Although I didn't like the condition of this silver Tet, I couldn't anyway stop myself from buying my first tetradrachm of this Roman Emperor. The coin weighs 10.78 g. It was stuck in Antioch.
I’m no expert and the scan quality is not great, but I’m having trouble seeing Septimius in the portrait. Also, is the second letter between 1 and 2 o’clock on the obverse an “S”??
Hmmm. He does look a bit like Commodus, doesn't he? Or Marcus Aurelius? I don't know anything about Roman tets, so I'm just shooting from the hip here.
All the legend is Greek. The second letter between one and two o'clock is Epsilon. I can see it clear at hand, assisted by a magnifier and light. Then after that, you have a black round big corrosion. At first I thought it was a counter mark. But no, it isn't. Within this corrosion there are the 3 Greek letters OVH successively, followed immediately by the letter P (rho) which is R in Latin. The lettering on obverse ends after that by OCC Epsilon B. So we have, starting from one o'clock, C Epsilon OVHPOCC Epsilon B. The Greek letter H (eta) is a vowel and pronounced like a long stressed E.. The letter Epsilon is pronounced short like e in Peking of China. C is a small S(sigma.). So you read SEOVEROS, being Severus in Latin. Check it please at Wildwinds Antioch- Syria. Prieur 200.
