Stater - Sauromates II Septimius Severus

Sauromates II ruled the Bosporan Kingdom as a client of Rome, and this stater was struck in the year that marked Septimius Severus's death — the emperor whose portrait it pairs with the local dynast's own. The Bosporan dating system places this in year 507 of their era. By the third century, Bosporan electrum had degraded so far from the original Lydian alloy standard that the gold content was nominal at best, the coins functioning as a fiduciary currency backed by Roman political recognition rather than intrinsic metal value.