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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Codera, post: 24799570, member: 70631&quot;]As promised I was able to finish collecting denarii of the really important figures who made up the Severan Dynasty. I figured I&#039;d save the rest of the coins I&#039;ve collected for one big post so I don&#039;t bug everyone with every individual coin I purchase. I&#039;m just going to go from my least to most favorite coins:</p><p>&nbsp;[ATTACH=full]1586798[/ATTACH]</p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>JULIA MAESA </b></p><p><br /></p><p>AR silver denarius. Struck under Elagabalus, 220-222 AD. IVLIA MAESA AVG, draped bust right. Reverse - SAECVLI FELICITAS, Felicitas standing left with long caduceus, sacrificing out of patera over lighted altar, star right. RSC 45, RCV 7757. 18mm, 2.5g.</p><p><br /></p><p>Not my favorite of the coins I purchased as it is rather worn, but it was very cheap and it fills a pretty important gap, seeing as how this woman was instrumental in bringing the Severans back into power following Macrinus&#039; brief usurpation, elevating both of her respective grandsons, first the notorious Elagabalus and when he wasn&#039;t working out, the more conscientious Alexander Severus would soon follow. Definitely an important figure that needed to be represented in my collection in some form.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1586799[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Title: Julia Soaemias (AD 218-222) AR Denarius / Venus</b></p><p><b>Attribution:</b> RIC IV (Elagabalus) 243 Rome</p><p><b>Date:</b> AD 218-220</p><p><b>Obverse:</b> IVLIA SOAEMIAS AVG, draped bust right</p><p><b>Reverse:</b> VENVS CAELESTIS, Venus seated left, holding apple and scepter, child at feet with arms raised</p><p><b>Size:</b> 18.92mm</p><p><b>Weight:</b> 2.06 grams</p><p><b>Description:</b> nearing VF, porous metal.</p><p><br /></p><p>The portrait on this one is better and though the reverse of Venus is still a bit worn, it&#039;s still in somewhat better shape. I bought this from the same merchant where I bought the coin of her son Elagabalus so it&#039;s fitting that they both seem to complement each other appearance wise, one of the reasons I bought this coin specifically at least.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1586800[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><b>GETA</b></p><p><br /></p><p>Denarius</p><p>209-211 AD. Rome mint.</p><p>Ovb/ P SEPTIMIVS GETA CAES, bare-headed and draped bust right.</p><p>Rev/ PONTIF COS II, Geta standing left with globe and sceptre.</p><p>Cat: RIC 61a</p><p>Silver (Ar) 2,7g - 20mm</p><p><br /></p><p>I absolutely love the portrait on this coin, very sharp details and the folding of the drapery is exquisite. The reverse is looking better than the other two coins also. There&#039;s a pretty distinct crack on the top and some corrosion on the side but I can look past it. It&#039;d be interesting to see what would&#039;ve happened if Geta was the one who lived rather than Caracalla (either one was going to take out the other no matter what), would he have done many of the same things as his brother or would he maybe have been more moderate in his dealings (I heard he put on a more reasonable front with the rank-and-file soldiers compared to the more dour Caracalla)? Would make for a riveting alternate history scenario.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1586801[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><b>JULIA MAMAEA</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p>2.88g, 18.5mm</p><p>Diademed and draped bust of Julia Mamaea right &quot;IVLIA MAMAEA AVG&quot;</p><p>Vesta standing, holding palladium and scepter &quot;VESTA&quot;</p><p>RSC 498</p><p><br /></p><p>The portrait on this coin of Alexander Severus&#039; mother is lovely though the real standout part for me is the reverse (and this is coming from someone who usually focuses on the obverses). It&#039;s absolutely one of the best reverses I&#039;ve ever collected, if not <i>the</i> best. It&#039;s such a great composition and I love the classic contrapposto of the goddess Vesta. For me it&#039;s a tasteful mix of minimalism and detail that I find very satisfying.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1586803[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Overall I find the Severan Dynasty a very fascinating period of transition for the Romans, going from the prosperous 2nd century to the devastating 3rd century. The fact that it doesn&#039;t get talked about as much as the Twelve Caesars means there&#039;s not as much demand for coins of this era and therefore it was SO MUCH easier for me to put together a whole set of denarii which is really cool (at least until a popular HBO series or Gladiator-like film comes along that covers people from this time period like Caracalla or Elagabalus then it&#039;s a good thing I got these coins when I did!!).[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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