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Roman Empire. Clodius Macer. Denarius 68, AR 3.95g.

Currency:CHF Category:Coins & Paper Money / Coins: Ancient Start Price:24,000.00 CHF Estimated At:30,000.00 CHF
Roman Empire. Clodius Macer. Denarius 68, AR 3.95g.
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The Roman Empire. Clodius Macer, April–October 68. Denarius, Carthago April-October 68, AR 3.95g. L CLODI MACRI Draped bust of Victory r.; at sides, S–C. Rev. LI–B–AVG Legionary eagle between two vexilla; in field below, above, exergual line LEG III. C 4. BMC 4. RIC 17. CBN 4. Hewitt, NC 1983 pl. 2,28 (this obverse die). Extremely rare. Two light scratches on reverse, otherwise good very fine / very fine. The opening months of the Civil War of A.D. 68-69 produced some of the most interesting Roman coins of the first century, including those by Vindex, Galba and Clodius Macer, who seems to have sparked his revolt in April of 68. It likely began in Numidia, where he commanded the Legio III Augusta (the legion named on this coin), but it soon was headquartered in Carthage, where Macer gained control of the local fleet and could, if necessary, threaten Rome's grain supply. Of all the coinages from the civil war, those of Clodius Macer are the most inventive. It is remarkable that he used the formulaic abbreviation S C (senatus consulto) on his denarii, for this abbreviation otherwise had not appeared on Roman silver coins since about 40 B.C. We may take this and his decision to portray himself without a laurel wreath or a diadem as evidence that he wished to portray his revolt as being against Nero, not the senate. Most coins of his contemporaries trumpet the predictable themes of loyalty, unity, recovery and victory, but Macer’s are restorative, recalling an event of precisely a century before: the battle of Actium in 31 B.C. Indeed, the reverse of this coin is inspired by the legionary denarii of Marc Antony, and the obverse may well copy denarii of Octavian struck immediately after Actium (BMCRR 4341). Macer perhaps believed it was no mere coincidence that Rome’s new revolutionary war was being waged in the centenary year of Actium, the battle that in essence had ended Rome’s previous civil war. Macer's coinage was the subject of a die study by Hewitt published in the 1983 Numismatic Chronicle, in which 77 dies were recorded for the series. Since 49 dies are known only from single coins, Hewitt estimated that the rebel's total coinage may have been produced with more than 180 dies. Thus, we must conclude that despite its low survival rate, Macer's coinage originally was substantial. The reasons for the low survival are probably political rather than monetary, for Hewitt has shown that the weight and purity of Macer's coins are in line with those of his contemporaries, and the surviving specimens are well preserved. The likely explanation is that they were withdrawn from circulation quickly to eliminate lingering evidence of Macer's uprising. These coins must then have been melted, with some or all of that metal being used for denarii subsequently produced at that same North African mint in the name of Galba.