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Denarius - Pescennius Niger FORTVNAE REDVCI, Fortuna
| Issuer | Syria, Usurpations of |
|---|---|
| Year | 193-194 |
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| Value | Denarius (1) |
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| Obverse description | Laureate, draped, and bearded bust of Pescennius Niger facing right, rendered in the portrait style characteristic of the late Antonine tradition. The laureate wreath is depicted with fine detail, and the emperor's features — including a prominent beard and strong profile — are typical of the usurper's coinage struck in the eastern provinces. The surrounding legend is partially legible, arranged along the coin's periphery within a beaded border. The die work reflects the somewhat provincial execution common to coinage produced in Syrian mints during the civil wars of 193–194 AD. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | FORTVNAE REDVCI (Translation: Fortunae Reduci. Returning fortune.) |
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| Additional information |
Pescennius Niger's claim to the purple lasted less than two years. Proclaimed emperor by the Syrian legions in 193 AD following the murder of Pertinax, he controlled the wealthy eastern provinces but was decisively defeated by Septimius Severus at the Battle of Issus in 194 AD and executed shortly after. His coinage was struck almost entirely at Antioch, and the surviving corpus is small — his reign was simply too short and his territory too quickly overrun for substantial output.
RIC IV.1 #22 is among the rarer types in his already sparse series.