The George W. La Borde Collection of Roman Aurei Part I
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Caracalla, 198 – 217
Aureus 216, AV 6.49 g. ANTONINVS PIVS AVG GERM Laureate head r. Rev. P M TR P XVIIII COS IIII P P Lion, radiate, advancing l., holding thunderbolt in its jaws. C 366. BMC p. 462, 178 note. RIC 283a. Calicó 2754 (these dies).
Extremely rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. A bold portrait and
a fascinating reverse composition. Good extremely fine
Provenance
Possibly Jules Desneux (1885-1962) Collection.
Sold by Adolph Hess A.G. & Bank Leu, auction 49, Lucerne, 27-28 April 1971, lot 409, estimated CHF 12’000, for CHF 15’500.
Claude Vaudecrane (1915-2002) Collection sold by Leu Numismatik, auction 93 (”A Perfectionist”), Zurich, 10 May 2005, lot 70.
Sold by Numismatica Genevensis S.A., Alain Baron expert, auction IV, Geneva, 11-12 December 2006, lot 203.

The radiate lion is an ancient symbol of the sun and the East – especially of Persia, the land which Caracalla was then determined to conquer as had his hero Alexander 'the Great'. The date of issue and the symbolism of the lion suggest this coin was part of a bonus paid to soldiers engaged in the emperor's Parthian campaign of circa 215-217.
The lion is symbolic of Persia, and in a broader sense it represents power and victory. It was also a member of the retinue of Bacchus, the mythical conqueror of the East. Since this lion carries in its mouth a bolt, however, it is linked to Jupiter, the supreme Roman deity. Though not an animal familiar of Jupiter, the lion was considered by many cultures to be the supreme creature of the animal hierarchy. On Caracalla's coinage, Jupiter assumed a dominant role after 213, and the bolt is yet another reference to him. In the eastern context of the solar lion, the reference may well be specific to the Syrian Zeus.
Persians, Chaldeans, Egyptians, Hindus and Celts all considered the lion to be a solar symbol, and the connection between the lion and the sun finds its roots in the earliest civilizations of the East. Babylonians and Egyptians placed the sun in the house of Leo, thus occupying the place in the zodiac during which the summer solstice occurred; indeed, the sign Leo was described as the ”abode of the sun”.
In the third century, solar worship began to assume increasing importance in the Roman world. That Caracalla would have chosen this badge personally is no surprise, for his maternal heritage was tied to the solar worship cults popular in the Syrian district and Emesa. We may also note that Caracalla was fascinated with lions: Dio Cassius (lxxix 1.5, 6.1 and 7.2) tells us he had a pet lion named Acinaces and that he called his elite Scythian and Celtic troops 'lions'; the Historia Augusta (6.4) also claims that he used lions in battle.