Septimius Severus. Denarius

Septimius Severus; 193-211 AD, Rome, 201-210 AD, Denarius, 2.54g. BMC-p. 178, citing Gnecchi. Obv: SEVERVS - PIVS AVG Head laureate r. Rx: VICTORI - AE AVGG on l. and r., Victory advancing l. holding wreath and palm. Ex Curtis L. Clay Collection. Apparently a new denarius reverse type, first reported by Gnecchi and Cohen, and now confirmed by the two specimens from the Clay Collection offered here, which share the same reverse die with each other but were struck from two different obverse dies. The style and fabric of these two specimens are definitely those of the mint of Rome, not Eastern as suggested in BMC; the date of the type's production, however, remains to be determined.. VF