Very early coinage for Macrinus at Rome

seth77 · December 21, 2024

The history is rather well-known: in April 217 during his Eastern campaign, a conspiracy sets up to assassinate Caracalla. The emperor is killed by one of his personal guards and a few days later Macrinus, a preatorian prefect and likely ringleader of the conspiracy, is proclaimed emperor. The Senate soon accepts him although he was not anywhere near Rome -- Macrinus would not set foot in Rome for the duration of his rule. Macrinus also receives symbolically that late spring or during the summer the ornamenta consularia.

During this period that starts in about mid to late April and ends once Macrinus receives the consular regalia for his first honorific consulship, the Senate struck a very scarce issue of coinage marking the new emperor's tribunicia potestas without a consulship. This is part of that issue, a copper as, cf. RIC 129 (with bust either draped and cuirassed or just cuirassed):

IMP C M OPEL SEV MACRINVS AVG; cuirassed laureate bust right with short trimmed beard
VOTA PVBL P M TR P; Fides standing l., holding standard in each hand, flanked by two other standards; S - C in fields.

This was probably the first issue ordered by the Senate for Macrinus and struck for a brief period in late spring to early summer 217, probably April/May-June. Base metal coinage for Macrinus and Diadumenian is usually scarce at Rome, the Senate was probably not very enthusiastic with a soldier-emperor who came from the equestrian class, but he was accepted and ratified since he put a stop to Caracalla's tyranny. The coinage at Rome shows this bare minimum interest of the Senate in the new emperor who had just been offered the allegiance of the troops in the far East of the empire. Hence, the rarity of his coins at this early stage of his reign.

Edited December 21, 2024 by seth77

Ocatarinetabellatchitchix · December 21, 2024

Nice one, and we don’t see them very often ! Another interesting fact about his coinage: When Macrinus heard that the eastern mint (Antioch ?) started to produce coins bearing the title COS II on January 1st of 218 AD, he ordered that the coin legends be restored to the usual correct version, COS. Thus, specimens with the COS II legend may actually pre-date the coins bearing the legend COS !