Caracalla, 198-217. Sestertius (Orichalcum, 34 mm, 32.00 g, 12 h), Rome, 213. M AVREL ANTONINVS PIVS AVG BRIT Laureate and cuirassed bust of Caracalla to right, seen from behind. Rev. PM TRP XVI IMP II / COS IIII PP / SC View of the Circus Maximus with an arcade of twelve arched entrances (Duodecim Portae) in the front; inside, central spina, with obelisk of Rameses II in the middle; to its right, three chariots racing to left; at both ends, the meatae, the one on left with large arch surmounted by quadriga standing right; at far end of the track, shrine of Sol. RIC 500b. Banti 47. BMC 251 var. (bust draped and cuirassed) and pl. 75, 4 (same reverse die). Cohen 236. Hill 1372. Very rare. Retoned and with some corrosion, otherwise, very fine.

The Circus Maximus, a stadium for chariot racing and beast hunts, was the largest venue for public games in the ancient world. 621 meters in length and 118 meters wide, it could accommodate an impressive 150,000 spectators. Philip V. Hill ('The Monuments of Ancient Rome as Coin Types') suggested that this issue marks extensive construction works on the Circus Maximus undertaken by Caracalla in 213, which included a planned rebuilding of the starting gate area. Most prominent on the reverse of this coin is the Flaminio Obelisk which decorated the middle of the central spina or euripus, carved under Pharao Seti I, inscribed under his son and succesor, Rameses II, and brought to Italy in 10 BC together with the Montecitorio Obelisk under Augustus.