P SEPTIMIVS GETA CAES, bare-headed and draped bust right / SEVERI PII AVG FIL, Lituus, knife, jug, simpulum and sprinkler. 19mm, 3.01 grams. Leodicea mint, struck 203 CE. RIC 107; RSC 189.

Well-struck high quality coin, with much of the original luster still intact.

Geta (Publius Septimius Geta, 189–211 CE) was a Roman emperor who briefly ruled jointly with his older brother Caracalla after the death of their father, Septimius Severus. Born in Rome, Geta was made Caesar in 198 and later elevated to co-Augustus in 209, sharing power within the Severan dynasty. The relationship between the two brothers quickly deteriorated into intense rivalry, reportedly dividing the imperial court and even the imperial palace. In December 211 CE, Caracalla arranged Geta’s assassination during a supposed reconciliation meeting in the presence of their mother, Julia Domna. Afterward, Caracalla ordered a damnatio memoriae, erasing Geta’s name and image from inscriptions, coins, and monuments throughout the empire.