Septimius Severus AR Denarius, Emesa, COS II, BONA SPES, AD 194 RIC IV 364

Septimius Severus, denarius, silver, reign AD 193–211; Emesa mint, struck AD 193–211; 3.18 g, 18.2 mm. Obverse legend IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG COS II with laureate bust right. Reverse legend BONA SPES; Spes, draped, advancing left, holding flower in right hand and raising fold of skirt with left. Struck in the Eastern fabric of Emesa on a compact flan; die axis about 6h. RIC IV 364.

This Eastern issue belongs to the coinage produced for Severus during the civil war that followed AD 193. The obverse titulature includes PERT, reflecting Severus’s adoption of the cognomen Pertinax to legitimize his rule, and COS II dates the type to his second consulship in AD 194. Emesa in Syria served as a principal military mint supplying silver for operations against Pescennius Niger, while the reverse type BONA SPES conveyed an official message of hope for stability under the new regime.