335, Lot: 514. Estimate $100. Sold for $500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Caracalla. AD 198-217. AR Denarius (18mm, 2.66 g, 7h). Rome mint. Struck AD 208. Laureate head right / Caracalla on horseback right, holding spear; before horse, soldier or Virtus standing right, head left, holding spear and shield. RIC IV 107 note; RSC 512. Good VF, iridescently toned, flan crack. Rare.

In AD 208, Septimius Severus and his family set out for Britain on a military campaign against the Caledonians on the northern frontier. Together with his elder son, the co-emperor Caracalla, he campaigned vigorously beyond the imperial frontier, penetrating far into Scotland. This denarius was minted in Rome to commemorate Caracalla’s departure from the city on his way to the British campaign.