Sale: Nomos 6, Lot: 158. Estimate CHF50000.  Closing Date: Monday, 7 May 2012.  Sold For CHF60000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Septimius Severus. 193-211. Aureus (Gold, 7.27 g 12), with Julia Domna, Rome, c. 201. SEVERVS AVG PART MAX Laureate bust of Septimius Severus to right, with aegis over his shoulders. Rev. IVLIA AVGVSTA Draped bust of Julia Domna to right, her hair in seven waves with a bun at the back. BMC 192. Calicó 2587. Cohen 1. Hill 503. RIC 161b. Very rare. With two superbly elegant portraits. Virtually as struck.

From the collection of a Nobleman, Numismatica Ars Classica 24, 5 December 2002, 131, ex Triton I, 2 December 1997, 1531, Classical Numismatic Group 38, 6 June 1996, 1040 and Bank Leu 50, 25 April 1990, 332.

The Severan dynastic series, which includes each of the four members of the imperial house in varying combinations, is the most elaborate ever produced in Rome. It was meant to express the stability of the Severan family: a senior and junior Augustus, a Caesar and an empress. The artistry with which the dies of this series were made is of unusually high quality.