The Bronze Imperial Coins of the Family of Septimius Severus

Blake,

I'm not sure if I've told you before, but I know only one other spec. of your DII PATRII sestertius, in Paris, EF/VF, from the same dies.

That Paris coin is described by Cohen, 1st ed. 500 = 2nd ed. 112, so Paris has had it since at least 1860.

 

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Love the sestertii of Domna! I have an example of the first coin but in not so great condition - I still have issues with uploading photographs or you would be able to see it- should have these resolved in the next two weeks. In fact, I have another article planned called "HOW TO DECIDE - TWO EXAMPLES OF DOMITIAN SESTERTIUS COS IIII PAX" about what to do when you have two examples of the same very rare coin in similar condition and you want to sell one.

 

Caracalla Sestertius 211 AD Obv Head right laureate. Rv Mars in full armor standing left holding Victory in right hand and resting on shield with left. Before captive seated. RIC 490a 31.31 grms 32 mm Photo by W. Hansen

 

Please understand that if there is anything we could do to help you resolve photo issues, there are several of us here that would be happy to help. This goes fopr anyone but I would warn that if the issues are that you don't have a camera ---- well we have to draw the line somewhere.

 

I love this coin - it is among the most beautiful of its type I have come across - - I come to this page again and again

 

Thanks I finally have everything I need but one precious commodity- time.

I have three articles planned - the next about an early obverse portrait die that keeps popping up on Septimius Severus sestertii - but I need TIME to write it up - btw - when did Septimius Severus sestertii become rare? I read somewhere that most used sestertii of Septimius used to come from Syria and since no more coins are coming out of Syria few of his coins are in the market. Who knows if that is true - it does not sound correct, though.

 

Blake,

Sestertii of Septimius and family are

- Comparatively common from 193 to c. fall 196.

- Rarer from c. fall 196 to early 198, say 1/3 the volume of the earlier issues.

- Very rare from early 198 to the end of 209. That's why sestertii of Geta as Caesar and Plautilla are very difficult to obtain!

- Comparatively common again from the beginning of 210 until Septimius' death in Feb. 211.

Which early Septimius sestertius obv. die that keeps popping up do you mean? I can't offhand think of any such die which was clearly much more prolific than any other.

 

I have found that, while silver coinage of the Severans is fairly easy to come by in really nice condition, their bronze and brass are not, the opposite of emperors like Caligula or Claudius. If my observation is correct, I wonder why this is so.

 

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Curtis - thank you for responding - I had meant that there did not seem to be many Septimius Severus sestertii for sale now - I am always complaining about the coin market - either there are not enough sestertii available, or too many to buy them all, or too expensive, or the condition of the coins available is not that great, or too good which means too expensive etc. - my mother used to call me a "kvetch" and she is correct about that

As I have said many time, about three or four years ago I took a shot at trying to put together a complete collection of the 100 different types of Septimius Severus sestertii listed in RIC - an impossible task. But I thought it was worth a try to see how many could get - but I am stuck on 37 and finding more has been a difficult task - I have not bought another one for months.

Also you had asked on the Forum site for information on my Geta as caesar sestertius - RIC 124. It is 25.53 grams and 32.5mm. I do not know how to measure die axis but it is completely opposite from US coins - when you turn it the reverse is the same as the obverse.

On another subject, I just bought an example of Geta RIC 167 - heavily smoothed - I'll send a photograph and information on weight/size etc. when I get it. Also I have not forgotten that I had promised to send you my example of Septimius Severus IMP X Victory for making a cast, which is on my list of things to do.

I also have a request for you - some years back you purchased an unlisted Caracalla sestertius from Dionysius on German ebay. I think it was a sestertius example of of RIC 414. I was the unhappy underbidder on the coin, but forgot to make a photograph of it for my books of Severan sestertii. Too bad there weren't two examples available - that was some find! I assume that the coins we only know of as an As or Dupondius were also struck as sestertii but none have survived. Could you post or send a photograph of the coin along with weight and size for the book I keep on Caracalla imperial bronze (and other sestertii)?

And now finally to what I had said about the Septimius Severus die - I have two sestertii from the same obverse die - RIC 652 and RIC 656 - not so unusual. But I thought I had found the same die on a third type, which I have to find on ACSEARCH, and it seemed to be unusually prevalent - which only means that more were found - simple chance. I thought it would make a short article - any excuse to post photographs of Severan sestertii!

 

Blake,

I haven't noticed any marked decrease in the numbers of Severan sestertii appearing on the market. They have always been quite scarce! French dealers seem to have them quite frequently, presumably because they are found with some regularity in France.

I'll try to show you my unpublished Caracalla sestertius soon. I don't take coin photos myself, so have to impose on my colleague Justin Benton for the favor. Sorry to have outbid you for the coin; if it's any consolation it wasn't a near miss, since my limit was several hundreds of dollars higher. Not that it was particularly cheap at the price realized, in my opinion.

Thanks for the Geta Caesar weight. I look forward to seeing your Geta RIC 167. Why not show it here on Coin Talk?

The order of Septimius' rev. types in 193 is a bit of a puzzle. Maybe the die links that you have observed on sestertii will be helpful. A quick look at my die catalogue of 1972 didn't reveal any shared sestertius obv. dies between LEG XIIII GEM M V and VICT AVG.

 

Were links between other first legend coins of other reverses and the LEG XIIII coins common? Did your die study suggest an order of issue or that all were made simultaneously?

 

Doug,

By 1972 I had found shared sestertius obv. dies between the legionary type and every other type of the year except VICT AVG, namely

LIBERAL AVG standing, ditto Largesse scene, SAECVLO FRVGIFERO African god standing, FIDEI LEG, and VIRT AVG.

I tentatively divided these types into two groups of three types each:

a. LEG XIIII GEM M F, LIBERAL AVG (both types), African god.

b. FIDEI LEG, VICT AVG, VIRT AVG.

 

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Curtis - Thank you - I posted the die matches from the early sesterii of Septimius below (I had the wrong RIC number in my earlier comment - it was RIC 657 not 656 - VIRT not VICT - I apologize for the error)-

Here are the two die linked coins from the acesearch data base - the first one of which is my coin, I have another example of the die as the second below:

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=2220009
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=6285700

I thought I had seen the same die one of the other types of early Septimius sestertii but I just went through the data base and must have been mistaken - this die comes up on other coins but only with RIC 652 and 657.

Also - in an article I would love to edit, I posted a worn sestertius of Septimius Severus, Profectio on this site with an inscription that ended "IMP VII" - the last "I" to make it IMP VIII (listed in RIC) is scratched away through either wear or poor cleaning. I just purchased on another Septmius Profectio sesterius on ebay which is a die match to my coin - it is also in poor condition but I hope to be able read the entire obverse inscription.

I'll post the Geta sestertius here when I receive it - it is heavily smoothed - I think that was why it fit into my budget - Blake

 

What a beautiful coin!

 

Blake, I became a CT member well after you did so this is the first time I've seen this thread. I can't afford the high grade imperial bronzes of the Severan family so I've focused on high grade tetradrachms that are much more affordable . One sestertius in my photo file that put me in a state of awe is pictured below.


Septimius Severus, AD 193-211 (struck AD 196). Reverse: Victory with wreath & palm frond. AE Sestertius: 24.79 gm, 6 h. Ex CNG Triton VIII, Jan. 10, 2005 (hammer price $9,000.00).
This coin has been floating around the auction circuit for over 35 years, but I don't know where it currently resides.

The sestertius pictured below is my first & only example of Severus that I posted recently. The coin pictured below it is a rather handsome provincial bronze that I removed from the slab.

 

The first coin is beautiful - I first saw it in a CNG auction you reference - I thought there was an earlier CNG auction where it went for a fraction of that price. I really wonder how it could go for that much - on the other hand it might be the nicest one in existence. The earlier sestertii of Septimius Severus are very find in high grades - I think the reason is low relief, but I am not sure. The Africa type you have pictured above is a beauty s if the provincial coin - the portrait is real close to that of the Rome mint. I have had very nice provincial coins of Septimius and his family - how I wish had never sold them!

P.S. would love to see some of your tetradrachms!

 

Blake, I overpaid for the Africa sestertius but made an excellent profit on two jades I recently sold to justify the price I paid . I waited nearly a decade for a VF example that didn't have serious problems & was happy to snag this one . If the Triton VIII sestertius came up for auction today I think it would fetch in excess of 20K. Pictured below are some of my favorite Tets of Severus, Caracalla, & Geta. I'm still waiting for a choice Tet of Julia Domna, whose Tets are very hard to find.

 

Beautiful coins!

 

These are lovely! I was unaware of the beauty of the coins in this series.

 

I had an opportunity to buy high grade examples of Septimius’s first legionary sestertius and the Africa type - I couldn’t afford both so I chose the legionary type. How I regret not begging, borrowing or stealing the money to buy both. But as the saying goes - you can’t buy them all! I’ll post the legionary example.