Aureus - Severus II FELICITAS SAECVLI AVGG NN, Aquileia

Severus II's tenure as Caesar under the Tetrarchic system lasted barely two years before Maxentius seized Italy in late 306, forcing Severus into a military campaign he could not sustain. His own troops defected — bribed, according to Lactantius, by Maximian's promises — and Severus surrendered at Ravenna in 307. He was dead within months, either executed or compelled to open his veins. The Aquileian mint was geographically caught between these competing powers, and aurei attributable to Severus from this facility are consequently scarce survivors of an administration that collapsed before it consolidated.