Watch List notes:

The Roman Empire
Septimius Severus, 193 – 211. Aureus, Uncertain Eastern mint (Emesa or Alexandria?) 193, AV 7.23 g.

Description: IMP CAE L SEP SEV PEPT AVG Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r. Rev. LEG – VIII – AV – G II COS Legionary Aquila between two standards. In exergue, TR P COS.

References: C –
BMC –
RIC –
H.-J. Kellner, Neue Fundmünzen aus Bayern, JNG 28/29, 1978/1979, 43 pl. 9, 1
Calicó –
Condition:Of the highest rarity, apparently only the second specimen known. An issue of tremendous importance and fascination with an unusual portrait and an interesting reverse type. Virtually as struck and almost Fdc
Provenance: Roma Numismatics sale 10, 2015, 814

Note: In the immediate aftermath following Pertinax's murder and the shameful episode where Didius Julianus bought the throne, the sixteen legions of the Rhine and Danubian frontiers acclaimed Septimius Severus emperor in April A.D. 193. The simple fact that his troops were the closest to the capital enabled him to effectively neutralize his first opponent, Clodius Albinus, with the simple expedient of offering him the title of Caesar, and the road was clear to the capital. He was in the city by the beginning of June, Julianus' having been eliminated by those who originally supported him, and the Senate confirmed the legions' acclamation of Septimius as emperor.
To reward his troops, Septimius promised a donative of 250 denarii per legionary, or around 22 million denarii. Thus, his first substantive issues minted at Rome were the legionary types struck to pay this donative. The reverse shows a legionary eagle (aquila) between two standards – a type copied from the denarii of Mark Antony struck before the decisive Battle of Actium in 31 B.C. – and have legends naming each loyal legion. Gold aurei were also struck with the legionary design, but only for three of the sixteen legions so commemorated: I Minerva, VIII Augusta, and XIIII Gemina. Why these three legions received the signal honour of having a gold issue struck is unclear.
In addition to the Rome mint legionary types, there is also a very rare series of eastern mint denarii struck for legions III Italica, VIII Augusta and XIIII Gemina, as well as two aurei in the name of VIII Augusta. One of the aurei is from Emesa (see BMC 337, pl. 15, 8; at the time of publication the identification of the mint as Emesa was not certain but was thought probable), while the other – of which our coins is the second of only two known specimens – was completely unknown until 1974, when an example which is slightly less pristine than ours was discovered in Bavaria (see the article by Kellner cited above). While our coin and the Bavarian find share both of their dies, they also share their obverse die with a unique aureus with a Fortuna reverse currently in the collection of the British Museum (see BMC 318, pl. 14, 8; ex Trau). The reverse of that coin depicts Fortuna standing left, holding a rudder and cornucopia, and has the legend FORTVNA ER-EDVCI (sic). In the BMC catalogue this last coin is attributed to an "uncertain" eastern mint and dated with reserve to A.D. 193, and has an additional note stating that the style is unparalleled in the coinage of Septimius Severus, an observation with which we fully concur.
One further point of interest regarding the present coin is the unusual compositional error of the reverse legend, with both II COS and TR P COS. This legend is perhaps also found on a denarius attributed to 'Emesa'(?) in the collection of the British Museum (see BMC 336, although the reading is unclear). This would suggest a possible date as late as A.D. 194. However, the fact that it is clearly an engraver's error and the aforementioned aureus with Fortuna reverse also exhibits an engraver's error in the reverse legend, combined with the "unparalleled" style seems to indicate that these exceedingly rare aurei were possibly struck at a mobile mint under erratic conditions.