Before his Victory over the Parthians in the east Septimius Severus issued coins to commemorate his victory over the tribes of the Arabs and the Adiabenici. The reverse is thought to refer to the victory over Nige. To hide the fact that this was a civil war, it is phrased as victory over Arabs and Adiabenians, who aided Niger's cause. This coin is errorneously described and attributed in RIC. RIC IV 466 has the same reverse legend, listed as IMP VII but this legend is probably a mis-reading of IMP VIII probably caused by the last I being after the bust as on this example. RIC 466 however is Victory with wreath and trophy which is probably another error as all known examples occur Victory with wreath and palm though occasionally the palm is missing in yet another error. Septimius Severus denarius - RIC - Obv:– L SEPT SEV PERT AVG IMP VII-I, Laureate head right Rev:– ARAB ADIABENIC, Victory advancing left holding wreath and palm (R of ARAB corrected over B) Minted in Laodicea-ad-Mare. A.D. 196-197 Ref:– Cohen -, BMCRE -, RIC -. Here with palm Here missing the palm I have recently acquired (through a parivate sale) another variation where ADIABENIC is missing the leading A in error leaving us with ARAB DIABENIC.
Neat historical coins Martin! Funnily enough, the other day I was listening to the Emperors of Rome podcast and Septimius Severus' Parthian victory was discussed. https://player.fm/series/emperors-of-rome
I am a strong believer in the idea there are no Laodicea IMP VI or VII coins with all reported being failure to see the I or II beyond the point of the bust. My favorite is this 'clear' IMP VI which is an obverse die link with this IMP VI-II.
Very cool OP coins!! Always love these SS posts! Thanks for sharing the coins and the knowledge! Cool coins and info too; as always!
