Caracalla, 198-217. Denarius (Silver, 20 mm, 3.27 g, 6 h), Rome, 216-217. ANTONINVS PIVS AVG GERM Laureate head of Caracalla to right. Rev. VICT PARTHICA Victory seated right on cuirass, inscribing shield set on her knees with VO/XX in two lines; below, helmet. BMC 89. Cohen 656 var. (with javelin and hook in exergue). RIC 314a. Scarce. A clear and attractive example. Extremely fine.


The reverse of this coin commemorates Caracalla's alleged victory against the Parthians in 216. The campaign was, in fact, little more than a pillaging raid on the western provinces of a Parthan Empire that was torn by a civil war between Artabanos IV and Vologaeses VI. Driven by his manic imitatio alexandri, Caracalla intended to launch a large scale invasion of the Parthian Empire in 217 to conquer the whole of the East, a megalomaniac plan that may have played a role in his downfall and murder in April 217 by Macrinus and other members of his entourage.