Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Aureus - Uranius Antoninus FECVNDITAS AVG, Fortuna
| Issuer | Syria, Usurpations of |
|---|---|
| Year | 253-254 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Denarius, Reform of Augustus (27 BC – AD 215) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A standing female figure, identified tentatively as Fortuna, depicted draped and facing left in a static, frontal pose. She holds a long rudder in her right hand, resting at her side, and a cornucopiae in her left hand, both attributes emblematic of Fortune and divine abundance. The legend FECVNDITAS AVG arcs across the field, invoking imperial fertility and prosperity. The reverse design conforms to established Roman imperial typology while reflecting the aspirational dynastic messaging typical of third-century usurpers. The die engraving shows competent if somewhat provincial execution. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Uranius Antoninus seized power in Emesa around 253 AD, likely in response to the Sasanian campaigns that had left Roman Syria effectively undefended following the catastrophic Battle of Misiche. His usurpation was local, his coinage highly limited, and his gold issues survive in such small numbers that individual examples are known to scholars by specimen. The broader RIC series lists only a handful of types for his entire reign.
The Emesene mint had no standing tradition of producing aurei at scale — this piece reflects emergency prestige coinage rather than any systematic monetary program.