Caracalla, 198-217. Sestertius (Orichalcum, 31 mm, 24.62 g, 12 h), with incuse edge inscription at 12 and 6 o'clock: ΤAΤΗΔΟC - ΘЄPAΠΙΣ. Rome, 215. M AVREL ANTONINVS PIVS AVG GERM Laureate and cuirassed bust of Caracalla to right, seen from behind. Rev. P M TR P XVIII IMP III COS IIII P P / S - C Aesculapius standing front, head to left, leaning right on serpent-entwined staff; at his feet to right, globe; to left, Telesphorus standing facing. BMC 278. Cohen -. RIC 538b. A lovely sestertius of Caracalla with a highly interesting added edge inscription. Light deposits and with minor weakness and very light doubling on the reverse, otherwise, good very fine.


This highly interesting sestertius of Caracalla carries an extraordinary edge inscription. It was added secondarily by filing the edge, creating an incuse, retrograde legend on raised tablets: ΤΑΤΗΔΟΣ – ΘЄΡΑΠΙΣ, placed with precision at 12 and 6 o’clock on the coin. Its meaning and purpose are elusive.

Therapis is a Greek word best translated as 'paying court to, favouring,' derived from θεράπων ('attendant, servant'). At the same time, Therapis is also attested as a personal name. Tathedos is harder to explain. Since -δος is a characteristic genitive ending, the most plausible reconstruction is the personal name Tathis, with ΤΑΤΗΔΟΣ understood as its genitive (perhaps with itacistic spelling). The inscription would then be read most naturally as 'Therapis, son (or child) of Tathis.'

Why Therapis chose to mark this coin remains unclear. In any case, this is not a simple ownership graffito. The technical effort is considerable, and the combination of incuse cutting and mirror reversal on raised tablets points strongly to a stamping function: when pressed into a softer material such as wax or lead, the device would yield a raised impression with the text correctly oriented. Even so, it remains puzzling why a simple sestertius was reworked for this purpose, and why the two parts of the inscription were not placed together, but instead set apart so deliberately.

It is possible that the altered sestertius carried a cultic significance beyond any practical use. The θεραπευ- root lies strikingly close to the sphere of Asclepius, since θεραπεύω can also mean 'to treat medically.' Therapis may therefore have deliberately selected a sestertius depicting Asclepius in order to add his name to it. This is further suggested by the orientation of the edge inscriptions: they read correctly when the coin is held with Asclepius uppermost, but appear upside down when viewed from the emperor’s side - perhaps indicating that the reverse type served as the intended point of reference.