I am always on the look out for some of the earlier eastern issues of Septimius Severus to find examples that I don't have. I have had a long standing gap in the IMP II series with a Moneta Standing type. The gap was RIC 460b, which I have now filled with the follwoing coin:- Obv:– L SEPT SEV P-ERET AVG IMP - II, laureate head right Rev:– M-ONETA AVG, Moneta standing left, holding scales and cornucopia Minted in Laodicea-ad-Mare. A.D. 194 Reference:– BMCRE p.109 * Note. RIC 460b. RSC 339a 3.10 g. 19.01 mm. 0 degrees It is an obverse die match to the following coin:- Rev:– M-ONET AVG, Moneta standing left, holding scales and cornucopia Minted in Laodicea-ad-Mare. A.D. 194 Reference:- BMCRE -. RIC 459 note (citing RD). RSC -. I am also interested in the varied legend breaks that occur with this series as they help me identify die linkages. Sa I also have a L SEPT SEV P-ERET AVG IMP I-I - MONET AVG There are also variations in the middle of the obverse legend with PERT, PERTE and PERET being almost interchangable. The following is a PERT example of the type. BMCRE -. RIC -. RSC -. My eastern obsession continues.... Martin
For those who may have missed the point: The Syrian mints rarely spelled out MONETA preferring MONET. They used several spacings at the end of the obverse legend with the one here showing both strokes of II beyond the point of the bust rather closer to the start of the legend than to the IMP. I have never specialized in "Laodicea" or the IMP coins to the degree Martin has and all I have is the standard MONET version. My concentration favors Alexandria which did not use a dating device on the obverse but that did not stop them from pushing the last two letters of AVG to the other side of the bust point. This mint regularly spelled out MONETA. This die took the opposite track and squeezed the VG in on the right side but separated the A of MONET---A on the reverse (weak just above the cornucopia). If you find this boring, you are not a candidate for obsession of the Eastern Severan sort. That is good since there are hardly enough of these coins to satisfy the current number of people with the affliction.
