Geta augustus, 209 – 212
Aureus 210-212, AV 7.56 g. P SEPT GETA – PIVS AVG BRIT Laureate bust r., with drapery on l. shoulder. Rev. LIB AVGG VI ET V Caracalla and Geta seated l. on platform; in front, Liberalitas standing l., holding abacus and cornucopia; on steps of platform, citizen standing r. C 70 var. (no drapery). BMC 64 var. (no drapery). RIC 87 var. (no drapery and misdescribed). Calicó 2889 (these dies).
Very rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. A bold portrait of superb style
and an interesting reverse composition. Virtually as struck and Fdc

Ex Hamburger 76, 1925, 1253 and Leu 93, 2005, Perfectionist, 74 sales. Privately purchased from J. Vinchon in June 1953. From the Niklovits collection and from the Karnak Hoard of 1901.

Graded Ch AU Strike 5/5 Surface 4/5 Fine Style, NGC certification number 6556714-028

When this aureus was struck the fate of the empire was in the balance, for the brothers Caracalla and Geta were bitterly at odds. The congiarium (imperial bounty) celebrated on this coin took place upon the brothers' return to Rome after concluding a war against the Caledonians with their father, who died of natural causes at York early in February, 211. The inscription names the distribution as the sixth of Caracalla and the fifth of Geta, thus demonstrating there was no concord between the emperors. By now their relationship had been reduced to a bitter contest in which the elder Caracalla would prove victorious by murdering Geta before the year 211 had closed. The brothers are accompanied on the platform by Liberalitas, who personifies the distribution. She holds a cornucopia – a symbol of bounty – and a board with a handle that is perpetually mis-described as an abacus (a counting device). In fact, it is a flat board with circular depressions, each designed to accommodate a single coin. This made the distribution of the correct number of coins more efficient. In practice, these distributions would have been tightly controlled affairs, with many soldiers and bureaucrats on hand to assure they were handled properly. For evidence we need only examine a large frieze on the north face of the Arch of Constantine, on which a line of citizens with outstretched hands await the distribution of coins. In two windows above there is a repeated scene of togate officials and their assistants removing coins from a strongbox for placement in the depressions in the tray, which represented each citizen's allotment. Meanwhile, a secretary records each distribution on a scroll. Once filled, the trays are passed to a senior official at the emperor's side, at which point the coins are distributed.