A more severe Severus: My first coins of Septimius Severus from Emesa

[Ryro]

(Septimius, Julia, Caracalla and Burny face)

There's always been something very alluring to me about the artistry of Septimius Severus coins from Emesa. Gone is the near Santa Clause looking figure of the coins from Rome. And we get a much more severe (unavoidable pun alert!) portrait with a scraggly beard, skinny face with sharp cheek bones and near bulging eyes. THIS is what a brutal warlord like Septimius Severus should look like!

Of course, all blame for my infatuation with the coin type lay squarely at the feet of @dougsmit and @maridvnvm, who have spent countless hours researching and posting about these (probably part of the reason they are so much more expensive at auction than their Roman counterparts!)

And, of course, here are the coins. Presumably very common types, as I was able to afford them without a crazy bidding war like some of the other examples saw:

Septimius Severus (193-211 AD). Emesa
AR Denarius (17.2mm 2.96g)
Obv: IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG COS II. Laureate head right.
Rev: FORTVN REDVC Fortuna standing left, holding palm in right hand, cornucopia in left.
BMC 357; Cohen 175; RIC 383.

Septimius Severus (193-211 AD). Emesa

AR Denarius (16.1mm 2.88g)

Obv: IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG COS II. Laureate head right

Rev: VICTOR AVG. Victory advancing left, holding wreath in right hand and palm in left.

BMC 396; Cohen 697; RIC 425.

As this is outside my normal collecting area any identification clarifications are appreciated as I'm at the auction houses mercy. 

Here is a very Roman example of mine for artistic comparison:

But which artistic representation is more realistic? Funny enough, I see the tondo at the top as looking more like the depiction of Septimius from Emesa and the above bust as more like the Roman portrait.

Please post your Severan coins, coins of Emesa, thoughts and or anything adding to the fun. 

[seth77]

Nice specs but I think that the answer to the question why they seem to be more expensive than the coins from Rome is that they are just not that common. They were struck for a short while (especially the so-called-Emesa) and they dont seem to be all that present in auctions lately.

[Al Kowsky]

Ryro, Those are handsome looking coins & great photos 🤩. Pictured below is a Macrinus tet struck in Emesa that I won from a Roma auction 4 years ago. 

Seleucis & Pieria. Macrinus, AD 217-218. Emesa Mint. Billon Tetradrachm: 11.67 gm, 25 mm, 1 h. Reverse: Eagle with spread wings, wreath in beak, bust of Shamash between legs. Prieur 972.

[panzerman]

Nice coins guys! I ONLY have a single SS from Rome Mint/ struck 200-01AD. From Künker auction(Kohlmoos Coll)

Seems Caracalla turned out cold blooded killer like Dad. Top ten worst emperors.....

Septimus Severus #9

Caracalla #10

 

[Qcumbor]

Great Severans.

From my trays the Emesa mint is limited to one example :

 

Julia Domna - Epouse de Septime Sévère (13/04/193-04/02/211) - Augusta (194-217) - Tetradrachme de billon de l'atelier d'Emese - ca 215-217, officine O
IOYΛIA · · · AYΓOYCTA  Buste drapé et diadémé de Julia à droite, vu par l'avant 
ΔHΜΑPX· · ΕΞ OYCIAC· Aigle de face, les ailes déployées, la tête à gauche, tenant une couronne dans son bec. Entre les pattes, buste radié, drapé et cuirassé de Shamash à gauche. Sous la tête de l'aigle O
26 mm - 13,97 gr - 6h
Ref : Prieur # 995, 
Provenance : Ira & Larry Goldberg auction #128/2361, Ex CNG Sale # 91, Lot 632.

Q

[expat]

I have Septimus, Julia Domna, Caracalla and Geta. Unfortunately they are all from Rome. But he does have a straggly beard.

Septimius Severus AR Denarius, Rome 207 AD. 20mm, 3.31gr.
RIC 207, RSC 493, BMC 531
SEVERVS PIVS AVG, laureate head right / P M TR P XV COS III P P, Africa standing right, holding out folds of drapery containing fruits, lion at feet walking right.

[lordmarcovan]

No Emesa, but this is the nicest SeptSev I’ve had.  I daresay it actually had some luster.

Edited December 31, 2023 by lordmarcovan

[JayAg47]

Nice coins! Here's my only Septimius Severus, I think from Rome mint.

[Shea19]

Very nice new pickups.  I don’t have an eastern denarius of Septimius, but I can share this Macrinus tet from Emesa.

Macrinus, Syria, Emesa mint, BI Tetradrachm (26 mm, 14.47 g). AYT K M OΠ CЄ•••MAKPINOC CЄ Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Macrinus to r../ Rev. Eagle with spread wings standing facing, head to l. and holding wreath in beak; between the eagle's legs, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust of Shamash to left. Prieur 974

[CPK]

My favorite Septimius Severus coins that I own are the rare bridge as and the ex-Salton denarius - both of which made it into my "top thirteen" list, so I won't post them again. Instead, I'll post one of my most recent pickups: a bargain-priced sestertius with a nice portrait:

SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, AD 193-211
AE Sestertius (28.30mm, 19.48g, 12h)
Struck AD 195-6. Rome mint.
Obverse: L SEPT SEV PERT AVG IMP VII, laureate and cuirassed bust of Septimius Severus right
Reverse: [P M TR P III(I?) COS II P P] S C, Fortuna, draped, standing left, holding rudder set on globe in right hand and cornucopiae in left hand
References: cf. OCRE IV 709c, RCV 6423

Edited December 31, 2023 by CPK

[Roman Collector]

Here are some denarii of Julia Domna often attributed to Emesa.

 

Julia Domna, AD 193-211.
Roman AR Denarius, 2.52 g, 16.2 mm, 1 h.
Uncertain eastern mint (Cappadocia?) formerly attributed to Emesa, AD 193-196.
Obv: IVLIA DOMNA AVG, bare-headed and draped bust right.
Rev: BONI EVENTVS, Fides (?) standing left, holding basket of fruit and corn ears.
Refs: RIC 616; BMC --; Cohen 10; RCV --; CRE 328.

 

Julia Domna, AD 193-217.
Roman AR denarius, 3.40 g, 17 mm, 12 h.
Eastern mint, AD 194-195.
Obv: IVLIA DO MNA AVG, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: BONA SPES, Spes standing left, holding flower and lifting fold of skirt.
Refs: RIC 614; BMCRE 412-13; Cohen/RSC 8; RCV 6575; CRE 387.

 

Julia Domna, AD 193-217.
Roman AR denarius, 2.94 g, 19 mm, 12 h.
Uncertain eastern mint, AD 193-196.
Obv: IVLIA DOMNA AVG, bare-headed and draped bust of Julia Domna, right.
Rev: LIBERAL AVG, Liberalitas, draped, standing left, holding tessera in right hand and cornucopiae in left.
Refs: RIC 627; BMCRE 418-419; Cohen/RSC 103; RCV 6591; CRE 366.

 

[maridvnvm]

All I have to say is "welcome to the dark side".....

Regards,

Martin

[Sulla80]

Great post, @Ryro - my first Septimius from Rome was acquired in 1975, my second ancient coin, and I still struggle with properly attributing the various mints.  I am grateful to @maridvnvm & @dougsmit for their continued attempts to educate on the styles, technicalities, legends, and history.

 

My favorite Emesa coin of Septimius from the Richard McAlee Collection, certainly inspired by @dougsmit's page on Die Links where this coin is an obverse die match for coins B & H with a different reverse (not pictured in the set). 
 

Septimius Severus. AD 193-211. AR Denarius (19mm, 2.78 g, 12h). Emesa mint. Struck AD 194-195.

Obv: IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG COS II, laureate head right

Rev: FELICIT TEMPOR, grain ear between crossed cornucopiae

Ref: RIC IV 373; BMCRE 347; RSC 142b.

Notes: Light golden toning. Good VF.

 

The obverse die easily recognizable with a small die break connecting hair to legend:

Which makes it easier to notice when it is paired up with a different reverse e.g. (not my coin: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=10603018)

Perhaps interesting to note that the ACSearch image search doesn't find any matches for my coin (not even this coin which is in the database twice from two sales) when I search with the image of obv & reverse, however it does find one die match (the same coin) when I search with only the reverse die:

We are still far from AI die matching being able to do die studies.

[maridvnvm]

An obverse die I do not have.....

[dougsmit]

I began my interest in Septimius denarii of the Eastern mints about 1963 when in high school.  One of my first coins was purchased from Joel Malter for $13.50 which was at that time a lot of money to pay for a denarius of Septimius but I found it interesting enough to call it 'my favorite coin' when I started my website in 1997.   Anyone not familiar with that tale is invited to read the 'why' on the last update of that page.  

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/f01.html

 The coin appeared on what became one of my favorite pages on the site along with several of its 'friends' from the mint known as 'Emesa'.  It and most of my favorites from that mint shared the early style I called 'longhead'.   Of the fifteen coins on that page, none are what one would call common. 

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/bride.html

The later coins of this mint used a different style I termed 'roundhead'.  These include some that are rare and some that are actually quite common (at least common enough that I have a dozen of them).  When I got them, many dealers considered them defective.  Frank Robinson sometimes listed them as questionable because the style was wrong.  Dr. Saslow told me they were not worth collecting.  I could not abide by his ridiculous prices but did trade one I had for one he had that I had never seen before (or since if you count the style).  I gave him one similar to the one below (almost as nice)

and took his defective, barbarous and uncollectable Mars Pater.  Who has one?  

 

Roman Collector showed some nice 'Emesa' Julia coins.  A few others are on my 'Bride' page but I'll stick to Septimius here.  These are a few examples of less commonly seen coins of the group.   There are others with minor variations (especially of Minerva) that we don't see as often as the common group.  My collection is far from complete.  

 

While I still like my 'Emesa' coins, I am more fond of denarii of Alexandria.  maridvnvm really seems to prefer the group known as 'Laodicea'.  I have relatively fewer of them.  The mint city assignment of Alexandria strikes me as rather certain but the others have been reassigned by some 'experts' to other cities including Antioch.  I do not believe those to be any more correct than the traditional attributions (Mattingly in BMCRE vol V).  I favor a system of mints travelling with Septimius and not solidly fixed in any city.  I don't plan on living to see the end of this question.  

There have been several prominent collectors of these coins that came and left in the time I have been interested.  My late friend Roger Bickford-Smith passed away (and excuse I can accept).  The others cashed in and moved on to other ventures.  I suggest those interested in the subject acquire or visit online the catalogs of their collections.  

 

 

 

 

[dougsmit]

3 hours ago, Sulla80 said:

Great post, @Ryro - my first Septimius from Rome was acquired in 1975, my second ancient coin, and I still struggle with properly attributing the various mints.  I am grateful to @maridvnvm & @dougsmit for their continued attempts to educate on the styles, technicalities, legends, and history.

 

My favorite Emesa coin of Septimius from the Richard McAlee Collection, certainly inspired by @dougsmit's page on Die Links where this coin is an obverse die match for coins B & H with a different reverse (not pictured in the set). 
 

Septimius Severus. AD 193-211. AR Denarius (19mm, 2.78 g, 12h). Emesa mint. Struck AD 194-195.

Obv: IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG COS II, laureate head right

Rev: FELICIT TEMPOR, grain ear between crossed cornucopiae

Ref: RIC IV 373; BMCRE 347; RSC 142b.

Notes: Light golden toning. Good VF.

 

The obverse die easily recognizable with a small die break connecting hair to legend:

Which makes it easier to notice when it is paired up with a different reverse e.g. (not my coin: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=10603018)

Perhaps interesting to note that the ACSearch image search doesn't find any matches for my coin (not even this coin which is in the database twice from two sales) when I search with the image of obv & reverse, however it does find one die match (the same coin) when I search with only the reverse die:

We are still far from AI die matching being able to do die studies.

I tried to sell a coin of this die on CoinTalk via John Anthony.  No one wanted it so I decided to clean it and keep it.  I am not a good coin cleaner but it does look better to me now. 

 

I was planning just to keep my other one which had more legends on flan.

[Valentinian]

2 hours ago, dougsmit said:

Anyone not familiar with that tale is invited to read the 'why' on the last update of that page.  

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/f01.html

If you haven't read Doug's pages, you should, especially if you feel constrained by a limited budget. Coins don't have to be beautiful and expensive to be extremely interesting and worthy of being collected. Doug explains how details can be fascinating. Many of his examples are of coins of Septimius Severus and his family, but don't let that deter you. Pick your own area, learn about it, and dive into the details. For a completely different example, but with a similar spirit of interest in details, check out my page on mintmarks of Justinian at Antioch which was renamed "Theopolis" (City of God) after earthquakes severely damaged the city.

http://augustuscoins.com/ed/interesting/Justinian.html

[madhatter]

Heres my Septimius Severus from Emesa

RIC 389, if im not wrong. 

[AETHER]

I have had only one from some time ago because the beard spoke to me.. my only Septimius Severus..

SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS AR silver denarius. Struck at Rome, 196-197 AD. L SEPT SEV PERT AVG IMP VIIII, laureate head right. Reverse - HERCVLI DEFENS, Hercules standing right, holding club on ground in right hand, bow in left. RIC 79, RSC 210. 17mm, 3.0g.

[robinjojo]

Very nice examples posted!

This is my only Septimius Severus example.  I actually have a leftover lot coming from Roma, a sestertius that nobody bid on.  

Septimius Severus, tetradrachm, Laodicea ad Mare, 209-211 AD.  From Roma E-Sale 75, lot 485.

Prieur 1163

15.42 grams

Edited January 2 by robinjojo

[maridvnvm]

Having seen the obverse die illustrated by @Sulla80 and @dougsmit I then noted another example from the same obverse die with the die break but with a different reverse type come up for sale. It is a type that I already have loads of examples of and so am not tempted..... but thought it worthy of note here

[maridvnvm]

@dougsmit posted a whole host of coins that any "Emesa" specialist would be envious of. I certainly know that I am envious of them.

The basket of fruit type is one I am missing for Septimius but I do have for Domna.

The AVG II C  - REREDVC I have noted in my documentation for this interesting (and highly sought after) sub-series.

The left facing bust type always goes for a premium and I have not been able to get one as they are always outside my budget.

The COS II - IOVI PRAE ORBIS is a rare type and a reverse die match to my COS I example, illustrating the linkage between these issues.

The "AVG" - LEG VIII AVG II COS is exceptional and a type that is missing from my "II COS" reverse type collection.

The MINER VICTRIC is a rare reverse type from a very interesting obverse die. I have eight reverse dies linked to this obverse in my collection but am missing this one and unlikely to see one is a hurry.

The COS II - MINER VICTR is an exceptionally lovely example of a very rare reverse type.

The ROMAE AETERNA is so much rarer than the POMA AETERNA  variant.

I am envious of each and every coin illustrated..... truly world class coins.

[Al Kowsky]

9 hours ago, robinjojo said:

Very nice examples posted!

This is my only Septimius Severus example.  I actually have a leftover lot coming from Roma, a sestertius that nobody bid on.  

Septimius Severus, tetradrachm, Laodicea ad Mare, 209-211 AD.  From Roma E-Sale 75, lot 485.

Prieur 1163

15.42 grams

robinjojo, Your tetradrachm is misattributed, it is clearly Prieur 1140, from the SECOND GROUP, 207-208 ☺️ & a double die match to a coin in my collection 😮! See the comparison photo below 🧐.

[robinjojo]

6 hours ago, Al Kowsky said:

robinjojo, Your tetradrachm is misattributed, it is clearly Prieur 1140, from the SECOND GROUP, 207-208 ☺️ & a double die match to a coin in my collection 😮! See the comparison photo below 🧐.

Thank you, Al!  I'll make a note and change the attribution.

Edited January 2 by robinjojo

[maridvnvm]

I am just progessing my most recent couple of additions to this area of my collection.

I stopped actively collecting the late Laodicea-ad-Mare mint coins some time back making an exception for some of the more unusual types but these are typically well outside my budget. The only reason that I was able to buy this examples is because it is broken in a few places and as such of little or no interest to most colectors. It is of some interest to me however as it has an unusual bust type which I have not been able to add to my collection before. The denarii from this series typically come with a Laureate head right. Anything else is a major exception. @dougsmit showed a left facing bust above from the earlier COS II issue. In these later coins the unusual busts are either Laureate, draped and cuirassed or Laureate, cuirassed. I have owned a couple of draped and cuirassed coins but this is the first cuirassed coin I have had from this series. I am happy to give it a home despite being broken.

Obv:– L SEPT SEV PERT AVG IMP VIII, Laureate, cujirassed bust right; aegis on breastplate
Rev:– P M TR P V COS II P P, Pax seated left, holding branch and sceptre
Minted in Laodicea-ad-Mare, A.D. 196 - 197
References:– RIC 490a var (bust type), RSC 444 (bust type)

2.03 gms, 18.79 mm. 0 degrees