Septimius Severus Sestertius, RIC IV Septimius Severus 673b

Monetary Context and Denominational Role

During the late second century AD, the Roman monetary system still formally operated on the bimetallic and base-metal denominational hierarchy stabilized under Augustus and adjusted during the Antonine period. The sestertius constituted the principal large copper-alloy denomination of the empire, tariffed at four asses or one quarter of a silver denarius. Traditionally struck from orichalcum (a brass alloy combining copper and zinc), the sestertius functioned as the premier visual medium for state communication owing to its generous flan diameter and substantial weight, which typically centered between 22 and 28 grams during this transitional period. Under Septimius Severus, fiscal demands created by civil war and imperial pay increases precipitated structural strains across all denominations. While the silver denarius experienced significant debasement, dropping toward roughly fifty percent silver fineness early in the reign, base-metal production witnessed progressive changes in metallurgy, with orichalcum increasingly mixed with bronze and recycled copper scrap. Sestertii like RIC IV Septimius Severus 673b were minted in relatively modest numbers compared to the vast denarius outputs required for military disbursements, yet they remained vital for domestic commerce and institutional payments throughout Rome and the Italian peninsula. The formal senatorial sanction implied by the letters S C (Senatus Consulto) remained a steadfast characteristic of imperial bronze, signaling civil continuity and constitutional legitimacy even as imperial authority rested decisively upon the power of the legions.

Production and Mint Organization

RIC IV Septimius Severus 673b was produced exclusively at the primary imperial mint located in the city of Rome. Although Severus also organized auxiliary provincial mints in the East, such as those at Alexandria and Antioch (or Syrian mints conventionally grouped under Laodicea ad Mare), those operations focused almost entirely on silver denarii and local regional coinages to finance the military campaigns against Pescennius Niger. The production of senatorial copper-alloy coinage remained strictly centralized within the capital. Mint workers operating under the control of imperial procurators prepared cast flans before striking them by hand between hardened iron dies. Metallurgical analyses of Severan aes coinage indicate that zinc levels in sestertius flans were often lower than the golden brass characteristic of early Julio-Claudian issues, producing darker, more variable bronze surfaces that frequently incorporated trace amounts of tin and lead. Die alignment for Rome mint issues during this period predominantly followed an approximately regular or semi-regular vertical axis (roughly twelve o'clock or six o'clock), though minor rotational offsets were common due to manual operation. Surviving specimens show considerable variability in planchet thickness and weight, reflecting the speed and volume required of the Rome officinae during the opening campaigns of the civil conflicts.

Obverse Typology and Imperial Iconography

The obverse of RIC IV Septimius Severus 673b presents a right-facing bust of Septimius Severus. In standard numismatic classification, this sub-type is characterized by the presence of drapery, or occasionally an aegis, gathered on the emperor's left shoulder, while his head is crowned with a laurel wreath whose ties hang behind the neck. This configuration distinguishes type 673b from the more common subtype 673a, which depicts a simple laureate head with bare neck and shoulders. Severus is shown with his characteristic early portraiture, featuring a curling, moderately lengthened beard and a prominent brow, echoing the dignified gravitas of Marcus Aurelius while maintaining distinct personal traits. The inclusion of the paludamentum or aegis on the shoulder emphasizes the military commander ready for combat, serving as an explicit visual declaration of imperium to the Roman populace while Severus was actively campaigning beyond the capital. The laurel wreath symbolizes triumph and divine protection, elements crucial for legitimizing an emperor who had taken the purple by force following the brief reigns of Pertinax and Didius Julianus.

Reverse Typology and Allegorical Program

The reverse design of this sestertius features the goddess Virtus standing facing left, dressed in military attire. She wears a crested helmet and a short tunic or drapery, embodying martial courage, manly valor, and civic duty. In her outstretched right hand, Virtus holds a small statuette of Victory holding a wreath and palm, while her left hand cradles a vertical spear with its point directed upward. Across the lower field, flanking the figure, appear the letters S and C, denoting Senatus Consulto. The depiction of Virtus on this issue is directly linked to the emperor's battlefield conduct and triumphs over Pescennius Niger during the civil campaign of AD 194. By attributing victory directly to Virtus Augusti, the mint presented the ongoing military victories not as reckless factional conflict between Roman citizens, but as the triumph of disciplined imperial valor overcoming instability. The combination of Victory and the spear reinforces the thematic message that peace and security within the empire could only be preserved through supreme martial excellence and relentless divine favor.

Epigraphy and Legend Analysis

The legends on RIC IV Septimius Severus 673b provide precise chronological and ideological evidence regarding its date of manufacture. The obverse legend reads L SEPT SEV PERT AVG IMP III, inscribed clockwise from the lower left. This formula begins with the emperor's tria nomina and cognomen, Lucius Septimius Severus, followed by PERT, which Severus adopted in early AD 193 to proclaim himself the rightful avenger and ideological heir of the murdered emperor Pertinax. AVG stands for Augustus, while IMP III records his third imperial acclamation, earned in early AD 194 following successful engagements against the eastern forces of Pescennius Niger, likely at Cyzicus and Nicaea. The reverse legend reads VIRT AVG TR P II COS II P P S C. Here, VIRT AVG abbreviates Virtus Augusti, honoring the emperor's martial virtue. The epigraphic sequence continues with TR P II (Tribunicia Potestate II), indicating Severus's second tenure of tribunician power held during AD 194, COS II (Consul II), recording his second consulship assumed on January 1 of that year, and P P (Pater Patriae), confirming his title as Father of the Country. Finally, S C confirms senatorial authorization for the bronze striking. The strict alignment between IMP III and TR P II narrows the execution of this reverse legend to the middle months of AD 194.

Typology, Variants, and Chronological Placement

Within the standard classification system of Roman Imperial Coinage, RIC IV Septimius Severus 673 is separated into distinct varieties based entirely upon the drapery execution of the imperial obverse portrait. Sub-type 673a comprises coins showing a laureate head with no drapery, while 673b specifically designates the variety bearing drapery or an aegis on the left shoulder. Both varieties share the identical reverse composition and legend VIRT AVG TR P II COS II P P S C. In the broader chronological sequence of Severus's bronze issues, type 673 follows the earlier AD 193 and early AD 194 strikings bearing the acclamations IMP and IMP II. Later in AD 194, Severus achieved his decisive victory over Niger at the Battle of Issus, prompting the assumption of IMP IV. Consequently, sestertii bearing the specific combination of TR P II and IMP III were minted within a very narrow operational window during the spring and summer of AD 194. Neighboring bronze types from the same period feature alternative reverse allegories, including Apollo, Minerva, and personifications of Fortuna and Moneta, indicating a coordinated propaganda campaign issued by the Rome mint while the emperor remained absent in the East.

Circulation Patterns and Monetary Dispersal

Sestertii of the Severan period were struck predominantly for western circulation, including the Italian heartland, the Gallic provinces, the Rhine and Danube frontiers, and Hispania. In contrast to denarii, which traveled wherever Roman military legions were deployed across both East and West, heavy bronze denominations rarely penetrated the Greek-speaking eastern provinces, where local cities maintained their own extensive civic bronze coinages. Archaeological finds, hoards, and site recovery data demonstrate that sestertii from AD 194 circulated alongside surviving Antonine and early second-century aes coinage for many decades. Because bronze did not suffer the formal demonetizations or immediate melts often inflicted upon silver during debasements, specimens of RIC IV Septimius Severus 673b frequently remained in circulation until the mid-third century AD, sustaining considerable mechanical wear and environmental corrosion. By the joint reign of Trebonianus Gallus and Volusian or the early years of Valerian, the severe inflationary pressures of the third century drastically curtailed the routine minting and practical use of the sestertius, ultimately causing Severan bronze coins to be discarded, hoarded, or melted into secondary copper scrap.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. pp. 124-126
2. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV, Part I: Pertinax to Geta. pp. 138-139, no. 673b
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Septimius Severus 673b. RIC IV Septimius Severus 673b
4. Roman Coins and Their Values, Volume II: The Accession of Nerva to the Severan Dynasty (AD 96-235). nos. 6445-6448