Septimus Severus, denarius

This is one of two coins sent in to be identified and valued by Darren Smith. It’s a denarius of Septimius Severus, whose dates are 193 to 211 AD. In 209 he came to Britain, where there had been much unrest after an invasion of the North by Barbarians. The resulting campaign had a detrimental impact on the emperor’s health and he died at York in February of 211.

On the obverse of this denarius is the laureate head of Severus and a legend reading SEVERVS AVG PART MAX. The reverse depicts the emperor holding a spear whilst sacrificing over an altar; the legend on this side reads RESTITVTOR VRBIS. In volume II of David sear’s Roman Coins and Their Values the type is listed as number 6357 and is said to have been struck at Rome during 201.

Valuation

The coin is one of the commoner types but its state of preservation is well above average for a detecting find. The edge is very irregular but the imagery within the inner circle on both sides would grade about EF. Some collectors might be put off by the rough edge but the rest of this coin is so attractive that a pre-sale auction estimate should be in the region of £80 – £100.

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