Septimius Severus Silver Denarius, RIC IV Septimius Severus 383

Monetary Context and Historical Setting

The issue of RIC IV Septimius Severus 383 falls directly into the period of imperial civil conflict following the assassination of Commodus and the rapid demises of Pertinax and Didius Julianus in 193 AD. After being proclaimed emperor by the Danubian legions at Carnuntum, Septimius Severus secured Rome before marching east to confront his rival Pescennius Niger, who held sway over the wealthy eastern provinces and Syria. Severus's campaigns across the eastern Mediterranean required substantial liquidity to pay troops, secure logistical routes, and assert imperial legitimacy across territories recently controlled by his adversary. The emission of silver denarii bearing eastern stylistic markers and imperial titulature reflects an immediate financial apparatus established to support Severan armed forces in the field, operating concurrently with, yet independently from, the primary urban mint at Rome.

Production and Mint Attribution

RIC IV 383 was produced by the traveling or auxiliary imperial workshop traditionally assigned to Emesa (modern Homs, Syria). In early Severan numismatic scholarship, the attribution of eastern denarii was debated, with scholars like Harold Mattingly classifying them among workshops operating in Syria, Phoenicia, or Cappadocia. Detailed stylistic and die analysis, bolstered by subsequent hoards and metallurgical examinations, has consolidated the attribution of this particular series to Emesa between 194 and 195 AD. The coins of this mint are readily distinguished from Rome mint issues by their idiosyncratic portraiture, slightly lower relief, irregular die alignments, and distinctive letter forms. Metallurgical studies show that eastern Severan denarii from this phase were struck on an alloy containing roughly 50 to 60 percent silver, often exhibiting slightly lower fineness than contemporary central Roman strikings but meeting local military expenditure requirements.

Obverse Iconography

The obverse displays the laureate head of Septimius Severus turned to the right. The portraiture exemplifies the distinctive stylistic conventions of the Emesa mint, featuring a relatively compact head, a sharp, aquiline profile, tightly arranged beard curls, and prominent, deeply engraved facial lines. The laurel wreath rests securely on the head, with long ties trailing down behind the truncation of the neck. The portrait exhibits an expressive, provincial aesthetic that stands in marked contrast to the more rounded, idealized portraits produced at the mint of Rome during the same years. The execution of the die reflects local die-cutters adapting official imperial likenesses to regional artistic idioms while maintaining immediate recognition of the new emperor.

Reverse Iconography and Attributes

The reverse composition presents a draped female deity standing toward the left. Identified by the legend as Fortuna Redux, the figure holds a cornucopiae cradled in her left arm, symbolizing abundance, fertility, and imperial prosperity. In her right hand, she holds a long upright palm branch. This pairing of attributes presents an iconographic anomaly: Fortuna is traditionally portrayed with a rudder, a wheel, or a patera, whereas the long palm branch is the canonical attribute of Hilaritas or Felicitas, celebrating joy, success, and military triumph. Numismatists have noted that the Emesa die-cutters frequently conflated deities or copied prototypes with local stylistic liberty, producing hybrid visual representations where Fortuna assumes attributes of good fortune and joyous celebration.

Epigraphy and Legends

The obverse inscription reads IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG COS II, abbreviating Imperator Caesar Lucius Septimius Severus Pertinax Augustus, Consul II. The inclusion of the name Pertinax underlines Severus's self-proclaimed status as the avenger and legitimate successor of the revered emperor Pertinax. The designation COS II dates the dies securely to Severus's second consulship, which commenced on January 1, 194 AD. The reverse legend reads FORTVN REDVC, an abbreviated form of Fortunae Reduci (To Fortuna who brings back safe return). Epigraphically, the lettering on Emesa issues displays sharp, spidery letterforms with occasional blunders or non-standard abbreviation schemes, reflecting the Greek-speaking provincial environment in which the Latin dies were prepared.

Typology and Chronological Sequence

RIC IV Septimius Severus 383 belongs to the extensive COS II series struck at Emesa during 194 and 195 AD. This phase succeeded the scarce initial issues of 193 AD (COS I) and preceded the cessation of silver minting at Emesa when regional production was consolidated or relocated to Antioch around 196 AD. The Fortuna Redux type is part of a broad thematic repertoire struck for Severus at Emesa that emphasized military victory, divine protection, and legitimate dynastic continuity. Typological parallels exist across contemporaneous Severan eastern denominations, yet the specific combination of the FORTVN REDVC legend with a palm-bearing figure remains a defining diagnostic characteristic of this exact catalogue type.

Circulation, Hoards, and Distribution

Denarii of the Emesa mint circulated heavily throughout the Near East, the Danubian frontier, and Egypt, serving primarily as soldier pay during the eastern campaigns. Hoard evidence from Syria, Mesopotamia, and the Rhine-Danube limes demonstrates that these eastern issues readily integrated into the broader imperial monetary pool alongside Roman central issues, despite minor variances in weight and silver purity. Over time, as legions moved between theaters of war, coins of the Emesa workshop dispersed widely across the empire, frequently appearing in mixed Severan and third-century silver hoards until the demonetization and re-coinage reforms under subsequent dynasties.

References

1. The Metallurgy of Roman Silver Coinage: From the Reform of Nero to the Reform of Trajan Decius. Severan Eastern Mints, pp. 583-605
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume V: Pertinax to Elagabalus. Emesa issues, pp. 91-97
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Septimius Severus 383. ric.4.ss.383
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IV, Part I: Pertinax to Geta. p. 140, no. 383