An Æ 20 of Septimius Severus from Nicaea now in RPC V.2

[Roman Collector]

I had been awaiting the online release of RPC V.2 so I could look up this coin, which I purchased several years ago.

Septimius Severus, 192-211 CE.
Roman provincial Æ 20.2 mm, 5.62 gm, 12 h.
Bithynia, Nicaea, Issue 1.
Obv: ΑΥ ΚΛ CЄΠ CЄΥΗΡΟC CЄB, laureate head, right.
Rev: ΝΙΚΑΙЄΩΝ, Asklepios standing facing, head left, holding serpent-staff.
Ref: RPC V.2 (unassigned; ID 93767) Rec. Gen. 333; Mionnet Suppl. 5, 589.

It appeared to be scarce and I consulted numerous online databases and print references for the issue, but only found two. The best match was the online version of Recueil Général (RG) book 1, volume 3 (page 440), where it is listed as #333, citing a retouched (tooled?) specimen in Milan, an Æ 21 mm with illegible obverse legend.

I am less certain about this listing in Mionnet suppl. 5 (p. 109), where it is listed as #589, citing Vaillant's Numismatica Graeca (N.g.) and also noting an incomplete obverse legend. 



This coin cited by Mionnet is on Valliant's p. 85, which cites "Reg. Suecia," the king or queen of Sweden, almost certainly Queen Christina.



The reason that I am not sure is that the module size is listed as Æ 4 in Mionnet, and I'm not sure what size that is in millimeters, because the coin comes in two module sizes. Note that the specimen at Wildwinds (under RG 333b) appears to have been of a smaller module, where a catalog number of 333b is noted in a hand-written addition to the Paris edition of RG in the Grand Duc collection.  For this reason, I was looking forward to the online release of RPC V.2, so I could see additional specimens and attribute the coin more precisely.

Last night I looked up the coin in RPC and found two listings. Both were small modules, 16 mm and weighing a bit more than 3 grams, one with a bare head and the other with a laureate head (the listing cites the Wildwinds specimen contributed by Naville I noted above). Mine is larger in diameter and about 2 grams heavier. I suspected mine was a different denomination and submitted it to RPC as such.

This morning, I received an email from Michael Amandry:

Many thanks. A new issue indeed: I created https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/type/93767

All best wishes

 

Michel Amandry

Now mine is the exemplar of a larger denomination at RPC V.2!! How cool is that?

Edited December 22, 2024 by Roman Collector
Adding the Vaillant listing

[JAZ Numismatics]

Very cool indeed. It's amazing what you can find in this hobby.