Silver Denarius - Ancient Rome, c. 193-211 AD
Ruler: Septimius Severus
Obv: Laureate head of bearded Severus, right
Rev: PMTRTXV COS III PP Victory standing rt, inscribing shield attached to palm tree
Mint: Rome (struck 207 AD)
S-R6340, 18mm, 3.43gm
Commemorates victories in North Africa - Exceptional Portrait, Scarce Reverse
Septimius Severus, also known as Severus, was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. Severus was born in Leptis Magna in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the cursus honorum—the customary succession of offices—under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of Emperor Pertinax in 193 during the Year of the Five Emperors.
Late in his reign he travelled to Britain, strengthening Hadrian's Wall and reoccupying the Antonine Wall. In 208 he invaded Caledonia (modern Scotland), but his ambitions were cut short when he fell fatally ill in late 210. Severus died in early 211 at Eboracum (today York, England), succeeded by his sons Caracalla and Geta. With the succession of his sons, Severus founded the Severan dynasty, the last dynasty of the empire before the Crisis of the Third Century
