The New York Sale
Auction LI 12 Jan 2021
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Septimius Severus, with Caracalla, as Caesar. Gold Aureus (7.41 g), AD 193-211. Rome, AD 204(?). IMPP INVICTI PII AVGG, Jugate heads of Septimius Severus, laureate, draped and cuirassed, and Caracalla, laureate and draped, right. Reverse: VICTORIA PARTHICA MAXIMA, Victory advancing to left, holding wreath and palm branch. RIC 311; F. W. Madden, "An Account of the Collection of Roman Gold Coins of the late Duke de Blacas, purchased, with other Antiquities, for the British Museum," NC 1868, pl. IX, 5 (this coin); BMC 266; Calicó 2597b (same obv. die). Extremely Rare. Boldly struck with minor edge file marks. Very Fine. Estimated Value $15,000
In 195, Septimius Severus invaded Mesopotamia and occupied the Parthian cities of Seleucia and Babylon. Two years later he launched a further campaign and sacked Ctesiphon, the Parthian royal capital. The war substantially weakened the Parthian kingdom, which was already suffering considerably from internal stresses, and led to its eventual collapse in the 220s when the Sasanian Persians gained control. This extremely rare aureus, which we have been able to trace to the famous nineteenth century collection of the Duke de Blacas, a French antiquarian upon whose death in 1866 his heirs sold most of his extensive collection of coins and antiquities to the British Museum for the astounding sum of £1,200,000, was seemingly struck to mark the dedication of the Arch of Septimius Severus in 203. The arch, which was faced in white marble and was built at the northwestern end of the Forum in Rome, commemorated the emperor's victories over the Parthians. Visitors to Rome today can still admire this remarkable monument, its long dedicatory inscription, and its sculptural reliefs, next to the Church of Saints Luca e Martina at the foot of the Capitoline Hill.
Ex Aufhäuser 6 (5 October 1989), 447; G. Hirsch 161 (22 February 1989), 860; Sir J. Evans and the Duc de Blacas Collections (Glendining & Co., 27 September 1962), 207; L. G. Schlesinger y Guzman Collection (Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, 20 July 1914), 168; Collection J. E. [Sir John Evans] (Rollin et Feuardent, 26-27 May 1909), 188 (realized 400 French francs); Duc de Blacas Collection.
In 195, Septimius Severus invaded Mesopotamia and occupied the Parthian cities of Seleucia and Babylon. Two years later he launched a further campaign and sacked Ctesiphon, the Parthian royal capital. The war substantially weakened the Parthian kingdom, which was already suffering considerably from internal stresses, and led to its eventual collapse in the 220s when the Sasanian Persians gained control. This extremely rare aureus, which we have been able to trace to the famous nineteenth century collection of the Duke de Blacas, a French antiquarian upon whose death in 1866 his heirs sold most of his extensive collection of coins and antiquities to the British Museum for the astounding sum of £1,200,000, was seemingly struck to mark the dedication of the Arch of Septimius Severus in 203. The arch, which was faced in white marble and was built at the northwestern end of the Forum in Rome, commemorated the emperor's victories over the Parthians. Visitors to Rome today can still admire this remarkable monument, its long dedicatory inscription, and its sculptural reliefs, next to the Church of Saints Luca e Martina at the foot of the Capitoline Hill.
Ex Aufhäuser 6 (5 October 1989), 447; G. Hirsch 161 (22 February 1989), 860; Sir J. Evans and the Duc de Blacas Collections (Glendining & Co., 27 September 1962), 207; L. G. Schlesinger y Guzman Collection (Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, 20 July 1914), 168; Collection J. E. [Sir John Evans] (Rollin et Feuardent, 26-27 May 1909), 188 (realized 400 French francs); Duc de Blacas Collection.