Denarius - Pescennius Niger BONAE SPEI, Spes

Pescennius Niger's claim to the purple lasted barely a year. Proclaimed emperor by his Syrian legions in 193 AD — the same chaotic Year of the Five Emperors that also produced Pertinax, Didius Julianus, Clodius Albinus, and Septimius Severus — he controlled the wealthy eastern provinces but never broke through to Rome. His coinage was struck at Antioch, and the BONAE SPEI types are among the rarest of his issues, produced during a regime that Severus had effectively terminated by the Battle of Issus in 194 AD.