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Coin Detail
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ID:     24-153
     [UNVERIFIED]
Type:     Roman Imperial
Issuer:     Macrinus
Date Ruled:     A.D. 217-218
Metal:     Gold
Denomination:     Aureus
Struck / Cast:     struck
Date Struck:     AD April-December 217
Weight:     7.33 g
Obverse Legend:     IMP C M OPEL SEV MACRINVS AVG
Obverse Description:     Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right
Reverse Legend:     PONTIF MAX T_R P COS P P
Reverse Description:     Jupiter standing left, holding thunderbolt in right hand and sceptre in left
Mint:     Rome
Primary Reference:     RIC 016
Reference2:     BMC 30 and pl. 79, 2 (these dies)
Reference3:     Calicó 2949
Reference4:     C -; Vagi 1880
Photograph Credit:     Numismatica Ars Classica NAC AG
Source:     http://www.arsclassicacoins.com/
Price Sold For:     26000 Swiss Franc
Date Sold:     12/05/2002
Grade:     gEF
Notes:     NAC Auction 24, Lot 153 Very rare. A very attractive portrait struck in high relief Ex NAC sale 8, 1995, 886. A trusted administrator under the Severans, Macrinus rose to become one of two praetorian prefects under the emperor Caracalla. He took a leading role in the plot to murder his benefactor, having himself enlisted the assassin. Three days after Caracalla's assassination, Macrinus was nominated Augustus by the soldiers after pretending to show sorrow for his master's death. For a time he continued the war against the Parthians, but soon tired of it and sued for peace, offering the enemy large payments in exchange for a non-aggression pact. This did not bode well with the soldiers, who perhaps wanted to pursue the campaign and have an opportunity to claim there share of the legendary wealth of the East. Thus, many soldiers soon deserted to the cause of a new rival, the 14-year-old grandnephew of Julia Domna, Elagabalus, who was alleged to be an illegitimate son of Caracalla. When the opponents finally clashed near a small Syrian village outside Antioch, the forces of Elagabalus got the upper hand and Macrinus fled the field. He made his way in disguise as far as Calchedon before he was captured and executed