Caracalla augustus, 198 – 217. Aureus 199-200, AV 20 mm, 7.13 g. ANTONINVS PIVS – AVG PON TR P IIII Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Caracalla r. Rev. P SEPT GETA – CAES PONT Bare headed, draped and cuirassed bust of Geta r. C 6. BMC 261 (these dies). RIC 53. Calicó 2864 (these dies). Very rare and in exceptional condition, among the finest specimens in private hands. Two extraordinary portraits in the finest style of the period, virtually as struck and almost FdcGraded Ch AU*, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 5/5, NGC photo certificate number 8769674-001 Ex NAC 71, 2013, Huntington, 255; Künker 333, 2020, 1125 and Oslo Myntgalleri 41, 2025, 866 sales. (Ex HSA 30074). Among the least ornate, yet the most beautiful of the Severan dynastic aurei is this issue with the bust of Caracalla on the obverse and that of his younger brother Geta on the reverse. Although the two boys were relatively close in age, Caracalla was hailed Augustus in 198, whereas Geta remained Caesar until 209. This piece was struck quite early in their Imperial experience, and the hatred that existed at this point was probably viewed as simple boyhood competitiveness rather than the true disdain into which it later evolved. By that time each had their own faction of supporters in Rome and throughout the empire, and after Caracalla had murdered Geta in their mother's arms, he wasted no time in tracking down and murdering a great many other people who had been loyal to Geta. Beyond that Caracalla went to great lengths to destroy busts and images of his brother, even to the point of having his portrait chiselled off of dual-portrait coins struck in the provinces. Please find here the video of the coin