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Monthly Auction 271726 25 Jun 2017
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Septimius Severus (AD 193-211). AR denarius (3.03 gm). NGC MS★ 5/5 - 5/5. Syria, Emesa, AD 194-195. IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG COS II, laureate head of Severus right / LIBE-R-A-L AVG, Liberalitas standing left, holding coin counter and cornucopia. RIC 400. RSC 283a. Scarce! A near-perfect specimen, deeply struck in lustrous metal, with lovely light toning. A gem!
The first Roman emperor of African descent, Lucius Septimius Severus was born on 11 April AD 145 in the important North African city of Lepcis Magna. His parents were P. Septimius Geta, a wealthy aristocrat of Punic (or Phoenician) lineage, and Fulvia Pia, an aristocratic lady from a prominent Italian family. Their connections enabled Severus to enter the Roman Senate during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Severus also served as an officer in the Roman Army under the general Pertinax and found the soldier's life much to his liking. During a tour of duty in Syria, he met the beautiful and brilliant Julia Domna, who became his second wife in AD 187. Talented and hardworking, he rose rapidly in the Senate hierarchy, becoming consul in AD 190 and proconsul of the strategic province of Pannonia Superior the following year. The assassination of Commodus on January 1, AD 193 brought his old patron Pertinax to the throne, but within three months Pertinax had been murdered by the Praetorians, who sold the throne to Didius Julianus. An outraged populace demanded that Pescennius Niger, governor of Syria, or Clodius Albinus, proconsul of Britain, depose Julianus and seize the throne. But Severus was much closer in Pannonia, with three legions at his disposal, and he struck first. Placating Albinus with the junior title of Caesar, Severus led his legions on a lightning march to Rome and easily disposed of the hapless Julianus. By a clever ruse, he disarmed the Praetorian guards and executed the murderers of Pertinax. After obtaining Senate recognition as legitimate emperor, he next marched against Niger and crushed his rebel regime in a brutally efficient campaign. Returning to Rome in AD 195, he raised his elder son Caracalla to the rank of Caesar, thus severing his pact with Clodius Albinus and igniting another civil war, which ended with Severus' victory at Lugdunum (Lyons) in AD 197. A bloody purge of Albinus' supporters in the Senate led many to call him "the Punic Sulla," but with his position secure, he ruled with competence and moderation.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 300-400 USD
Septimius Severus (AD 193-211). AR denarius (3.03 gm). NGC MS★ 5/5 - 5/5. Syria, Emesa, AD 194-195. IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG COS II, laureate head of Severus right / LIBE-R-A-L AVG, Liberalitas standing left, holding coin counter and cornucopia. RIC 400. RSC 283a. Scarce! A near-perfect specimen, deeply struck in lustrous metal, with lovely light toning. A gem!
The first Roman emperor of African descent, Lucius Septimius Severus was born on 11 April AD 145 in the important North African city of Lepcis Magna. His parents were P. Septimius Geta, a wealthy aristocrat of Punic (or Phoenician) lineage, and Fulvia Pia, an aristocratic lady from a prominent Italian family. Their connections enabled Severus to enter the Roman Senate during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Severus also served as an officer in the Roman Army under the general Pertinax and found the soldier's life much to his liking. During a tour of duty in Syria, he met the beautiful and brilliant Julia Domna, who became his second wife in AD 187. Talented and hardworking, he rose rapidly in the Senate hierarchy, becoming consul in AD 190 and proconsul of the strategic province of Pannonia Superior the following year. The assassination of Commodus on January 1, AD 193 brought his old patron Pertinax to the throne, but within three months Pertinax had been murdered by the Praetorians, who sold the throne to Didius Julianus. An outraged populace demanded that Pescennius Niger, governor of Syria, or Clodius Albinus, proconsul of Britain, depose Julianus and seize the throne. But Severus was much closer in Pannonia, with three legions at his disposal, and he struck first. Placating Albinus with the junior title of Caesar, Severus led his legions on a lightning march to Rome and easily disposed of the hapless Julianus. By a clever ruse, he disarmed the Praetorian guards and executed the murderers of Pertinax. After obtaining Senate recognition as legitimate emperor, he next marched against Niger and crushed his rebel regime in a brutally efficient campaign. Returning to Rome in AD 195, he raised his elder son Caracalla to the rank of Caesar, thus severing his pact with Clodius Albinus and igniting another civil war, which ended with Severus' victory at Lugdunum (Lyons) in AD 197. A bloody purge of Albinus' supporters in the Senate led many to call him "the Punic Sulla," but with his position secure, he ruled with competence and moderation.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 300-400 USD