Roman Imperial Coins

Caracalla. A.D. 198-217. Rome - A.D. 201. AR Denarius. Laureate head right / 'RECTOR ORBIS' Caracalla, naked, standing facing, head left, holding globe & spear. Good Very Fine. A classic reverse design, old collectors ticket included.

Caracalla. A.D. 198-217., Moesia Inferior, Nikopolis ad Istrum. Æ Assarion. Laureate head right / Nude, winged Eros standing left with legs crossed & holding torch. About Very Fine & Scarce.

Caracalla. A.D. 198-217. Rome - A.D. 199. AR Denarius. Laureate head right / 'SECVRIT ORBIS' Securitas enthroned right at ease & holding sceptre; altar to right. Lustrous About Extremely Fine & Scarce thus.

Caracalla. A.D. 198-217., Rome - A.D. 213. AR Denarius. Laureate bust right / 'P M TR P XVI COS IIII P P' Serapis standing raising right hand & holding sceptre. Toned About Extremely Fine.

Gallienus (A.D. 253-268) is a much maligned Roman emperor. Originally he ruled jointly with his father, Valerian I, until the latter was scandalously captured for life by the Sassanid Empire in A.D. 260. Throughout Gallienus’ reign he also faced natural disasters, disease and invasions on all sides. But most serious were at least 8 internal rebellions from his own governors and generals, the last one killed him! Even with these setbacks his impressive 15 years was by far the longest reign of the period called ‘The Crisis of the Third Century’. His reforms, such as a mobile field army, set the stage for the revival of the empire by others after he died. We have put together a small group of his billon silver Antoniniani with various reverses. The chaos of his reign famously meant the quality of his coins declined compared to earlier emperors. What makes these we offer so special is that the portraits are all clear and in Extremely Fine grade! And at a price we think you will agree is most fair, we got a good deal on these so we pass that saving on to you, don’t miss out...

Geta as Caesar. A.D. 198-209., Rome - A.D. 209. AR Denarius. Bare head right / 'PONTIF COS II' Genius/Bonus Eventus standing left sacrificing from patera over altar & holding corn ears. Flan crack, bright About Extremely Fine with a choice portrait.

Publius Septimius Geta was born in A.D. 189 to Julia Domna and Septimius Severus, before the latter was emperor. He was kept as Caesar from A.D. 198 until A.D. 209 when he was finally made joint Emperor with his father and brother, Caracalla. When their father died in A.D. 211 he advised the brothers “Stay friends, be generous to the soldiers and no one else matters”. But, they despised each other; Caracalla become a military ruler while Geta cultivated a philosopher style to emulate previous emperors like Marcus Aurelius. Within the year Caracalla arranged a peace meeting in their mother’s apartments but had Geta assassinated by Centurions. With Geta dead, Caracalla massacred 20,000 of his followers and enacted what we call a Damnatio Memoriae to destroy his memory. This makes his coins Scarce as they were melted down by Caracalla. We offer a Silver Denarius in Good Very Fine condition from throughout his reign. They show his bust on the obverse with various reverses. We have never been able to offer Geta like this before, he is normally too Scarce...

Julia Paula, Wife of Elagabalus., Rome - A.D. 220. AR Denarius. Draped bust right / 'CONCORDIA' Concordia standing left holding patera with star above it. Good Very Fine & Very Scarce.

Julia Soaemias (died AD 222) Mother of Elagabalus. AR Denarius, Rome AD 220-222. Obv. Draped bust right. Rev. VENVS CAELESTIS, Venus standing left holding apple and sceptre, star in field to right. [Sear 7719 var.] Good Very Fine & Scarce.

Macrinus. A.D. 217-218., Seleucis & Pieria, Beroea. Billon Tetradrachm. Laur. & draped bust R. / Eagle stg. facing, head L., with wings spread & wreath in beak; mintmark between legs. Good Very Fine & Rare!

In A.D. 208 Septimius Severus set off for Britannia to conquer the island but he would never see Rome again! The people and the landscape of Caledonia (Scotland) proved too much and Septimius Severus, exhausted by his efforts, fell ill and died in York in early A.D. 211. His dying words to his sons were ‘stay friends, be generous to the soldiers and no one else matters’. In his reign he had increased a soldiers pay from 375 to 500 silver Denari a year, a good wage in those days! This meant he created over 1000 different denarius reverse types. We offer you these silver Denari with the head of Septimius Severus on the obverse and various reverses from the Roman Emperor who died in York. Offered here in Fine grading.

Septimius Severus was Roman Emperor from AD 193-211. In AD 208 he travelled to Britain to strengthen Hadrian’s Wall and went on to invade Scotland that same year but his plans were cut short when he became ill and died in York in AD 211. We have a few silver denarius in Very Fine Condition minted during his reign. There are different types but all have his portrait on the obverse, and usually a standing or seated figure on the reverse. PHOTOGRAPH IS REPRESENTATIVE OF COIN SUPPLIED.

Septimius Severus. A.D. 193-211., Laodicea ad Mare - A.D. 198. AR Denarius. Laureate head right / 'SALVTI AVGG' Salus enthroned left feeding snake from patera. Reflective Good Very Fine & Scarce.

Septimius Severus. A.D. 193-211., Rome - A.D. 209. AR Denarius. Laureate head right / 'P M TR P XVII COS III P P' Salus enthroned left feeding snake from patera. Good Very Fine.

Severus Alexander, AD 222-235, AR Denarius. Obverse: Laureate and draped bust of Alexander facing to right. Reverse: P M TR P VI COS II P P, Mars walking right with spear and trophy. [RIC 61, RSC 305] Near Mint with much lustre.

Born around A.D.208 in Phoenicia, Severus Alexander was the cousin of the unpredictable Emperor Elagabalus. He was adopted as heir in A.D. 221 at the age of thirteen and seamlessly took over in A.D. 222. The new emperor was young and weak, his mother, Julia Mamaea, and his grandmother, Julia Maesa, ruled the empire early on. Later, Severus Alexander assumed more power and was a reasonably successful ruler. He was popular with the people as he helped with debts and had many building projects. He also fought a difficult and partially successful campaign against the Persians from A.D. 231-234. But while campaigning against the German tribes on the Rhine in A.D. 235 his mother tried to pay the enemy to leave! The army saw this as dishonourable and chose a new emperor Maximinus, a Thracian. Alexander and his mother were murdered by their own troops in A.D. 235 at their camp near Mainz in Germany. We offer Silver Denarius of Severus Alexander in a Good Very Fine condition with various reverses. Don’t miss out on the last of the Severan Dynasty.

Severus Alexander. A.D. 222-235. Alexandria, Roman Egypt - A.D. 228. Billon Tetradrachm. Laureate bust right / Helmeted bust of Athena Parthenos right. Good Very Fine & Scarce. This has particularly refined detail for Egyptian coins, pleasing bust of Athena.

Severus Alexander. A.D. 222-235., Rome - A.D. 228. AR Denarius. Laur. bust R. / 'P M TR P VI COS II P P' Mars adv. R. hdg. trophy & spear. Flan chip, Lustrous Good Extremely Fine & Scarce thus.

Valerian was from a traditional Roman senatorial family and had a long, distinguished career. In A.D. 253, at 58, he was declared emperor and his son, Gallienus, was made joint ruler. Valerian left Gallienus in the West and took command in the East. He campaigned against the Persians and restored order but, in A.D. 260 he and his army were captured alive by the Persian king, Shapur. Legends talk of Shapur using Valerian as a footstool, a mounting step and feeding him molten gold; then flaying him and placing the skin on display. But, in all stone carvings on the necropolis of Naghshe-Rostamhat, Valerian is showing holding hands with Shapur in submission as a living prisoner. Also, Band-e Kaisar (Caesar’s Dam) near modern Shushtar, Iran was built around the time of Valerian with Roman techniques, alien to anything around. I suspect he and his captured army was put to work! We may never know sadly, a mystery lost to time. What you can have though is a coin from his reign, before he was captured! We have a little group of his billon silver Antoninianus in Very Fine condition. Enjoy your coin of the ensnared emperor.