Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 138 18-19 May 2023
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Septimius Severus, 193 – 211.
Divus S. Severus. Aureus after 211, AV 7.14 g. DIVO SEVERO PIO Bare head r. Rev. CONSECRATIO Emperor with sceptre seated on eagle flying r., holding thunderbolt. C –. BMC –. RIC . Calicó 2440a (this coin).
Apparently unique and in exceptional state of preservation. A spectacular
portrait of enchanting beauty perfectly struck in high relief
and an interesting reverse type. A perfect Fdc
Ex Dürr&Michel 16 November 1998, 91 and NGSA 5, 2008, 264 sales. This coin is illustrated in The Roman Aurei by X. E. Calicó.
Due to an explosion of public outrage at the murder of Pertinax and the sale of the imperial title to Didius Julianus in 193 BC, revolt quickly erupted in the Roman provinces. Septimius Severus, the governor of Pannonia Superior, was proclaimed emperor by the forces under his command as were Clodius Albinus in Britannia and Pescennius Niger in Syria. The close proximity of Pannonia to Italy meant that Severus reached Rome first and claimed the capital before his rivals. With Julianus already dead before he arrived, Severus consolidated his power in the capital and negotiated a settlement with Albinus in which he was named Caesar in return for his support against Niger. With no need to fear attack from Albinus, Severus marched on to Syria with the full might of the western Roman legions and defeated Niger at the Battle of Issus in AD 194. Despite this victorious conclusion to the bloody Year of the Five Emperors, Septimius Severus did not take much time to enjoy peace in its aftermath. In AD 195, he made war on the Parthian Empire in response to interference in the Roman client-kingdoms of Mesopotamia. Returning to Rome in triumph, he was forced to march against Albinus in the following year after assuming power as a rival Augustus. Albinus was defeated near Lugdunum and committed suicide in AD 197, finally leaving Severus as sole master of the Roman world. With the corpse of Clodius Albinus barely cold, Severus immediately embarked on a new war against the Parthians, this time with his sons Caracalla and Geta serving as co-emperors. This conflict, which continued until AD 199, was crowned by the sacking of of the Parthian capital at Ctesiphon. The victorious Severus and his family gradually returned to Rome by way of Syria and Egypt. He spent the next several years celebrating the ludi Saeculares and settling the affairs of North Africa, before it became necessary to undertake a campaign against the Caledonians in Britannia in AD 208. Together with his sons, he was able to push the Caledonians back beyond the Antonine Wall and restore security to the province. Unfortunately, the Emperor fell ill at Eboracum (York) in AD 210 and died on 4 February AD 211. This unique and stunningly preserved gold aureus was struck for distribution as a donative to the army on the occasion of Severus' funeral and deification. The obverse is a brilliantly-realized portrait of the Emperor, showcasing his trademark flowing pronged beard, but without the laurel wreath of a reigning emperor. He had become a god, but the trappings of earthly imperial power now belonged to his sons, Caracalla and Geta, alone. The pristine reverse type shows the dead Emperor carrying the scepter of Jupiter and preparing for his ascent to heaven on the back of an eagle. The eagle, representing the soul of the deceased Emperor, was a common motif for Roman imperial consecratio issues, but here the comparison of Severus to Jupiter is underlined by the addition of the thunderbolt at the feet of the eagle. He was perhaps worthy of the comparison. His advances of the frontiers in Britannia and in the East brought the Roman Empire to the greatest territorial extent it would ever reach.
Divus S. Severus. Aureus after 211, AV 7.14 g. DIVO SEVERO PIO Bare head r. Rev. CONSECRATIO Emperor with sceptre seated on eagle flying r., holding thunderbolt. C –. BMC –. RIC . Calicó 2440a (this coin).
Apparently unique and in exceptional state of preservation. A spectacular
portrait of enchanting beauty perfectly struck in high relief
and an interesting reverse type. A perfect Fdc
Ex Dürr&Michel 16 November 1998, 91 and NGSA 5, 2008, 264 sales. This coin is illustrated in The Roman Aurei by X. E. Calicó.
Due to an explosion of public outrage at the murder of Pertinax and the sale of the imperial title to Didius Julianus in 193 BC, revolt quickly erupted in the Roman provinces. Septimius Severus, the governor of Pannonia Superior, was proclaimed emperor by the forces under his command as were Clodius Albinus in Britannia and Pescennius Niger in Syria. The close proximity of Pannonia to Italy meant that Severus reached Rome first and claimed the capital before his rivals. With Julianus already dead before he arrived, Severus consolidated his power in the capital and negotiated a settlement with Albinus in which he was named Caesar in return for his support against Niger. With no need to fear attack from Albinus, Severus marched on to Syria with the full might of the western Roman legions and defeated Niger at the Battle of Issus in AD 194. Despite this victorious conclusion to the bloody Year of the Five Emperors, Septimius Severus did not take much time to enjoy peace in its aftermath. In AD 195, he made war on the Parthian Empire in response to interference in the Roman client-kingdoms of Mesopotamia. Returning to Rome in triumph, he was forced to march against Albinus in the following year after assuming power as a rival Augustus. Albinus was defeated near Lugdunum and committed suicide in AD 197, finally leaving Severus as sole master of the Roman world. With the corpse of Clodius Albinus barely cold, Severus immediately embarked on a new war against the Parthians, this time with his sons Caracalla and Geta serving as co-emperors. This conflict, which continued until AD 199, was crowned by the sacking of of the Parthian capital at Ctesiphon. The victorious Severus and his family gradually returned to Rome by way of Syria and Egypt. He spent the next several years celebrating the ludi Saeculares and settling the affairs of North Africa, before it became necessary to undertake a campaign against the Caledonians in Britannia in AD 208. Together with his sons, he was able to push the Caledonians back beyond the Antonine Wall and restore security to the province. Unfortunately, the Emperor fell ill at Eboracum (York) in AD 210 and died on 4 February AD 211. This unique and stunningly preserved gold aureus was struck for distribution as a donative to the army on the occasion of Severus' funeral and deification. The obverse is a brilliantly-realized portrait of the Emperor, showcasing his trademark flowing pronged beard, but without the laurel wreath of a reigning emperor. He had become a god, but the trappings of earthly imperial power now belonged to his sons, Caracalla and Geta, alone. The pristine reverse type shows the dead Emperor carrying the scepter of Jupiter and preparing for his ascent to heaven on the back of an eagle. The eagle, representing the soul of the deceased Emperor, was a common motif for Roman imperial consecratio issues, but here the comparison of Severus to Jupiter is underlined by the addition of the thunderbolt at the feet of the eagle. He was perhaps worthy of the comparison. His advances of the frontiers in Britannia and in the East brought the Roman Empire to the greatest territorial extent it would ever reach.