Coin of Caracalla
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Single artifact case study, graded by design analogy.
What was done
The author conducted an iconographic and epigraphic examination of a single Roman provincial bronze coin from the Blick-Harris study collection. The obverse portrait features (curl pattern over the forehead and military attire) and fragmentary legend were analyzed alongside comparative numismatic literature, and the reverse design (snake intertwined around a tripod) was evaluated against known coin types and local religious cults of Ulpia Pautalia in Thrace.
What was found
The abstract provides no quantitative experimental metrics. Iconographic analysis revealed that the obverse legend and hair curl patterns correspond to Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Caracalla) rather than his brother Geta, correcting a previous attribution. The reverse iconography was identified as hailing from Ulpia Pautalia, linked to regional healing deities (Asclepius, Hygieia, Telesphorus, or Glycon) associated with the city's hot springs. The coin closely parallels an exemplar in the British Museum (museum number 2004,0405.189).
Why it matters
The analysis reclassifies a misattributed provincial coin within a university teaching collection and contextualizes provincial minting patterns and local health cult iconography in Roman Thrace under the Severan dynasty.
Limits
This is a descriptive analysis of a single coin (n = 1) in poor physical condition with an obverse legend that is extremely difficult to read. Definitive typological classification was precluded because the relevant volume of Roman Provincial Coinage had not yet been published.
Cited by
- supports The official reigning name of Roman Emperor Caracalla was Marcus Aurelius Antoninus.