Damnatio Memoriae Caracalla Geta Nike AE Medallion RARE

Description

Damnatio Memoriae Caracalla Geta Nike AE Medallion RARE. Damage? Sort of. "Damnatio memoriae is the Latin phrase literally meaning "condemnation of memory" in the sense of a judgment that a person must not be remembered. It was a form of dishonor that could be passed by the Roman Senate upon traitors or others who brought discredit to the Roman Senate. The intent was to erase someone from history, a task somewhat easier in ancient times, when documentation was much sparser. The sense of the expression damnatio memoriae and of the sanction is to cancel every trace of the person from the life of Rome, as if he had never existed, in order to preserve the honour of the city; in a city that stressed the social appearance, respectability and the pride of being a true Roman as a fundamental requirement of the citizen, it was perhaps the most severe punishment."- Forvm.
To find an official damnatio memoriae coin is a very rare feat, as not all of these condemnations on coins were official. Caracalla murdered his brother Geta in 212 AD. They were co-emperors and had their portraits together on coins and medallions, such as this medallion. After Geta was murdered, Caracalla ordered that portraits of Geta be destroyed, which is exactly what happened here. The obverse depicts Geta (removed by damnatio memoriae) and Caracalla facing eachother, the reverse Nike. Even though it was an ancient Roman practice, damnatio memoriae can be seen in the recent past, as Vladimir Lenin and Josef Stalin had photos altered to erase people from history. Similar practices, such as "cancelling" a person, can be seen up to the present day as well. This medallion is a very rare coin.
A similar example sold for ,100 plus buyers fee, or around ,500 in a CNG sale many years ago.