SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS

AD 193-211 AE21. 3.21g, 21.2mm MINTED: MOESIA INFERIOR Marcianopolis, AD 193-211 REF: H&J, Marcianopolis 6.14.14.1; Varbanov 732 OBVERSE: AV K  Λ CЄ CЄVHPOC, laureate bust right.

REVERSE: MARKIANOPOLITWN, Hercules strangling the Nemean lion.

Grade/Notes:

Almost Very Fine. Very dark blackish-green patina.

Mythological reverse type depicting the hero Hercules wrestling the monstrous Nemean Lion.

Historical Notes:

Marcianopolis, located in present-day northeastern Bulgaria, was a Moesian city founded by Emperor Trajan and named after his sister, the empress Marciana.  It had pleasant nearby hot springs and was blessed with an advantageous location between ports on the Black Sea coast and cities further inland such as Nicopolis.  Despite being affected by Gothic incursions into the region in the mid 3rd century, Marcianopolis continued to thrive and was the largest city in Thrace in the 4th century.  In AD 447, it was sacked and destroyed by the armies of Attila the Hun.