Spaniard Posted December 10, 2022 · Supporter Share Posted December 10, 2022 I've been on the lookout a while for a legionary Denarius of Septimius Severus but they can be quite expensive and difficult to find with readable legends. I managed to snag this one recently with imo a nicely balanced ob/rev. This is my last purchase this year and will be in my top 10.. The legionary coins of Septimius Severus were minted to pay tribute to the legions that assisted his rise to the purple. The op coin was minted in Rome 193AD in honour of Septimius's own legion LEG XIIII GEMMV (Legio XIV Gemina Martia Vitrix) being stationed at Carnuntum. The Legio XIV Gemina Martia Victrix legions symbol was capricorn. In 117-118 AD, Carnuntum became the permanent quarters of Legio XIV Gemina where it stayed for three centuries until the frontier collapsed in 430AD. Obverse..Laureate head of Septimius Severus, facing right. Legend: IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG...Imperator Caesar Lucius Septimius Severus Pertinax Augustus. Supreme commander (Imperator), Caesar, Lucius Septimius Severus Pertinax, emperor (Augustus). Reverse..Legionary eagle facing left, between two standards. Legend: LEG XIIII GEM M V TR P COS...Legio Quarta Decima Gemina Martia Victrix. Tribunicia Potestate, Consul. 14th martial and victorious twin legion. Holder of tribunician power, consul. Septimius Severus. 193-211 AD. AR Denarius (3.26 gm, 18mm). Rome mint. Struck 193 AD. Obv.: IMP CAEL SEP SEV PERT AVG, laureate head right. Rev.: LEG XIIII GEM M V / TR P COS, legionary eagle between two standards. RIC 14; RSC 272; BMCRE 19. VF. Feel free to post your Septimius Severus coins..... 20 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helvius Pertinax Posted December 10, 2022 · Member Share Posted December 10, 2022 What an amazing piece with a great history behind it! Here are my two pieces: 14 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPK Posted December 10, 2022 · Supporter Share Posted December 10, 2022 Very nice! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapphnwn Posted December 10, 2022 · Supporter Share Posted December 10, 2022 Septimius Severus Ar Denarius Emesa 194 AD Obv Head right laureate Rv Legionary eagle between two standards. RIC 397 3.26 grms 17 mm Photo by W. Hansen This coin is very similar to the one posted by @Spaniardexcept this one is from the mint of Emesa. Septimius had legionary denarii minted at Alexandria as well but honoring a different Legion the III Italica Again the legion honored is the XIV Gemina and is the only legion so honored from this mint. The Capricorn probably indicates a connection with Augustus and Gemina indicates that the unit was formed by amalgamating two older legions. Besides denarii the XIV Gemina was also featured on both Sestertii and Aurei from the mint of Rome 9 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambr0zie Posted December 10, 2022 · Member Share Posted December 10, 2022 I don't have legionary coins from Septimius Severus (great coin btw). I was glad to win this one as I wanted a Neptune reverse Septimius Severus. (193-211). Rome. Denarius. 19 mm, 2.8 g. Struck 209 AD. SEVERVS PIVS AVG, laureate head of Septimius Severus right / P M TR P XVIII COS III P P, Neptune standing left, leaning on raised right leg set on rocks and holding trident in left hand. BMC 3, RSC 529, RIC 228 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevikens Posted December 10, 2022 · Member Share Posted December 10, 2022 I had no idea that coins of this kind existed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyLuudje Posted December 10, 2022 · Member Share Posted December 10, 2022 (edited) I don't have a legionary, but I have this Septimus Severus, VS: SEVERVS PIVS A VG RS: LIBERALI-TAS A VG VI 3,79g. 20mm Edited December 10, 2022 by LuckyLuudje 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maridvnvm Posted December 10, 2022 · Member Share Posted December 10, 2022 The legionary eagles are a fascinating sub-series to collect in their own right. Here are a few other legions represented from Rome:- LEG I ITAL LEG III ITAL LEG VIII AVG LEG XI CL Here is a COS II, LEG XIIII GEM M V from Emesa but nowhere near as nice as the one above Here is on with an AVG II C obverse (ex HJ Berk) This mint didn't just do LEG XIIII Here is an AVG II CO with LEG VIII AVO (sic) (possibly only the 3rd known example) Alexandria produced LEG III IT AVG Though they sometimes mis spelled it as AVI There are also babrbarous ones out there for those who are that way inclined. This one copies Rome LEG II ADIVT 8 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaniard Posted December 10, 2022 · Supporter Author Share Posted December 10, 2022 Lovely coins posted! Would just like to say thanks to @maridvnvm & @dougsmit for their input before buying the op coin.... It's certainly an intriguing series that I've found most enjoyable researching. My birth sign is capricorn so the op will have a special place in my cabinet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougsmit Posted December 11, 2022 · Member Share Posted December 11, 2022 13 hours ago, maridvnvm said: Here are a few other legions represented from Rome:- LEG I ITAL As with just about anything I have studied, there is more about these things to be learned. LEG I ITAL and all the legionaries come in several dies and many specimens are imperfectly centered to the point we might assume readings that are not exactly correct. I'll show a LEG I ITAL which seems normal which, like the maridvnvm coin, shows the I of ITAL directly above the eagle wing. ...what do you see here? Is the numeral I merged with the wing or is the correct reading of this die LEG ITAL with no number? The more I learn, the less I 'know' as opposed to 'think'! We should point out that there are also coins from other numbered legions that used ITAL. This is LEG II ITAL. Can you see how an off centered, part legend coin might be hard to identify without comparing dies with other specimens? Yes, as a matter of fact there are LEG III ITAL coins as well. Since I mentioned the possibility of using die matches with 'better' specimens, this might be a good place to point out that there are obverse dies that were used with more than one legion number reverse. This coin of the common LEG XIIII GEMMV shares the obverse die with my LEG ITAL (without numeral?). I have not made any effort to do a study on die overlapping. That could show some interesting patterns of use or it might just show a lot of random use. If one of you knows anything about which legions were involved in die sharing with which others or which never did (if any), I'd be happy to hear from you. Is anyone out there shopping for a research project and have funding to travel the world (not to mention the Internet) attempting a die study of silver coins that are not terribly common but still a lot more complex than the gold and bronze coins that have been studied in the past? Is there someone about ten years old (or yet unborn) that will devote their life to such a project? I'll never know. Obviously, I would love to see other specimens of my "numberless?" die (whether yours or online). I'd be happy to correspond with anyone else who even cares about this series. I suspect there are a thousand people who like Antony legionaries for every one who is into Septimius. 8 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qcumbor Posted December 11, 2022 · Supporter Share Posted December 11, 2022 No legionnary denarius for Septimius here, but a Victory over britts (not related to the victory of France over England yesterday at the soccer's world cup 😄 ). And that was the first ever silver coin I bought (1983 CE) Q 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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