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View: Obverse
Sestertius with bust of Macrinus
Roman
Imperial Period
A.D. 217–218
Mint: Rome (or Antioch?)
Medium/Technique
Bronze
Dimensions
Diameter: 33.5 mm. Weight: 26.52 gm. Die Axis: 11
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius C. Vermeule III
Accession Number1998.503
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsNumismatics – Coins
DescriptionObverse: Laureate, cuirassed bust of Macrinus to right.
Behind head: Este countermark, silver eagle.
IMPCAESMOPELSEVMACRINVSAVG
Reverse: Securitas standing, scepter in right hand.
Doublestruck on reverse.
SECVRITASTEMPORVM in field: S C
Behind head: Este countermark, silver eagle.
IMPCAESMOPELSEVMACRINVSAVG
Reverse: Securitas standing, scepter in right hand.
Doublestruck on reverse.
SECVRITASTEMPORVM in field: S C
ProvenanceBetween 1570s and 1614, Alfonso II d’Este (b. 1533 – d. 1597), Ferrara, or Cesare d’Este (b. 1561 – d.1628), Modena [see note 1]. By 1846, Giampietro Campana (b. 1808 – d. 1880), Rome; July 23, 1846, Cavaliere Campana sale, Sotheby’s, London, lot 1022 [see note 2]. May 23, 1865, Rev. W.L. Lawson sale, Sotheby’s, London, lot 206. By 1893, Hermann D. Weber (b. 1823 – d. 1918), London; June 30, 1893, Hermann D. Weber sale, Sotheby, London, lot. 223 [see note 3]. By 1949, Henry Platt Hall (b. 1863 – d. 1949), London; November 17, 1950, Henry Platt Hall sale, Glendining, London, lot 1763. By 1952, Leonard Steyning Forrer (b. 1895 – d. 1968); January 3, 1952, sold by Forrer to Cornelius C. Vermeule III; 1998, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius C. Vermeule III to the MFA. (Accession date: December 16, 1998).
Note
[1] The silver eagle countermark in the obverse indicates that the coin was once in the Este collection. For a history of those countermarks, see Hadrien J. Rambach, In Monte Artium: Journal of the Royal Library of Belgium, vol. 10 (2017), pp. 103-117; The Asylum (Spring 2018), pp. 13-17.
[2] Many thanks to Dr John Voukelatos for sharing the Campana, and Lawson provenance information. An annotated catalog reads “Bapaggio”? next to lot 1022.
[3] An annotated catalog lists “Seltman” as the buyer.
Note
[1] The silver eagle countermark in the obverse indicates that the coin was once in the Este collection. For a history of those countermarks, see Hadrien J. Rambach, In Monte Artium: Journal of the Royal Library of Belgium, vol. 10 (2017), pp. 103-117; The Asylum (Spring 2018), pp. 13-17.
[2] Many thanks to Dr John Voukelatos for sharing the Campana, and Lawson provenance information. An annotated catalog reads “Bapaggio”? next to lot 1022.
[3] An annotated catalog lists “Seltman” as the buyer.