Severus Alexander, 222-235, Denarius

Severus Alexander, Denarius, AR, AD 222–235; Rome, AD 229. 3.45 g; 19 mm. Obverse: IMP SEV ALEXAND AVG; laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right. Reverse: P M TR P VIII COS III P P; Aequitas standing left, holding scales and cornucopia. Struck at Rome in AD 229 during the emperor’s eighth tribunician year and third consulship. Reference: RIC IV Severus Alexander 92.

This issue records Severus Alexander’s titulature precisely, allowing firm dating to AD 229, the year of his third consulship at Rome, a term shared with the historian Cassius Dio. Denarii of this series commonly pair full imperial titles with standard personifications, serving as an official register of annually changing offices (TR P counts and consulships) during a relatively stable phase of his reign preceding the eastern wars against the Sasanian Persians.