L SEPT SEV PERT AVG IMP X, laureate head right / VICT AVGG COS II P P, Victory walking left holding wreath and palm. 17mm, 2.61 grams. Rome mint, 197-198 CE. RIC 120c, RSC 694.

Septimius Severus (Lucius Septimius Severus, 145–211 CE) was a Roman emperor who founded the Severan dynasty and ruled the Roman Empire from 193 to 211 CE. Born in Leptis Magna in the province of Africa Proconsularis, he rose through the senatorial and military ranks before being proclaimed emperor by his troops during the civil wars following the murder of Pertinax in the turbulent Year of the Five Emperors. Severus defeated rival claimants, including Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus, securing control of the empire. His reign strengthened the military, expanded soldiers’ pay and privileges, and saw successful campaigns against the Parthian Empire and in Britannia. He died in 211 CE at Eboracum, leaving the empire jointly to his sons Caracalla and Geta.