Heritage World Coin Auctions
NYINC Signature Sale 3061 7-8 Jan 2018
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Septimius Severus (AD 193-211). AV aureus (20mm, 7.25 gm, 12h). NGC Choice MS 5/5 - 5/5. Rome, AD 194. L SEPT SEV PE-RT AVG IMP II, laureate head of Severus right / DIS AVSP-ICI-B TR P II, Hercules (on left) and Bacchus standing, each nude with body facing and head turned left; Hercules holds club in right hand and lion skin draped over left arm, Bacchus, holds small wine pitcher (oinochoe) over panther in right hand and thyrsus in left; COS II P P in exergue. RIC 25. BMCRE 58. Cohen 113. Calicó 2445a (R1). Very rare, and likely the finest specimen extant. With a magnificent portrait of Severus and a wonderful reverse type.
Ex Roma Numismatics 3, (3 March 2012), lot 497 (realized $103,800 hammer).
L. Septimius Severus was the first Roman emperor of African origins, and this superb aureus makes an oblique reference to his background. Struck in A.D. 194, the reverse depicts the demigods Hercules and Bacchus, both patron deities of the emperor's hometown of Leptis Magna on the North African coast. Severus greatly favored his native province and his hometown in particular. The impact of his generosity, in the form of a massive building campaign, can still be seen in the city's well-preserved ruins today. Hercules and Bacchus were also known as the "Divine Heralds" (Dis Auspibus) who mediated between humankind and the Olympian deities, and are so named in the legend.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 50000-60000 USD
Septimius Severus (AD 193-211). AV aureus (20mm, 7.25 gm, 12h). NGC Choice MS 5/5 - 5/5. Rome, AD 194. L SEPT SEV PE-RT AVG IMP II, laureate head of Severus right / DIS AVSP-ICI-B TR P II, Hercules (on left) and Bacchus standing, each nude with body facing and head turned left; Hercules holds club in right hand and lion skin draped over left arm, Bacchus, holds small wine pitcher (oinochoe) over panther in right hand and thyrsus in left; COS II P P in exergue. RIC 25. BMCRE 58. Cohen 113. Calicó 2445a (R1). Very rare, and likely the finest specimen extant. With a magnificent portrait of Severus and a wonderful reverse type.
Ex Roma Numismatics 3, (3 March 2012), lot 497 (realized $103,800 hammer).
L. Septimius Severus was the first Roman emperor of African origins, and this superb aureus makes an oblique reference to his background. Struck in A.D. 194, the reverse depicts the demigods Hercules and Bacchus, both patron deities of the emperor's hometown of Leptis Magna on the North African coast. Severus greatly favored his native province and his hometown in particular. The impact of his generosity, in the form of a massive building campaign, can still be seen in the city's well-preserved ruins today. Hercules and Bacchus were also known as the "Divine Heralds" (Dis Auspibus) who mediated between humankind and the Olympian deities, and are so named in the legend.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 50000-60000 USD