Ancient Coin Value Guide — Book VII: The Severan Dynasty

Book VII

Prepared by Kinzer Coins · First Edition · Market review: September 2026

Ancient Coin Value Guide Book VII
The Severan Dynasty

AD 193–235. From the succession crisis of AD 193 through Severus Alexander, including the principal imperial family-member markets. Certified/slabbed, current fixed-price retail, and buyer-inclusive raw auction evidence remain separate.

View Book VII Market Cards Download First Edition PDF

Quick answers

Severan Coin Values, Explained Clearly

What is a Septimius Severus denarius worth?
Ordinary Rome denarii are the broad public benchmark; legionary, eastern-mint, architectural, bronze, and gold markets remain separate.
What is a Caracalla denarius worth?
Ordinary Rome denarii remain accessible, while antoniniani, campaign silver, prestige bronze, and gold form separate markets.
Which Severan women are easiest to collect?
Julia Domna, Julia Maesa, Julia Soaemias, and Julia Mamaea have repeatable silver markets. Aquilia Severa, Sallustia Orbiana, and Annia Faustina are much thinner.
Why does bronze vary so much?
Patina, smoothing, tooling, corrosion, portrait quality, flan breadth, reverse detail, and pedigree can move sestertii by multiples.
How the guide works

Market evidence in a fixed order

Book VII follows the same methodology as Books I–VI while separating historically distinct submarkets such as legionary silver, eastern-mint issues, dynastic and marriage coinage, prestige bronze, antoniniani, and rare gold.

1. Certified / slabbed market first
Grade-specific certified observations are kept separate and compared like-for-like where the evidence supports it.
2. Fixed-price retail second
Active professional dealer asks show what a collector can buy now. Sold dealer listings are historical context only.
3. Buyer-inclusive raw auction third
Auction acquisition cost uses hammer plus the verified mandatory buyer premium for that exact sale. No blanket premium is applied.
4. Specialist markets stay separate
Thin dynastic silver, prestige bronze, rare aurei, and event-level material use exact comparables when a broad range would mislead.
Book VII market cards

Certified first. Retail second. Raw auction third.

Each card presents certified evidence first, current fixed-price retail second, and raw auction Entry-Level / Collector / Choice orientation third, followed by a short market note.

Pertinax
Rome-mint denarius
Collector Price Guide
Certified Grade Evidence
VF$840
Choice VF$2,280
Fixed-Price Retail
No dependable active exact-type sample at the September 2026 cutoff
Current asking-price evidence; kept separate from auction and certified markets.
Raw Auction — Entry-Level / Collector / Choice
Type / marketEntry-LevelCollectorChoice
Rome-mint denarius~$600–850~$900–1,300~$1,600–2,500+
Market note: Medium. Ordinary denarii support a usable public market; Alexandria silver, bronze, and gold remain separate.
Didius Julianus
Rome-mint denarius
Collector Price Guide
Certified Grade Evidence
Choice Fine$960
VG$1,647
VF$3,172
Fixed-Price Retail
No dependable active exact-type sample at the research cutoff
Current asking-price evidence; kept separate from auction and certified markets.
Raw Auction — Entry-Level / Collector / Choice
Type / marketEntry-LevelCollectorChoice
Rome-mint denarius~$900–1,200~$1,600–2,500~$3,000–4,500+
Market note: Medium. Denarii are measurable; bronze is highly specimen-sensitive and gold is exact-comparable.
Manlia Scantilla & Didia Clara
Imperial silver
Collector Price Guide
Certified Grade Evidence
Manlia Fine$1,260
Didia VF$720
Fixed-Price Retail
No dependable active exact-type sample
Current asking-price evidence; kept separate from auction and certified markets.
Raw Auction — Exact Comparable
Manlia Scantilla and Didia Clara are too thin to support Entry-Level / Collector / Choice ranges. Use exact person, denomination, grade, surfaces, and reverse-family comparables.
Market note: Thin. Keep Manlia and Didia separate. Bronze and gold remain exact-comparable markets.
Pescennius Niger
Ordinary Antioch denarius
Collector Price Guide
Certified Grade Evidence
VF$1,020–2,135
Choice VF$950 hammer
Fixed-Price Retail
Active asks roughly $700–1,783 for ordinary-to-strong denarii
Current asking-price evidence; kept separate from auction and certified markets.
Raw Auction — Entry-Level / Collector / Choice
Type / marketEntry-LevelCollectorChoice
Ordinary Antioch denarius~$900–1,100~$1,200–1,800~$2,000–3,000+
Market note: Medium-High. Ordinary Antioch silver is measurable; rare reverses, unusual legends, scarce mint attributions, and gold stay separate.
Clodius Albinus
Caesar-period Rome denarius
Collector Price Guide
Certified Grade Evidence
Choice VF$264
VF$408
XF$336
Choice AU$1,037
MS$1,300
Fixed-Price Retail
Recent dealer evidence spans low hundreds to stronger four-figure asks
Current asking-price evidence; kept separate from auction and certified markets.
Raw Auction — Entry-Level / Collector / Choice
Type / marketEntry-LevelCollectorChoice
Caesar-period Rome denarius~$125–200~$225–400~$500–1,000+
Market note: High. Caesar-period Rome denarii are the headline market; Augustus-period Lugdunum silver, bronze, and gold remain separate.
Septimius Severus
Ordinary Rome denarius
Collector Price Guide
Certified Grade Evidence
Certified exact-grade evidence spans ordinary VF/XF into higher AU
Fixed-Price Retail
Broad active dealer market; ordinary examples generally low hundreds
Current asking-price evidence; kept separate from auction and certified markets.
Raw Auction — Entry-Level / Collector / Choice
Type / marketEntry-LevelCollectorChoice
Ordinary Rome denarius~$100–150~$175–300~$350–600+
Market note: High. Legionary silver, eastern mints, architectural reverses, prestige bronze, and rare aurei stay outside the ordinary ladder.
Julia Domna
Ordinary Rome denarius
Collector Price Guide
Certified Grade Evidence
Choice VF$159
XF$104–159
Choice AU$207–232
MS$537–586
Fixed-Price Retail
Active ordinary asks roughly $69–129; stronger examples higher
Current asking-price evidence; kept separate from auction and certified markets.
Raw Auction — Entry-Level / Collector / Choice
Type / marketEntry-LevelCollectorChoice
Ordinary Rome denarius~$75–125~$150–250~$300–500+
Market note: High. Ordinary silver is broad; dynastic silver, prestige bronze, and gold require separate treatment.
Caracalla
Ordinary Rome denarius
Collector Price Guide
Certified Grade Evidence
Choice VF$124
Choice XF$292.80
Choice AU$264–456
AU$945.50
Fixed-Price Retail
Active ordinary asks roughly $58–228; Mint State dealer ask around $466
Current asking-price evidence; kept separate from auction and certified markets.
Raw Auction — Entry-Level / Collector / Choice
Type / marketEntry-LevelCollectorChoice
Ordinary Rome denarius~$75–125~$150–250~$300–500+
Market note: High. Antoniniani, campaign and dynastic silver, rare bronze, architectural types, and gold stay separate.
Geta
Caesar-period Rome denarius
Collector Price Guide
Certified Grade Evidence
Common certified VF/XF/Choice material remains in the low hundreds
Fixed-Price Retail
Active asks roughly $103–151; selected stronger pieces $184–495
Current asking-price evidence; kept separate from auction and certified markets.
Raw Auction — Entry-Level / Collector / Choice
Type / marketEntry-LevelCollectorChoice
Caesar-period Rome denarius~$75–125~$150–250~$300–500+
Market note: High. Caesar-period silver is the headline market; Augustus silver, dynastic issues, bronze, and gold are separate.
Plautilla
Ordinary Rome denarius
Collector Price Guide
Certified Grade Evidence
Choice VF · Fine Style$183
Choice XF$195.20
MS$536.80
Fixed-Price Retail
No dependable broad active exact-type retail range at the cutoff
Current asking-price evidence; kept separate from auction and certified markets.
Raw Auction — Entry-Level / Collector / Choice
Type / marketEntry-LevelCollectorChoice
Ordinary Rome denarius~$125–200~$225–350~$400–650+
Market note: High. Marriage and dynastic reverses can command premiums; Laodicea silver, bronze, and gold remain separate.
Macrinus
Ordinary Rome denarius
Collector Price Guide
Certified Grade Evidence
Choice XF$414.80
Choice AU ★$1,952
Fixed-Price Retail
No dependable broad active exact-type retail range at the cutoff
Current asking-price evidence; kept separate from auction and certified markets.
Raw Auction — Entry-Level / Collector / Choice
Type / marketEntry-LevelCollectorChoice
Ordinary Rome denarius~$200–300~$350–600~$700–1,200+
Market note: Medium-High. High-grade mature portraits, prestige bronze, and gold remain exact-comparable specialist lanes.
Diadumenian
Caesar-period Rome denarius
Collector Price Guide
Certified Grade Evidence
Choice VF$348
Choice XF$585.60
Fixed-Price Retail
Active exact-type asks around $615–627
Current asking-price evidence; kept separate from auction and certified markets.
Raw Auction — Entry-Level / Collector / Choice
Type / marketEntry-LevelCollectorChoice
Caesar-period Rome denarius~$250–350~$400–650~$700–1,000+
Market note: Medium. Caesar-period silver is measurable; Augustus-period RIC 118, bronze, and gold are specialist markets.
Elagabalus
Ordinary Rome denarius
Collector Price Guide
Certified Grade Evidence
XF$139
AU$183–195.20
MS$420–671
Choice AU ★$4,392 trophy
Fixed-Price Retail
Active ordinary asks roughly $44–90; stronger examples higher
Current asking-price evidence; kept separate from auction and certified markets.
Raw Auction — Entry-Level / Collector / Choice
Type / marketEntry-LevelCollectorChoice
Ordinary Rome denarius~$75–125~$150–250~$300–500+
Market note: High. Priestly/horned portraits, Sacred Stone types, antoniniani, prestige bronze, and gold remain separate.
Julia Maesa
Lifetime Rome denarius
Collector Price Guide
Certified Grade Evidence
XF$129
AU$183
AU 5/5–4/5$475 hammer
Fixed-Price Retail
Active strong VF+ dealer ask around $439; sold listings remain historical context
Current asking-price evidence; kept separate from auction and certified markets.
Raw Auction — Entry-Level / Collector / Choice
Type / marketEntry-LevelCollectorChoice
Lifetime Rome denarius~$100–150~$175–300~$350–600+
Market note: High. Posthumous CONSECRATIO silver is Specialist Only; bronze and gold remain thin.
Julia Soaemias
Ordinary Rome denarius
Collector Price Guide
Certified Grade Evidence
Choice VF$154
XF$145
AU$219.60
MS$456
Fixed-Price Retail
Active ordinary VF/VF+ asks around $85–99
Current asking-price evidence; kept separate from auction and certified markets.
Raw Auction — Entry-Level / Collector / Choice
Type / marketEntry-LevelCollectorChoice
Ordinary Rome denarius~$100–150~$175–275~$325–500+
Market note: High. Ordinary silver is repeatable; stronger reverse varieties, bronze, and gold require more exact comparison.
Julia Paula
Ordinary Rome denarius
Collector Price Guide
Certified Grade Evidence
Choice XF$154–384
AU$180
Fixed-Price Retail
No dependable broad active exact-type retail range at the cutoff
Current asking-price evidence; kept separate from auction and certified markets.
Raw Auction — Entry-Level / Collector / Choice
Type / marketEntry-LevelCollectorChoice
Ordinary Rome denarius~$150–225~$250–400~$450–650+
Market note: Medium-High. Premium silver, dynastic material, bronze, and gold remain separate from the ordinary denarius market.
Aquilia Severa
Ordinary Rome denarius
Collector Price Guide
Certified Grade Evidence
Choice VF$317.20–480
Choice XF$512.40
Choice AU$671
Fixed-Price Retail
No dependable broad active exact-type retail range at the cutoff
Current asking-price evidence; kept separate from auction and certified markets.
Raw Auction — Entry-Level / Collector / Choice
Type / marketEntry-LevelCollectorChoice
Ordinary Rome denarius~$250–350~$400–550~$600–800+
Market note: Medium-High. Dynastic facing-pair silver, scarce reverses, bronze, and gold remain exact-type aware.
Annia Faustina
Imperial coinage
Collector Price Guide
Certified Grade Evidence
No recurring modern certified population; only a handful of known specimens
Fixed-Price Retail
No normal standing retail market
Current asking-price evidence; kept separate from auction and certified markets.
Raw Auction — Specialist Only
Imperial Annia Faustina coinage is an event-level rarity market. No Entry-Level / Collector / Choice ladder is published; use exact specimen and provenance comparables only.
Market note: Specialist Only. Rome-mint denarii and sestertii are event-level rarities. No broad public ladder is appropriate.
Severus Alexander
Ordinary Rome denarius
Collector Price Guide
Certified Grade Evidence
Certified material is abundant; upper-grade pieces require exact-grade comparison
Fixed-Price Retail
Broad active retail market in the low hundreds
Current asking-price evidence; kept separate from auction and certified markets.
Raw Auction — Entry-Level / Collector / Choice
Type / marketEntry-LevelCollectorChoice
Ordinary Rome denarius~$75–125~$150–250~$300–500+
Market note: High. Ordinary silver and bronze are broad; scarce historical reverses, prestige bronze, and rare gold remain separate.
Sallustia Orbiana
Ordinary Rome denarius
Collector Price Guide
Certified Grade Evidence
AU$380
Fixed-Price Retail
No dependable broad active exact-type retail range at the cutoff
Current asking-price evidence; kept separate from auction and certified markets.
Raw Auction — Entry-Level / Collector / Choice
Type / marketEntry-LevelCollectorChoice
Ordinary Rome denarius~$250–350~$400–650~$700–1,100+
Market note: Medium-High. Denarii are measurable; the marriage sestertius and gold are exact-comparable specialist markets.
Julia Mamaea
Ordinary Rome denarius
Collector Price Guide
Certified Grade Evidence
Choice VF$109–268.40
Choice XF$195.20
Choice AU$180
MS$380
Fixed-Price Retail
Broad active market; ordinary professional-dealer asks generally low hundreds
Current asking-price evidence; kept separate from auction and certified markets.
Raw Auction — Entry-Level / Collector / Choice
Type / marketEntry-LevelCollectorChoice
Ordinary Rome denarius~$75–125~$150–250~$300–500+
Market note: High. Ordinary silver is broad; prestige/pedigreed bronze and gold remain separate.

September 2026 market snapshot. Certified, retail, and auction evidence remain separate. Thin or specimen-specific markets use exact comparables rather than forced precision.

Recognizable collector markets

Severan Coin Types & Value Questions

The website focuses on the coin families collectors actually encounter. Minor legend, die, bust, and RIC variants stay in the full book unless they repeatedly create an independent market.

AD 193 succession-crisis silver
Pertinax, Didius Julianus, Pescennius Niger, and Clodius Albinus require short-reign, mint, and political-status controls.
Septimius Severus legionary denarii
Exact legion, grade, and preservation create a repeatable premium above ordinary Rome silver.
Caracalla & Elagabalus antoniniani
Radiate silver is a separate denomination market and should not be folded into ordinary denarii.
Dynastic & marriage silver
Family portraits and politically important marriage issues can command their own premium and are often exact-comparable.
Prestige & historical bronze
Architectural, victory, dynastic, and marriage sestertii can trade very differently from ordinary large bronze.
Rare gold
Aurei are treated conservatively; thin or trophy-level types remain exact comparables instead of stretching ruler-wide ladders.
Book VII directory

Twenty-one ruler & family chapters

Chapter 1
Pertinax
Chapter 2
Didius Julianus
Chapter 3
Manlia Scantilla & Didia Clara
Chapter 4
Pescennius Niger
Chapter 5
Clodius Albinus
Chapter 6
Septimius Severus
Chapter 7
Julia Domna
Chapter 8
Caracalla
Chapter 9
Geta
Chapter 10
Plautilla
Chapter 11
Macrinus
Chapter 12
Diadumenian
Chapter 13
Elagabalus
Chapter 14
Julia Maesa
Chapter 15
Julia Soaemias
Chapter 16
Julia Paula
Chapter 17
Aquilia Severa
Chapter 18
Annia Faustina
Chapter 19
Severus Alexander
Chapter 20
Sallustia Orbiana
Chapter 21
Julia Mamaea
Research notes

How Book VII Was Researched

Prepared by Kinzer Coins as a dated collector-market reference. Book VII separates evidence classes, prices recognizable imperial markets instead of ruler-wide averages, preserves thin and specimen-specific populations, and excludes provincial and colonial coinage from headline pricing.

Certified market
Grade-specific slabbed observations remain separate from raw coins, with strike, surfaces, style, qualifiers, and attribution preserved where they materially affect value.
Current dealer retail
Only active fixed-price asking prices belong in the current retail snapshot. Sold dealer listings are historical context only.
Buyer-inclusive auctions
Hammer plus the verified mandatory buyer premium for that exact sale. Where the winning bidding channel is uncertain, that uncertainty is preserved.
Historical currency conversion
Foreign sales may be normalized with historical exchange rates when a U.S.-dollar comparison is useful; shipping, tax, VAT, import, payment, and currency fees are excluded.
Thin-market discipline
Very thin and extremely thin populations use exact comparables or Specialist Only treatment rather than forcing a broad ladder.
Scope control
Provincial and colonial issues remain outside Book VII headline pricing. Exact imperial type family comes first.

Market evidence is a dated September 2026 snapshot, not a guarantee of future value. Ancient coins remain specimen-specific.

Questions collectors ask

Book VII FAQ

What is a Septimius Severus denarius worth?
Ordinary Rome denarii form a broad low-hundreds market, while legionary issues, eastern mints, architectural reverses, prestige bronze, and gold are separate populations.
What is a Caracalla denarius worth?
Ordinary Rome denarii are broadly accessible, but antoniniani, campaign silver, rare dynastic material, prestige bronze, and gold require separate comparison.
Why are some Severan women much more expensive?
Julia Domna, Julia Maesa, Julia Soaemias, and Julia Mamaea have relatively broad silver markets. Aquilia Severa, Sallustia Orbiana, and especially Annia Faustina have much thinner imperial populations.
Why are certified coins shown first?
Certification narrows comparison by grade and attribution. Book VII keeps slabbed evidence separate from current retail and raw auction observations.
How are auction values calculated?
Headline acquisition cost uses hammer plus the verified mandatory buyer premium for that exact sale. No blanket premium is applied across auction houses.
Are provincial coins included?
No. Provincial and colonial coinage is outside Book VII headline imperial pricing unless a chapter specifically discusses a boundary issue.
The series

Continue the Kinzer Ancient Coin Value Guide

Books I–VII are published. Book VII completes the imperial sequence from Augustus through the Severan age alongside the later imperial volumes already available.

Series Hub Book VI View Book VII Market Cards Download Book VII PDF
Source Use & Rights

Independent market research, with source boundaries

The Kinzer Ancient Coin Value Guide reports factual market observations and Kinzer Coins' own analysis. It does not claim ownership of third-party auction facts, dealer facts, catalog text, photographs, databases, trademarks, or grading systems.

Originating sources control.
Auction search services and marketplaces may help locate a record, but the originating auction house or dealer is preferred for verification. Third-party databases are not republished as Kinzer datasets.
No database reproduction.
The guide publishes selected factual observations, ranges, and commentary rather than copies of an auction archive, dealer marketplace, or search service. Systematic marketplace or aggregator harvesting is not used as a publication dataset.
Image rights stay with the source.
Documentary illustrations are public domain, licensed for reuse, or otherwise used with permission as stated in the volume. Crops and resizing are disclosed, and licensed adaptations remain subject to the applicable source terms.
Names and marks identify sources only.
NGC, auction-house, dealer, marketplace, database, museum, and other third-party names and marks belong to their respective owners. Their mention does not imply sponsorship or endorsement.

This is a dated educational market reference, not a formal appraisal, insurance valuation, investment recommendation, dealer bid sheet, prediction, or guarantee of future value. If a rights holder believes a credit, source attribution, or image-use statement is incorrect, Kinzer Coins will review and correct or replace it.

Ancient Coin Denominations — Simple Guide for Beginners

(Roman & Greek Coins Explained in Plain English)

Ancient coins often come with unfamiliar terms like AE3, Denarius, or Tetradrachm. These names are modern classification tools used by collectors and scholars today. Ancient people themselves did not shop using these labels the way we do now.

Here’s what they mean — simply.

Roman Bronze Coins (AE1–AE4)

AE comes from the Latin aes, meaning bronze.
The numbers 1–4 describe size only, not value.

  • AE1 – Large bronze coin
    Thick, impressive late Roman coins. Less common.
  • AE2 – Medium-large bronze coin
    Popular Constantinian and Late Roman issues.
  • AE3 – Medium bronze coin
    One of the most common ancient Roman coins.
    Excellent for beginners.
  • AE4 – Small bronze coin
    Late Roman issues. Smaller but fully authentic.

Important:
AE numbers are modern size categories, not ancient denominations.

Roman Silver Coins

  • Denarius
    The most famous Roman silver coin.
    Used for everyday transactions for centuries.
    When people imagine a “Roman silver coin,” this is usually it.
  • Antoninianus
    Introduced in the 3rd century AD.
    Originally silver, later silver-alloy or bronze.
    Often shows the emperor wearing a radiate crown.

You may see ANT used as shorthand.
This is a catalog abbreviation, not an ancient name.

Greek Silver Coin Denominations

(Based on Weight, Not “Face Value”)

Greek coins are named by weight, not by purchasing power.

  • Tetradrachm – Large silver coin
    The most famous Greek silver coin.
    Heavy, impressive, and widely used in trade.
  • Drachm – Medium silver coin
    Standard everyday silver coin in many Greek regions.
  • Didrachm – Double drachm
    Larger than a drachm, smaller than a tetradrachm.
  • Obol – Small silver coin
    Fractional coin used for smaller transactions.
  • Hemiobol / Tetrobol
    Very small fractional silver coins.

These names describe weight relationships, not spending power.

Why You Won’t See These Terms in Our Titles

At Kinzer Coins, we prioritize clarity and trust.

You’ll see titles like:

  • Ancient Roman Bronze Coin of Emperor Constantine I
  • Ancient Greek Silver Coin from Athens

Instead of:

  • AE3 Reduced Follis
  • AR Tetradrachm
  • ANT Rome Mint

All technical details — AE size, denomination, metal, and weight — are clearly listed in the Specifications section.

The Most Important Thing to Remember

Every ancient coin we offer is:

  • Authentic
  • Individually unique
  • Historically significant
  • A real object from the ancient world

You don’t need to understand every denomination to start collecting.

You’re not buying a label.
You’re holding history.