AETERNIT IMPERI

318, Lot: 706. Estimate $300. Sold for $750. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Septimius Severus, with Caracalla and Geta as Caesar. AD 193-211. AR Denarius (18mm, 2.49 g, 2h). Rome mint. Struck AD 201-202. SEVERVS PIVS AVG, laureate head of Septimius right / AETERNIT IMPERI, laureate head of Carcalla right, vis-à-vis bare head of Geta left. RIC IV 252; RSC 7. Good VF, porous. Scarce.

Without an heir to take up the throne, the possibility of a civil war erupting after the death of an emperor was an enormous threat to public safety. This scarce issue proclaims the continuity – even the eternity – of the dynasty, depicting both Severus’ “heir and spare”.