Caracalla, 198-217. Sestertius (Orichalcum, 33 mm, 24.00 g, 12 h), Rome, 213. M AVREL ANTONINV[S] PIVS AVG BRIT Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Caracalla to right, seen from behind. Rev. P M TR P X[VI] IMP II / COS IIII P P / S C Bird's-eye view of the Circus Maximus: In the foreground, arcades with a final arch on the right side, surmounted by a quadriga; behind it and at the left end of the colonnades, another arch with a quadriga; in the background the rear boundary of the Circus with the spectator stands, enclosed in it the tetrastyle temple of Sol; in the arena, on the spina, the large obelisk erected by Augustus; at the end on the left and right the metae, in the spaces in between the equestrian statue of Trajan and the shrine of Cybele. BMC 251. Cohen 236. RIC 500a. Very rare. Pierced and with some roughness and a flan crack, otherwise, very fine.



The Circus Maximus, a stadium used for chariot racing and beast hunts, was the largest venue for public games in the ancient world. Measuring 621 meters in length and 118 meters in width, it could accommodate an impressive 150,000 spectators. Philip V. Hill (The Monuments of Ancient Rome as Coin Types) suggested that this issue commemorates extensive construction works at the Circus Maximus undertaken by Caracalla in AD 213, including a planned rebuilding of the starting-gate area. Most prominent on the reverse of this coin is the Flaminio Obelisk, which stood at the center of the spina (or euripus). It was originally carved under Pharaoh Seti I, inscribed under his son and successor Ramses II, and brought to Italy in 10 BC together with the Montecitorio Obelisk during the reign of Augustus.