Geta, As Caesar, Denarius

Geta (as Caesar), denarius, AR, AD 198–209; struck at Rome c. AD 200–202, 3.17 g, 19 mm.

P SEPTIMIVS GETA CAES; bare-headed, draped bust right. PROVID DEORVM; Providentia standing left, holding wand over globe and cornucopia. Struck at the Rome mint on standard Severan denarius fabric. RIC IV Geta 51. Issued for Geta during his tenure as Caesar under Septimius Severus, this type proclaims Providentia Deorum—divine foresight safeguarding the imperial house—at a time of dynastic consolidation following Severus’ eastern campaigns. The coin belongs to the propaganda program that advertised the stability of the succession alongside Caracalla; Geta would be raised to Augustus in AD 209 and murdered by Caracalla in AD 211, after which his memory was subjected to damnatio memoriae.