I'm excited to have just acquired my third legionary denarius of Septimius Severus. They are all quite rare. A three-coin collection four and a half years in the making. I'd really like to add a XIV Gemina since this was Septimius's own legion, the one that proclaimed him emperor. XIV Gemina are the most common of his legionaries and they've appeared on the market often enough over the last few years, but I just haven't seen one that I'm pleased with yet. Here they are. I know that there are several enthusiasts of Septimius legionaries in this forum. @dougsmit comes to mind! Please share anything that you think is relevant. Septimius Severus. AR denarius, Rome, 193 CE; 18mm, 3.33g, 1h. BMCRE 8, Hill 22 (R3), RIC 5, RSC 260. Obv: IMP CAE L SEP S–EV PERT AVG; head laureate r. Rx: LEG II ADIVT; legionary eagle on low perch l., between 2 standards / TRP COS in exergue. Rare; 4 in Reka Devnia. VF. ———————————————————————— Septimius Severus. AR denarius, Rome, 193 CE; 18mm, 2.82g. BMCRE W23 note, Hill 33 (R4), RIC 16, RSC 277. Obv: IMP CAE L SEP – SEV PERT AVG; head laureate r. Rx: LEG XXII PRI; legionary eagle on low perch l., between 2 standards / TRP COS in exergue. Rare; 0 in Reka Devnia. On reverse, graffito in lower field l. VF. ———————————————————————— Septimius Severus. AR denarius, Rome, 193 CE; 17mm, 3.47g. BMCRE W25 pl. 5.15 (rev. die link), Hill 34 (R4), RIC 17, RSC 278. Obv: IMP CAE L SEP – SEV PERT AVG; head laureate r. Rx: LEG XXX • VLP; legionary eagle on low perch l., between two standards / [T]R P COS in exergue. Rare; 0 in Reka Devnia. VF. Rev. die link with specimen in BMCRE, and another example in Auctiones 55, 19 March 2017 lot 204.
Very nice examples! and, as you say, all three of these legions are scarce and difficult to find. Here are my examples (shown together with MA Legionary denarii).
Keep looking for the XIIII. I'm sure none of my eleven would meet your grade requirements but there are many XIIII coins so your coin is out there.
Thanks @dougsmit. I just realized I used XIV instead of XIII in my original post. But you have eleven of them! I admire the depth and extent of your collection. I'd like to also thank you for your writing about Septimius legionaries and collection photos on your website, which have been great sources of reference for me. I credit you for helping to stoke my interest in these types and to pay attention to die varieties. Something I learned from your website: the reverse of my XXII PRI is struck from one of only two known dies for this legion. It would be interesting to own an example from each die, which I think that you do.
Thanks for sharing your collection photo, it's really impressive. I would like to own an Antony legionary or two. Actually, it would be a great goal to form an entire set of Antony legionaries but it seems like a daunting task. I find the contrast in styles between the Antony and Septimius legionaries quite interesting. The coin you have with the ship on one side is interesting. It's not familiar to me and I can't quite make out the legends. Hadrian?
Excellent trio! I have just the common LEG XIIII and definitely don't intend to start a collection of these. That's the Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus restitution of the Mark Antony legionary type. Doug has a page on them: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/feac33.html
