Severus Alexander Denarius

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by GeorgeM, Dec 1, 2020.

  1. GeorgeM

    GeorgeM Well-Known Member

    I'm trying to attribute & appraise this denarius. Any help would be appreciated because, as I mentioned earlier, I'm fairly new to Ancients. It's the only recognizably silver piece in this collection of Roman, Byzantine, & Cilician Armenian pieces. (Where is the line generally drawn between ancient and just plain old? 1096? 1453? 1492?)

    Anyway, if I'm reading the legend and recognize the portrait correctly, this 19mm silver is a denarius of Severus Alexander. I found the same reverse (Libertas holding an abacus & cornucopia) on a coin with a slightly different obverse portrait. Is this a mule? Is the other coin a mule? Or are the obverse differences attributable to something else (like a provincial mint or celebratory/commemorative issue)?

    20201201_105947.jpg 20201201_105954.jpg

    And here's the comparison piece I found:
    Screenshot_20201201-112835_eBay.jpg
     
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  3. furryfrog02

    furryfrog02 Well-Known Member

  4. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    RIC4 205; BMCRE6 558. With a weakly struck reverse and porous surfaces, it is not worth a whole lot.
     
  5. furryfrog02

    furryfrog02 Well-Known Member

    Yours and my ID's are the same right? Just difference in references? If not, what am I missing?
     
  6. Bing

    Bing Illegitimi non carborundum Supporter

    Severus Alexander coins are plentiful, and as such, do not command high prices. This one I purchased in 2013 for under $50.

    Severus Alexander 11.jpg

    That being said, your coin, although worn with porous surfaces is not a bad example. You can check out Vcoins to see what retail prices these coins bring nowadays.
     
  7. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    Yep.
     
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  8. hotwheelsearl

    hotwheelsearl Well-Known Member

    I think the coin should be worth 20–30 bucks, at least that’s the max I would pay
     
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  9. Justin Lee

    Justin Lee I learn by doing

    In the spirit of learning, it is Liberalitas on the coin reverse, as opposed to Libertas. She represents the generosity of the emperor giving the citizens a dole. As such, she holds a counting board for quickly retrieving the set number of coins for individual distribution rather than an abacus. Our own @Roman Collector had a thread about her here.

    Edit: The reverse of the first coin also ends with IIII representing the 4th occasion of Severus Alexander's liberality. Where the comparison coin does not have any numbers and would represent his 1st.
     
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2020
  10. Justin Lee

    Justin Lee I learn by doing

    I would agree. The obverse is decent but with so many Sev Alex examples available, it's average. And the reverse had a worn die. Overall though it's a solid coin.
     
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