It's taken a while, but I've managed to acquire examples of every
denarius consecration issue
Caracalla minted for
his father on the occasion of
Septimius Severus' deification in 211AD, and I thought it would be interesting and illustrative to depict them all here in one easy place for future reference.
The year was 210 AD and
Septimius Severus was campaigning in Caledonia, which is modern day Scotland, trying to quell the tribes that
had been raiding
Britannia, and adding the honorific
Britannicus Maximus to
his already lengthy imperial string of titles. In the leadup to
his death in 211, Septimius
had won a series of victories over the Caledonians, despite hard fighting and guerilla tactics being employed against the
Romans. A
peace was negotiated that included territorial concessions to the empire. Later in the year, the Caledonians joined forces with more northern tribes and revolted, breaking the
peace agreement.
Severus, being the uncompromising emperor that he was began preparations for a campaign of annihilation, where he planned to concentrate the legions' might and wipe out every last Caledonian to make this a safe
part of
Britain for
Roman settlers. Cassius Dio tells us he famously decreed "Let no-one escape sheer destruction, no-one our
hands, not even the babe in the womb of the mother, if it be male, let it nevertheless not escape sheer destruction."
Just as the renewed campaign was kicking off though,
Severus got sick and died in
Eboracum (Modern day York) on February 4, 2011. It is thought he died of complications related to chronic gout. He was 65 years old.
There are two versions of what
his last words were, depending on the reference:
Firstly, and reportedly to
his sons,
Caracalla and
Geta he said; "Be harmonious, enrich the soldiers, scorn all others". As
wise as this might have been within 10 months
Geta would be assassinated on
Caracalla's orders.
Secondly, and reportedly to
his entourage, he said; "The state, when I received it, was harassed on every
side; I leave it at
peace, even in
Britain; old now and with crippled feet, I bequeath to my two Antonini an empire which is strong, if they prove
good, feeble, if they prove bad." After this, he issued orders to give the tribune the watchword "Let us toil," because
his most legitimate predecessor,
Pertinax, when he assumed the imperial power,
had given the word "Let us be soldiers".
Severus' ashes were entombed in
Hadrian's Mausoleum, considered an exceptional
honor at the time. After
his death,
Severus was deified by the Senate and succeeded by
his sons,
Caracalla and
Geta, who were advised by
Severus' widdow,
Julia Domna.
Caracalla, being the elder son and emperor, ordered the
mint of
Rome to strike coins honoring
Severus' deification. In precious metals, this included 5 different patterns of
denarii and 2 patterns of
aurei. All the obverses are identical, a bare headed
bust of
Severus with the
legend DIVO SEVERO
PIO proclaiming
Severus as a new god. They differed in their reverses, which all shared the same
legend;
CONSECRATIO (
consecration in English, declaring the memory of
Severus to be sacred), as follows:
RIC 191A -
Aureus -
Eagle standing facing on lightning bolt,
head left, wings displayed.
RIC 191B -
Denarius, struck from the same dies as 191A above.
details and higher
res photos here:
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=187615RIC 191C -
Denarius -
Eagle standing facing on globe,
head left, wings displayed. (the most common coin in the series, yet there were only 10 in the
Reka Devnia hoard, speaking to the
rarity of all the coins in the series)
details and higher
res photos here:
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=178684RIC 191D -
Denarius -
Eagle standing facing on low
column or
altar,
head left.
details and higher
res photos here:
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=179443RIC 191E -
Denarius - Draped
pulvinar (throne), on which lies a
wreath; footstool below.
details and higher
res photos here:
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=187637RIC 191F -
Aureus - Funeral pyre, surmounted by
quadriga.
RIC 191F -
Denarius - Struck from the same dies as the
aureus above.
details and higher
res photos here:
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=171366
