JULIA DOMNA SILVER DENARIUS – DYNASTIC ISSUE EX FAMOUS TRAU COLLECTION SOLD IN 1935 – CHOICE VF NGC GRADED ROMAN IMPERIAL COIN (Inv. 21054)

$1,950.00

21054. ROMAN EMPIRE. JULIA DOMNA, AD 193–217.
Silver Denarius, 2.95 g, 18 mm. Dynastic issue of AD 201–202.
Obv. IVLIA AVGVSTA, draped bust of Julia Domna right. Rev. AETERNIT IMPERI, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Septimius Severus on left, facing laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Caracalla on right.
RIC 539b (Septimius Severus, R3).
Ex Goldberg 53, 5/24/2009, lot 1910 = Ex Franz Trau collection, Gilhofer & Ranschburg/Hess, May 22, 1935, lot 2179.
NGC graded CHOICE VF, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5.

This denarius belongs to a series intended to advertise the stability of the Severan dynasty as an imperial family unit, in part to hide the fact that Severus’ sons and heirs, Caracalla and Geta, both hated each other. Following their father’s death in 211, Caracalla ordered the murder of Geta in order to avoid sharing power with him. Geta died from his wounds in the arms of his mother Julia Domna. This coin is also notable for its old European provenance, having been part of the collection of Franz Trau (1842–1905), a prominent Viennese businessman who specialized in collecting Roman coins.