Object Title
Aureus with bust of Septimius Severus
Measurements
Diameter: 20 mm.; weight: 7.36 gm.; die axis: 6
Creation Date
A.D. 202
Credit Line
Theodora Wilbour Fund in memory of Zoë Wilbour
Culture
Country of Origin
Object Type
Materials / Techniques
Object URL
http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/aureus-with-bust-of-septimius-severus-514401
Provenance Information
1991, private collection, United States; May 15, 1991, anonymous sale (Auction 52, from “a distinguished American collection”), Bank Leu, A.G., Zurich, lot 223. April 2, 2008, anonymous sale (Auction 46), Numismatica Ars Classica, Zurich, lot 617, to Harlan J. Berk, Ltd., Chicago; 2008, sold by Berk to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 25, 2008)
Exhibition Information
None known.
Publication Information
None known.
Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970
Cumulative facts and circumstances
Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above
The date and circumstances of the coin’s discovery are not known. Gold coins of this type, while struck at Rome, circulated widely and have been found within the present-day borders of many countries. Per the MFA’s 2006 agreement with the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Museum contacted Ministry representatives prior to acquiring the coin; the Ministry raised no objection to the acquisition.