Preview
Creation Date
June/August to November/December 217
Geography
Minted in Marcianopolis (capital of Moesia Inferior, a Roman province incorporating the northeastern region of modern-day Bulgaria)
Culture
Roman
Medium
Bronze Pentassarion or 5-assarion piece (indicated by the Greek letter epsilon on the reverse – the fifth letter of the alphabet)
Dimensions
Diameter: 28.06 mm
Thickness: 3.07 mm
Weight: 12.50 g
Die Axis: 12
Credit Line
Gift of Brad Hostetler, 2022
Accession Number
2022.1
Provenance
Purchased from Ilya Zlobin of New York in 2022.
Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings
Obverse Legend
ΑΥΚ ΟΠΕΛ CΕΥ MAKREINOC K M ΟΠΕΛ ANTΩNEINOC (translation: imperator Caesar Opellius Severus Macrinus and Marcus Opellius Antoninus)
ΑΥΚ is an abbreviation for ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑΤΩΡ ΚΑΙΣΑΡ (autokratōr Kaisar), the Greek equivalent of the Latin titles imperator and Caesar, both of which were bestowed on the Roman emperor. Imperator (literally “general”) referred to the emperor in his capacity as leader of the troops, while Caesar indicated that he was the successor of Augustus Caesar.
Reverse Legend
ΥΠ ΠΟΝΤΙΑΝΟΥ ΜΑΡΚΙΑΝΟΠΟΛΙΤΩΝ (translation: while Pontianos was consular legate, of the Marcianopolitans)
References
Roman Provincial Coinage Volume V.1, which will include Moesian coinage from the period 193-218 C.E., has not yet been published. This means that there is not yet any standardized way to classify this coin based on type. Instead we must rely on the numbering systems in various publications, several of which are listed below in reverse chronological order.
- Hristova and Zhekov 2010: coin type nr. 6.24.39.3
- Moushmov 1912: coin type nr. 560
- Pick 1898: coin type nr. 770
Description
This coin was minted in the names of Macrinus and Diadumenian. Marcus Opellius Macrinus was Roman emperor from April 217 to June 218; he declared his young son, Marcus Opellius Antoninus Diadumenian (b. 208), as his co-emperor. Extant accounts of his reign (Cassius Dio, Herodian, and the highly untrustworthy Historia Augusta) report that Macrinus was involved in the assassination of his predecessor Caracalla but escaped accusation and was declared emperor a couple days after the murder. It seems that Caracalla was planning to execute Macrinus, thus Macrinus’ decision to conspire against him. During Macrinus’ reign, he never visited Rome. Cassius Dio reports that the people were so pleased by the death of Caracalla that they initially loved Macrinus, but soon became disinterested in him (79.18-20). Ultimately, both Macrinus and Diadumenian were declared enemies of the state and executed after the usurpation of the next emperor, the fourteen-year-old Elagabalus.
The obverse depicts Macrinus (left) and Diadumenian (right) facing each other. This type is an attempt to establish dynastic continuity; the idea is that imperial power will move smoothly from Macrinus to Diadumenian. Ultimately, the assassination of both emperors showed this to be wishful thinking.
The reverse legend indicates that this coin was minted while P. Fu… Pontianus was the legatus Augusti (“legate of Augustus”) of Lower Moesia. As legate, he served as the emperor’s representative and was in charge of Lower Moesia’s administration. While there is much debate about his exact name and identity (Boteva 1996b, Okoń 2015), it is agreed that Pontianus governed in 217-218 C.E. (Hristova and Zhekov 2010). Historian Dilyana Boteva argues that his tenure can be further confined to the period between June/August and November/December 217 (Boteva 1996a). This is the dating that we have used here.
The reverse depicts the personification of Liberalitas, “Generosity.” She can be identified based upon her two attributes: in her left hand she holds a cornucopia, and in her right she holds what appears to be a rectangular object set upon a stick. There is much scholarly debate about what exactly this object is. In the past it has been referred to as a tessera (a token or voucher, distributed by an emperor, which can be exchanged for something of value) or an abacus. Instead it may be an object with no known Latin name, “an instrument for counting coins” (Metcalf 1993). Martin Beckmann argues that perhaps it is a box with slots in it to facilitate ease in counting and distributing coins, and offers up the term tabula for its nomenclature (Beckmann 2015). The terminology used for this object in Roman Imperial Coinage is a “coin scoop.” In either case, it is associated with the congiarium, the distribution of wealth by the emperor, and with Liberalitas as the personification of the emperor’s generosity. The reverse, then, is a typical representation of an emperor’s virtues, a relatively common emphasis for imperial coinage (Noreña 2001).
Bibliography
Beckmann, Martin. 2015. “The Function of the Attribute of Liberalitas and its Use in the Congiarium.” American Journal of Numismatics 27: 189–98.
Boteva, Dilyana. 1996a. “Legati Augusti pro praetore Moesiae inferioris A.D. 193-217/218.” Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 110: 239–47.
Boteva, Dilyana. 1996b. “On the Cursus Honorum of P. Fu... Pontianus (PIR2 F 496), Provincial Governor of Lower Moesia.” Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 110: 248–52.
Hristova, Nina and Gospodin Zhekov. 2010. The Coins of Moesia Inferior (1st–3rd c. AD): Marcianopolis. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria. [in Bulgarian with a brief English introduction]
Metcalf, William E. 1993. “Whose Liberalitas? Propaganda and Audience in the Early Roman Empire.” Rivista italiana di numismatica 95: 337-346.
Moushmov, Nikola. 1912. Античните монети на Балканския полуостров и монетите на българските царе. Sofia, Bulgaria. [English title: Ancient Coins of the Balkan Peninsula and Coins of the Bulgarian Kings]
Noreña, Carlos F. 2001. “The Communication of the Emperor’s Virtues.” The Journal of Roman Studies 91: 146–68.
Okoń, Danuta. 2015. “P. Fu(...) Pontianus, once again.” Philia 1:129-135.
Pick, Behrendt, ed. 1898. Die antiken Münzen von Dacien und Moesien. Volume I, Part 1 of Die antiken Münzen Nordgriechenlands. Berlin, Germany. [English title: The Ancient Coins of Dacia and Moesia]
Sara Landon ’24 and Prof. Rebecca Deitsch (for CLAS 393: Roman Numismatics)