Finally a genuine Septimius Severus (Killer Portrait!)

All of you probably remember this blasted forgery which I displayed here for several months, and which no one else seemed to catch either.



Not my finest hour as a collector...and for the last few months I've lived without a Septimius Severus...well, technically I never had one as mine was a fake.

This wouldn't do, so at last I have me a Septimius Severus. This denarius was minted in 210AD as Septimius Severus was having a nice camping trip with his lovely children Caracalla and Geta, in the hopes that killing lots of Scottish tribesmen would create a strong bond between Caracalla and Geta.

Don't you just love it when father takes his children for a nice camping trip with a sideshow of mass murder, rapine, and mass enslaving of civilian populations? Whatever happened to taking the children to a nice baseball game? Well, I guess the Romans didn't do baseball, so I can't judge them too harshly then.

Anyway, behold my new coin. You'll agree the reverse with Neptune is . The reverse die was not that fresh by then, and the strike is definitely nothing to write home about. Where the magic happens is on that obverse. Just look at it! I think you'd agree that this is approaching as good as it gets as far as Septimius Severus portraits go. If you disagree let me know, but if you are not wowed by this portrait you should definitely consider scheduling your yearly visit to your optometrist.


Septimius Severus
Rome Mint (210 AD)
AR Denarius, 3.386g, max diameter 19.1mm

Obverse: SEVERVS PIVS AVG, laureate head right
Reverse: PM TR P XVIII COS III PP, Neptune standing left, nude but for cloack over left shoulder and right arm, right foot on rock, right arm resting on knee, trident vertical behind left hand.

References: RIC IV 234; RSC III 543; BMCRE V p. 360, 19; SRCV II 6346 (TRP XVII, 209AD)

PS: I know @dougsmit is a big fan of the earlier wild beards, but I have to say I'm a big fan of the stylized 3 point beard Severus rocked later in his reign.

 

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Definitely can tell it was struck toward the end of Severus's reign. Nice pick up.

 

Wow Sallent, that is about the nicest portrait I have ever seen of Severus.

 

A very notable portrait! Congrats on your new acquisition.

 

Handsome portrait, alright! Congrats on restoring a Sep Sev to your collection.

Here's one of mine that I like (incidentally, a TRP XVI dated to 208... should yours, with XVIII, be 210 instead?).


SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS
AR Denarius. 3.93g, 19.4mm. Rome mint, AD 208. RIC IV 220. O: SEVERVS PIVS AVG, laureate head right. R: P M TR P XVI COS III P P, Genius, naked, standing left, sacrificing out of patera in right hand over garlanded and lighted altar, left, and holding cornucopia in left hand.

 

Yeah, I just looked it up. According to RIC 210 AD is the correct date. Seller must have accidentally attributed it to 209AD.

 

I agree, Sallent. I used to collect the Severan family and that is an unusually nice portrait of Septimius. The most striking aspect, and what I believe makes the portrait stand out, is the EYE. Very deep-set and intense; there is something almost haunting about it!

 

I have to agree. A nice portrait for sure, but the reverse is not so desireable.

 

WOW!! That's a gorgeous denarius!! Terrific portrait and I LOVE Neptune!!

I haven't grabbed any of old Sept Sev lately but here's a drachma of him...and a denarius with Jupiter on the reverse...and one with Roma seated :

 

Yeah, this is one of those coins where the buyer will have to decide what's more important for him. In this case, I wanted the best possible portrait of S. Severus I could find for around $125 or less. He is more of a filler in my collection, as I honestly don't care as much for him as I do for his son Caracalla. He's there because of who his son is...so I went for portrait above anything else as that's what mattered most to me. It didn't feel right to move on to my 3rd Caracalla without rectifying the lack of a S. Severus portrait in my collection. I suppose I should probably get a Geta too for the same reason as the S. Severus.

Next year I want to add 4 or 5 new Caracalla denarii to my collection. He is fastly becoming my favorite Emperor. And why not? He was such an awesome dude.

 

Nice job landing the Septimus @Sallent ! Must feel good to get the right one. I did the same a couple months ago at a show, replacing a FAKE RR for a real one.


RI Septimus Severus 193-211 AR Denarius Genius Sacrificing

 

Nice addition, I like the portrait styles on the Neptune reverse, many of them are well tone.

And I too have one with a weaker reverse then yours.


Septimius Severus (193-211 AD)
AR Denarius
O: SEVERVS - PIVS AVG, Laureate head right.
R: PM TRP XVII - COS III PP, Neptune standing left, leaning on raised right leg set on rocks and holding trident.
Rome, 209 AD
18mm
3.2g
RIC 228 / Cohen 529/BMCRE 003

 

Nice one! Yeah, they really went all out on the portraits for this series. Shame they didn't invest as much effort on the reverse. Oh well, nothing we can do about it. We are too late to file our complaint to the Roman mint by 1,806 years.

 

I like the portrait styles of the Rome mint, but, because of @dougsmit and @maridvnvm, I have grown to like the Eastern styles just as much.


BTW, I am currently reading an historical fiction based on the political intrigues of the Septimius Severus court. Very interesting. I am having a hard time putting it down, even though I am not impressed with the writing style.

 

Thats one of the nicest portraits I have seen for him. A really nice pick up! It can be very difficult for many Roman series to find a portrait which MUST be realistic rather than idealized or just not as good quality artwork. When you go for Caracalla, there will be much to choose from thankfully. I would suggest looking for early and late, the early showing him as a young man, the later older and cruel.

 

I too like your new Septimius Severus coin. Here is my favorite (because I love the elephant):

Septimius Severus
AR Denarius
A.D. 193-211
4.01 gms, 20.2 mm
Obv: Laurerate head of Severus right. L SEPT SEV PERT AVG IMP VIIII.
Rev: Elephant wearing cuirass walking right. MVNIFICENTIA AVG.
Grade: gEF pretty much as struck. Well centered with 90% of legends clear.
Other: Nice reverse with very clear plaid pattern on elephant. Sear 1766. Ex Heritage Jan 2013 auction 231304 Lot #61069 From Eye Appealing Coins 9/2013.

 

Here are some options for portraits of Septimius Severus, if you accept provincial coins. They have the virtue of being big--much bigger than denarii.



33 mm. 26.17 grams. Sometimes called a "sestertius" because of its size, even though it was minted at Antioch in Pisidia.
Men standing right (distinguished by the crescent behind his shoulders), his left foot on a tiny prow, holding Victory on globe in left hand while left elbow rests on a column, long scepter in right, small rooster at feet left.
Von Aulock 4924. Lindgren and Kovacs 1204.



Tetradrachm. 27-25 mm.
Struck at Laodicea ad Mare (distinguished by the star between the legs of the eagle)
Prier 1140.


28 mm. Struck at Marcianopolis, Moesia Inferior.
City name on reverse beginning at 12:30.
Tyche standing left holding rudder and cornucopia.
The reverse legend names the magistrate: Aurelius Gallus.
Sear Greek Imperial 2123.

Sometimes the portraits on provincials are remarkably appealing.

 

Septimius Severus , AD 193-211
AR Denarius, 3.3g, 20mm; 1h; Rome, AD 209
Obv.: SEVERVS PIVS AVG, laureate head right
Rev.: PM TRP XVII COS III P P; Neptune standing left, holding a trident, foot on globe



Septimius Severus, AD 193-211
AE, 2.9g, 16.5mm; 8h; Nikopolis ad Istrum
Obv.: [AV KAI CE] - CEVHPOC; laureate head right
Rev.: [NIK]OΠOΛI - T. ΠPOC [IC]; Hermes nude, chlamys over left arm, holding kerykeion in left arm and purse in extended right hand

Hopefully the above isn't too dark.


Septimius Severus, Nikopolis ad Istrum, AD 139-211
AE, 3.11g, 16.5mm; 2h
Obv.: AV KAI [CE] CEVHPOC, laureate head right
Rev.: NIKOΠΟΛΙΤΩΝ ΠΡΟCICT; crescent and one star
Ref.: AMNG 1436v; Nikopolis BMC 17
Unsure why Wildwinds does not include the final C on the obv even though all the pictures they have include it. My coin includes it so the C is mentioned in the obv legend. Also, the [CE] is off flan.

 

that is a sweet portrait sallent!

i only have one SS denarius, it has a pretty good portrait ...




here's a provincial from thrace with a pretty cool portrait style....

 

I see your S. Severus Neptune denarii also has a very nice portrait, like mine and @Mat 's, but the reverse Neptune is also a bit of a letdown compared to the obverse. I guess that's starting to lend weight to the idea that they really wanted the Emperor's portrait to stand out, so they let top notch celators work on that, and they gave the reverse work to rookies an apprentices with not a lot of experience. There is no way the guys that worked on our obverses are the same that worked on those reverses of Neptune.

It's a shame, but personally, I would not trade the great obverse for anything else. I'm willing to live with the killer portrait even if it means having to also look at the rookie reverse carved by a trainee fresh to the mint.