We recently bought a new dishwasher. I saved $150 by carving out a Saturday afternoon to install it myself. So I treated myself to a coin I had been watching on Vcoins for a while.
Macrinus, 217-218
AR Denarius
Laureate scruffy bearded head right, IMP C M OPEL SEV MACRINVS AVG
Salus seated left, holding patera out to
Mr. Noodles her father's snake and giving him a little pat on the head
Marcus Opellius Macrinus was born in 164 to an equestrian family. He enters history as a distinguished lawyer in Rome, serving the praetorian prefect of emperor Septimius Severus. He earned the trust of Caracalla, and was himself nominated as praetorian prefect in 212.
The relationship soured quickly in early 217 when a prophet foretold that Macrinus would depose of Caracalla to replace him. We don't know what Caracalla intended, but Macrinus feared for his life and hired the most disgruntled soldier, Justin Martialis, to assasinate the emperor. Martialis was killed while attempting to flee. Caracalla had no heir, and after a three day interregnum, Macrinus either declared himself emperor, or accepted nomination from the troops.
The Senate ratified the nomination, relieved to be rid of Caracalla, but detested Macrinus for his "low" background. His popularity with the army declined rapidly when he negotiated peace with Parthia and attempted to restore stability by increasing the fineness of the denarius and decreasing army pay.
Macrinus tried to force Julia Domna out of Antioch, but she responded by starving herself to death while she succumbed to her already advanced breast cancer. Her sister Julia Maesa was forced back to Syria but not relieved of her vast personal fortune, which she used to buy the loyalty of the Army there while spreading the rumor that her 14 year old son, later called Elagabalus, was Caracalla's illegitimate son and rightful heir. Elagabalus was hailed as emperor from Antioch, and the remnants of the army loyal to Macrinus were defeated in battle. Macrinus fled the battle, shaved his beard and attempted to flee to Rome, but he was identified, arrested, and he and his 10 year old son Diadumenian were executed.
I actually quite like the reverse of this coin. Salus was a very common deity on coins in the period. As the daughter of Aesclepius the healer, she was responsible for keeping his snakes fed and happy when they weren't on magical stick duty. On coinage, she was the embodiment of the health of the Roman state. One very interesting theory here:
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/mo...e_salus.htmlIs that her attentiveness to the snake indicates the urgency with which she is needed. Simply holding the patera out indicates that things are pretty good; giving him a reassuring pat indicates that Rome needs some good healing. By the time of Gallienus, she is shown shoving the poor snake's head into the bowl.
Believe it or not, this is actually not my first Macrinus, as I actually found an AE from Antioch in positively horrid condition some time back. This is a very welcome upgrade!
Posted 03/12/2017 10:26 am
