Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XIII 23 March 2017
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Otacilia Severa AV Aureus. Rome, AD 245-247, in a gold pendant with an openwork border of leaf-pattern with a ribbed suspension loop. M•OTACIL SEVERA AVG, draped bust of Otacilia right, wearing stephane, hair in six tight waves with turned up plait / CONCORDIA AVGG, Concordia seated left, holding patera and double cornucopiae. R. Bland, 'The gold coinage of Philip I and family', in RN 171, 2014, pp. 93-149, 30 (OS10/O3); RIC Philip I 125; Calicó 3264. For a similar openwork gold setting with loop see: F.H. Marshall, Catalogue of the Jewellery, Greek, Etruscan and Roman, in the Department of Antiquities, British Museum, London 1969, pl. 68, 2937 (Philip I). 25.17g (including mount and chain), 28mm (coin in mount), 1h (coin).
Good Extremely Fine. Lustrous metal and unmarked surfaces with light reddish tone. Rare.
Little is known about Otacilia, the wife of Philip I, and the coinage struck in her name is rather typical of a third century empress. Honorary and milestone inscriptions tell us that Otacilia received the title 'Mater Castrorum' (mother of the camps) and may indicate that she accompanied Philip on his military campaigns, although the title does not appear on any of her surviving coinage. The reverse types of Otacilia emphasise her piety and role within the imperial family, as the personification of Concordia on this rare aureus. Concordia embodied harmony and her attributes, the patera and cornucopia, allude to the act of sacrifice and material abundance that arise from stable conditions. The concept of concord was often used to describe imperial marital harmony and represented the political relations which underpinned the empire as a whole.
Sixteen men would be given or claim the title of Augustus during the years 244 to 260, and many were met with an untimely death. Otacilia's husband Philip I was the first of this series of short-lived emperors, who reigned for just five years between 244 and 249. Philip was a praetorian commander serving under Gordian III on a campaign against Persia, when the army stationed in camp at Circesium on the Euphrates declared Philip emperor and murdered the young Gordian. Philip quickly agreed to pay 500,000 denarii, in addition to an annual indemnity, in order to secure peace terms with the Persian king Shapur so that he could return to Rome and consolidate his power.
Upon Philip's accession, Otacilia was given the title Augusta and their son, Philip the younger, was raised to the rank of Caesar and later promoted to Augustus in 247. The events of the following three years are unclear however; Philip seems to have spent much of his time on the Danube frontier fighting the Carpi for which he celebrated a triumph in Rome. The most significant event of his reign was the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the founding of the city, marked by a series of games in 248.
In the same year, the legions of Moesia and Pannonia declared their commander Tiberius Claudius Marinus Pacatianus emperor. The uprising on the Danube frontier was short lived for Pacatian was killed by his own men, but a second would soon break out in the east when Jotapian was proclaimed emperor. The rebellion was not crushed until the following year, and two other abortive rebellions are known from the coins struck by Silbannacus on the Rhine, and Sponsianus on the Danube.
Philip appointed a respected senator Quintus Decius Valerinus to be governor of the provinces of Moesia and Pannonia in an attempt to secure the loyalty of the legions in the Danube and repel an incursion by the Goths. This placed several legions under the control of Decius who were known to wish for a change of emperor. After Decius defeated the Goths in 249, he was proclaimed Augustus by his legions and marched on Rome. Philip was defeated near Verona and killed in the battle, and it is thought that once the news reached Rome, his son was murdered by the Praetorian Guard. It is unknown whether Otacilia suffered the same fate as her son or was allowed to live in retirement.
Good Extremely Fine. Lustrous metal and unmarked surfaces with light reddish tone. Rare.
Little is known about Otacilia, the wife of Philip I, and the coinage struck in her name is rather typical of a third century empress. Honorary and milestone inscriptions tell us that Otacilia received the title 'Mater Castrorum' (mother of the camps) and may indicate that she accompanied Philip on his military campaigns, although the title does not appear on any of her surviving coinage. The reverse types of Otacilia emphasise her piety and role within the imperial family, as the personification of Concordia on this rare aureus. Concordia embodied harmony and her attributes, the patera and cornucopia, allude to the act of sacrifice and material abundance that arise from stable conditions. The concept of concord was often used to describe imperial marital harmony and represented the political relations which underpinned the empire as a whole.
Sixteen men would be given or claim the title of Augustus during the years 244 to 260, and many were met with an untimely death. Otacilia's husband Philip I was the first of this series of short-lived emperors, who reigned for just five years between 244 and 249. Philip was a praetorian commander serving under Gordian III on a campaign against Persia, when the army stationed in camp at Circesium on the Euphrates declared Philip emperor and murdered the young Gordian. Philip quickly agreed to pay 500,000 denarii, in addition to an annual indemnity, in order to secure peace terms with the Persian king Shapur so that he could return to Rome and consolidate his power.
Upon Philip's accession, Otacilia was given the title Augusta and their son, Philip the younger, was raised to the rank of Caesar and later promoted to Augustus in 247. The events of the following three years are unclear however; Philip seems to have spent much of his time on the Danube frontier fighting the Carpi for which he celebrated a triumph in Rome. The most significant event of his reign was the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the founding of the city, marked by a series of games in 248.
In the same year, the legions of Moesia and Pannonia declared their commander Tiberius Claudius Marinus Pacatianus emperor. The uprising on the Danube frontier was short lived for Pacatian was killed by his own men, but a second would soon break out in the east when Jotapian was proclaimed emperor. The rebellion was not crushed until the following year, and two other abortive rebellions are known from the coins struck by Silbannacus on the Rhine, and Sponsianus on the Danube.
Philip appointed a respected senator Quintus Decius Valerinus to be governor of the provinces of Moesia and Pannonia in an attempt to secure the loyalty of the legions in the Danube and repel an incursion by the Goths. This placed several legions under the control of Decius who were known to wish for a change of emperor. After Decius defeated the Goths in 249, he was proclaimed Augustus by his legions and marched on Rome. Philip was defeated near Verona and killed in the battle, and it is thought that once the news reached Rome, his son was murdered by the Praetorian Guard. It is unknown whether Otacilia suffered the same fate as her son or was allowed to live in retirement.