Caracalla AE Sestertius, Rome mint AD 213, Libertas with pileus, RIC 498B

Caracalla, Sestertius, bronze; reign AD 198–217; Rome mint, AD 213; 25.50 g; 31 mm. Obv: M AVREL ANTONINVS PIVS AVG BRIT; laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right. Rev: P M TR P XVI COS IIII P P S C; Libertas standing left, holding pileus in right hand and vindicta (rod) in left; S C in field. Struck at Rome during Caracalla’s sixteenth tribunician year and fourth consulship, die-struck on a broad flan. RIC IV Caracalla 498B.

Issued in AD 213, this sestertius belongs to Caracalla’s mature reign. The BRIT title on the obverse reflects the imperial successes in Britain of AD 208–211 under Septimius Severus, which Caracalla continued to claim. The reverse enumerates his offices and presents Libertas with the pileus and vindicta, emblems of civic freedom and manumission; S C denotes senatorial authority over base‑metal coinage. Struck one year after the Constitutio Antoniniana of 212 that extended citizenship to most free inhabitants of the empire, the liberty motif aligns with contemporary themes in imperial policy.