Lot 3191
Caracalla. Silver Denarius (3.26 g), AD 198-217. Rome, AD 212. ANTONINVS PIVS AVG BRIT, laureate head of Caracalla right. Reverse : PM TR P XV COS III P P, armored elephant walking right. RIC 199; BMC 47; RSC 208. Scarce. Virtually as struck on a nice full flan. Lustrous surfaces, delicately toned. Nearly Mint State.
The elephant on this coin likely represents a beast presented for the public games held in AD 212. By this time in Roman history the elephant was quite a familiar creature, legionaries having first encountered elephants at the Battle of Heraclea against Pyrrhos of Epiros in 280 BC. Unlike the Greeks who used the beasts primarily for military purposes - one might think of the elephant as the ancient version of the tank - the Romans most often used the animal in triumphal processions and at public spectacles where, of course, many were brutally butchered for the enjoyment of the Roman mob. There was amongst some Romans, however, a certain awe or respect for these highly intelligent creatures. Pliny wrote "[the] elephant… in intelligence approaches the nearest to man. It understands the language of its country, it obeys commands, and it remembers all the duties which it has been taught. It is sensible alike of the pleasures of love and glory, and, to a degree that is rare among men even, possesses notions of honesty, prudence, and equity; it has a religious respect also for the stars, and a veneration for the sun and the moon." (Natural History, viii.1).
Estimated Value $2,000 - 2,500.
Ex NAC 46 (2 April 2008), 625.
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| Realized $5,875 |
