner's Description

Roman Provincial Coinage Issue of Moesia Inferior, Marcianopolis Macrinus AD 217 - 218 AE27 (5 Assaria) Moushmov 536; Sear #2978 VF - Strike 5/5 - Surface 4/5 Census - NGC does not provide census info on ancient coins :>( The obverse shows the confronted portraits of Marcrinus and his son Diadumenian with an extensive Greek legend. The reverse shows Athena l. sacrificing, holding a spear in r. hand and an “E” in the l. field. Also with an extensive Greek legend Macrinus (Marcus Opellius Severus Macrinus Augustus; ca. 165 – June 218), was Roman Emperor from 217 to 218. Macrinus was of "Moorish" descent and the first emperor to become so without membership in the senatorial class. In the spring of 217, Caracalla was in the eastern provinces preparing a campaign against the Parthian Empire. Macrinus was among his staff, as were other members of the praetorian guard. In April, the emperor went to visit a temple of Luna near the spot of the battle of Carrhae, accompanied only by his personal bodyguard, which included Macrinus. Events are not clear, but it is certain that Caracalla was murdered at some point on the trip. Caracalla's body was brought back from the temple by his bodyguards, along with the corpse of a fellow bodyguard. The story as told by Macrinus was that the dead guard had killed Caracalla. By April 11, Macrinus proclaimed himself emperor. Macrinus displayed a tendency towards conciliation and a reluctance to engage in military conflict. He averted trouble in the province of Dacia by returning hostages that had been held by Caracalla, and he ended troubles in Armenia by granting that country's throne to Tiridates, whose father had also been imprisoned under Caracalla. Less easily managed was the problem of Mesopotamia, which had been invaded by the Parthians in the wake of Caracalla's demise. Meeting the Parthians in battle during the summer of 217, Macrinus achieved a costly draw near the town of Nisibis and as a result was forced to enter negotiations through which was obliged to pay the enormous indemnity of 200 million sesterces to the Parthian ruler Artabanus IV in return for peace. Nevertheless, Macrinus' reluctance to engage in warfare, and his failure to gain victory over even a historically inferior enemy such as the Parthians caused considerable resentment among the soldiers. This was compounded by him curtailing the privileges they had enjoyed under Caracalla and the introduction of a pay system by which recruits received less than veterans. After only a short while, the legions were searching for a rival emperor. Discontent with Macrinus was fostered by the surviving members of the Severan dynasty, headed by Julia Maesa (Caracalla's aunt) and her daughters. Having been evicted from the imperial palace and ordered to return home by Macrinus, the Severan women plotted from their home to place another Severan on the imperial throne. They used their hereditary influence over the cult of sun-deity Elagabalus to proclaim Soaemias' son Elagabalus as the true successor to Caracalla. The rumor was spread, with the assistance of the Severan women, that Elagabalus was Caracalla's illegitimate son and thus the child of a union between first cousins. Elagabalus was proclaimed emperor by the Legio III Gallica. A force under his tutor Gannys marched on Antioch and engaged a force under Macrinus. Macrinus, deserted by most of his soldiers, was soundly defeated in the battle and fled towards Italy disguised as a courier. He was captured and later executed. Macrinus' short reign, while important for its historical "firsts", was cut short due to the inability of this otherwise accomplished man to control or satisfy the soldiery. In his death at the hands of Roman soldiers, Macrinus reinforced the notion of the soldiers as the true brokers of power in the third-century empire and highlighted the importance of maintaining the support of this vital faction. My cost for this coin was $130.

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