Caracalla — Virtus On Globe — Certificate Of Authenticity

A silver denarius of Caracalla, struck at Rome in AD 209, whose appeal to the collector lies in the very legible pairing of an obverse with a laureate portrait—still lightly bearded—and a Virtus reverse of particularly “programmatic” composition, since the military personification is shown facing, head turned right, the left foot set upon a globe, holding a spear and a parazonium—an arrangement precisely recognized and documented for the type RIC 112 / BMC 13 / Cohen 464.

Careful observation under ×10 magnification and raking light: the specimen stands out for a well-centered flan and clearly present peripheral beading, the portrait reading immediately through the laurel wreath, hair texture, and short beard, while on the reverse the Virtus figure retains its decisive markers—frontal stance, globe beneath the foot, spear shaft, and parazonium—which, by their overall coherence, suffice to establish a fully verifiable typological attribution.

Authority / period: Caracalla (AD 198–217).

Mint: Rome.

Denomination / metal: Denarius, silver (AR).

Diameter / weight: 19 mm; 3.43 g (as stated).

Obverse (reading and type): ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, laureate head right, with light beard, a typology consistent with the year of issue as indicated by the reverse titulature.

Reverse (reading and type): PONTIF TR P XII COS III, Virtus standing, facing, head right, left foot on globe, holding spear and parazonium.

References: BMC 13; Cohen 464; RIC 112.

Surface condition (descriptive observations): nuanced grey toning, with fine circulation marks consistent for a denarius of this module, and small peripheral flan irregularities typical of hammer striking, without affecting legend readability or the iconographic clarity of the type.

The titulature TR P XII places the issue within a phase in which Severan power emphasizes the close bond between sovereignty and the army, and the choice of Virtus—military virtue and civic courage—serves a particularly direct authority message: the globe beneath the foot signifies, in Roman symbolic language, an ordering mastery of the world, while the parazonium, a prestige weapon, signals less violence than the dignity of command.

For the collector, this denarius offers a highly sought synthesis: an expressive, well-typed portrait of Caracalla and a reverse of strong narrative density, where Virtus’ posture and the footing on the globe create an immediately memorable image, perfectly at home in a collection devoted to the Severans, political personifications, or the “military” types of Roman imperial silver.

The provenance is European, from an established numismatic dealer, and the acquisition was made through a specialized international transaction, conducted within a recognized numismatic network and validated to the highest standards of the art and heritage market; identification is established by concordance of legends and type with RIC 112 / BMC 13 / Cohen 464, as published and comparable in numismatic archives.
Each specimen is examined, described, and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity consistent with the standards of the art and heritage market, this notice being deliberately founded on a truth strictly verifiable through observation and consultable references, so that the collector’s confidence rests on controllable elements.