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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;maridvnvm, post: 1213631, member: 31620&quot;]Many of us have develop a speciality or focus are when collecting. I have developed a few over the years. One of my areas is the eastern denarii of Septimius Severus. There are a few of people who focus on this area but there aren&#039;t that many of us. Doug Smith, who posts here is a fellow collector in this area and his knowledge far outstrips mine. The advantage of specialising is that you can sometimes pick up things that others don&#039;t even give a second look at. The following coin is such an example. It isn&#039;t a great looking coin because the Imperial coinage from Alexandria at this period was quite crude in style in comparison to Rome but it does tell us something about the operation of the mint at this time.</p><p><br /></p><p>Septimius Severus denarius</p><p>Obv:– IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG, Laureate head right</p><p>Rev:– TR P IIII IMP II COS, Mars standing right, resting on spear and shield</p><p>Minted in Alexandria, A.D. 194</p><p>References:– BMCRE -, RIC -, RSC -. cf. RIN (Rivista Italiana di Nvmismatica Vol. XCVI (1994/1995) </p><p>2.59g. 18.71mm. 0o</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH]128440.vB[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>So what is interesting about this coin?</p><p><br /></p><p>We know that the production of denarii by Septimius Severus at Alexandria was short lived with coins being minted between early A.D. 194 and A.D. 195. This coin was likely produced in A.D. 194. With ancient coins we usually rely on the legends etc. to help us date a coin with any degree of accuracy. With this coin all that falls down.</p><p><br /></p><p>The reverse legend here reads &quot;TR P IIII IMP II COS&quot; but at this date Septimius was COS II, TR P II and IMP III or IIII. The implication of this is simply that the mint had a denarius of this type but minted under Lucius Verus in A.D. 164, where this reverse legend makes sense and copied it by rote without adjusting the legends properly. This isn&#039;t the only type for which this occurred at this mint at this time either so the logic seems to hang together well.</p><p><br /></p><p>As I said. This is the sort of coin that I wouldn&#039;t normally post here because most people wouldn&#039;t look twice at it in a tray but sometimes there can be something interesting there if you are willing to look.</p><p>Regards,</p><p>Martin[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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