Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 138 18-19 May 2023
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Septimius Severus, 193 – 211.
Aureus, Laodicaea ad Mare 198-202, AV 7.15 g. L SEPT SEV AVG IM – P XI PART MAX Laureate and cuirassed bust r., with aegis on breast. Rev. VICTO – RIAE – AV – G – G Victory advancing l., holding wreath and palm branch. C 710. BMC 676. RIC 515. Calicó 2556.
Extremely rare and possibly the finest specimen known. An unusual and interesting portrait
struck in high relief on a very broad flan. Virtually as struck and almost Fdc
Ex NAC sale 84, 2015, 1060.
Graded AU* Strike 5/5 Surface 4/5, Fine style, edge marks, NCG certification number 6558855-001
This remarkable aureus of the Laodicea mint, showing the emperor wearing an ornate cuirass decorated with a Gorgoneion, was struck during the long absence of Severus and his family in the East. Severus undertook this voyage to punish the Parthians for having invaded Roman territory while Severus was in Gaul defeating his final adversary, Clodius Albinus. In the summer of 197 the royal family embarked by sea from Italy to Asia Minor and immediately waged war on the Parthians. By January of the following year Severus had scored a resounding victory. The Romans collected a great amount of booty, killed all the men who remained in Ctesiphon, and consigned perhaps 100,000 women and children into slavery. The militant bust of Severus and its accompanying Victory type are brazen celebrations of the Parthian defeat. The Severans resided in the East from 198 through the start of 202, precisely the period to which this aureus is dated by Mattingly and Sydenham. Severus and Caracalla jointly assumed the consulate in Antioch on 1 January, 202, and probably soon afterward the family began its journey to Italy, apparently travelling overland the entire way. The return of the royal family after an absence of five years, on the heels of a victory, was a major event that coincided with the yearlong celebration of Severus' decennalia. This imperial adventus was celebrated with games, spectacles and donatives to the people and to the praetorian guards, who Dio Cassius says each received ten aurei.
Aureus, Laodicaea ad Mare 198-202, AV 7.15 g. L SEPT SEV AVG IM – P XI PART MAX Laureate and cuirassed bust r., with aegis on breast. Rev. VICTO – RIAE – AV – G – G Victory advancing l., holding wreath and palm branch. C 710. BMC 676. RIC 515. Calicó 2556.
Extremely rare and possibly the finest specimen known. An unusual and interesting portrait
struck in high relief on a very broad flan. Virtually as struck and almost Fdc
Ex NAC sale 84, 2015, 1060.
Graded AU* Strike 5/5 Surface 4/5, Fine style, edge marks, NCG certification number 6558855-001
This remarkable aureus of the Laodicea mint, showing the emperor wearing an ornate cuirass decorated with a Gorgoneion, was struck during the long absence of Severus and his family in the East. Severus undertook this voyage to punish the Parthians for having invaded Roman territory while Severus was in Gaul defeating his final adversary, Clodius Albinus. In the summer of 197 the royal family embarked by sea from Italy to Asia Minor and immediately waged war on the Parthians. By January of the following year Severus had scored a resounding victory. The Romans collected a great amount of booty, killed all the men who remained in Ctesiphon, and consigned perhaps 100,000 women and children into slavery. The militant bust of Severus and its accompanying Victory type are brazen celebrations of the Parthian defeat. The Severans resided in the East from 198 through the start of 202, precisely the period to which this aureus is dated by Mattingly and Sydenham. Severus and Caracalla jointly assumed the consulate in Antioch on 1 January, 202, and probably soon afterward the family began its journey to Italy, apparently travelling overland the entire way. The return of the royal family after an absence of five years, on the heels of a victory, was a major event that coincided with the yearlong celebration of Severus' decennalia. This imperial adventus was celebrated with games, spectacles and donatives to the people and to the praetorian guards, who Dio Cassius says each received ten aurei.