Septimius Severus & Julia Domna, Aureus, 200-201
Rome - Gold - MS(65-70)
Sold
Laureate bust of Septimius Severus to right, his shoulders heroically bare.
Draped bust of Julia Domna to right, wearing a round earring under her hair waved in six waves and pulled back in a bun.
The coin we offer for sale, beyond its outstanding state of preservation - having virtually never circulated - its bewitching patina and its pedigree (detailed below), is above all a type of an insignificant rarity. Among the already scarce aureus on which Septimius Severus appears with members of his family, those with Julia Domna and the emperor with a naked bust are the rarest. One remains amazed by the fineness of the engraving and the expressiveness of the portraits of the imperial couple and by the care given to the hair and beard details. Moreover, one will appreciate a beautifully centered strike without any weaknesses. This aureus comes from the Nomos 24 auction of May 22, 2022 (lot #417) and sold on behalf of a Swiss bank. It previously passed through Numismatica Ars Classica 52 on October 7, 2009 (lot #507), Numismatica Fine Arts XXVI on August 14, 1991 (lot #277), and from the sale of the collection of V. M. Brand, part 3, Sotheby's Zurich, June 9, 1983 (lot #368). The coin was originally acquired from Spink, in London in 1910 and comes from the find in the Gertrudenstrasse in Cologne/Koln (CHRE 5289). This treasure was discovered in 1909 by workers during the foundation work of a building. It is an exceptional and colossal set of more than 22,500 gold and silver coins where most of the thousands of coins identified are dated from the reigns of Septimius Severus and Caracalla. The decomposition of the container in which they were hidden gave the coins of this treasure a very particular patina with magnificent purplish reflections, which can be admired without end on our aureus.
SEVERVS AVG PART MAX
IVLIA AVGVSTA
7.57 gr
Gold
Although nowadays gold enjoys a reputation as the king of precious metals, that was not always the case. For example, in Ancient Greece, Corinthian bronze was widely considered to be superior. However, over the course of time, it has established itself as the prince of money, even though it frequently vies with silver for the top spot as the standard.
Nevertheless, there are other metals which appear to be even more precious than this duo, take for example rhodium and platinum. That is certain. Yet, if the ore is not as available, how can money be produced in sufficient quantities? It is therefore a matter of striking a subtle balance between rarity and availability.
But it gets better: gold is not only virtually unreactive, whatever the storage conditions (and trouser pockets are hardly the most precious of storage cases), but also malleable (coins and engravers appreciate that).
It thus represents the ideal mix for striking coins without delay – and we were not going to let it slip away!
The chemical symbol for gold is Au, which derives from its Latin name aurum. Its origins are probably extraterrestrial, effectively stardust released following a violent collision between two neutron stars. Not merely precious, but equally poetic…
The first gold coins were minted by the kings of Lydia, probably between the 8th and 6th century BC. Whereas nowadays the only gold coins minted are investment coins (bullion coins) or part of limited-edition series aimed at collectors, that was not always the case. And gold circulated extensively from hand to hand and from era to era, from the ancient gold deposits of the River Pactolus to the early years of the 20th century.
As a precious metal, in the same way as silver, gold is used for minting coins with intrinsic value, which is to say the value of which is constituted by the metal from which they are made. Even so, nowadays, the value to the collector frequently far exceeds that of the metal itself...
It should be noted that gold, which is naturally very malleable, is frequently supplemented with small amounts of other metals to render it harder.
The millesimal fineness (or alloy) of a coin indicates the exact proportion (in parts per thousand) of gold included in the composition. We thus speak, for example, of 999‰ gold or 999 parts of gold per 1 part of other metals. This measure is important for investment coins such as bullion. In France, it was expressed in carats until 1995.
An “MS(65-70)” quality
As in numismatics it is important that the state of conservation of an item be carefully evaluated before it is offered to a discerning collector with a keen eye.
This initially obscure acronym comprising two words describing the state of conservation is explained clearly here:
Mint State(65-70)
This means – more prosaically – that the coin is brand new and free from defects, thus in the state it left the mint. It has probably never been in circulation or seen the bottom of a pocket up close. The term “fleur de coin” is also used internationally to refer to the first coins struck with a new die. By extension, this term thus also now describes “perfect” coins not displaying any defects and retaining their full original luster.
