Marcia Otacilia Severa was the wife of Emperor Philip I, called ‘the Arab’ because he was born in the Roman province of Arabia. In AD 248 they presided over the celebrations of Rome’s 1000th birthday. Pudicitia, the personification of modesty and virtue, was a common image on coins of Roman empresses. Some early Christian writers claimed the couple were sympathetic to Christianity.
Castings, Coins
KM-981 Empress Otacilia Severa Pudicitia Sestertius
$18.50
Gold overlay casting pendant. Obverse: diademed draped bust of the empress facing right, MARCIA OTACIL SEVERA AVG. Reverse: PVDICITIA AVG, Pudicitia seated left, drawing her veil and holding a sceptre, S C below. Inscriptions explained: MARCIA OTACIL SEVERA AVG means ‘Marcia Otacilia Severa Augusta’, the empress’s name with the title Augusta (empress). PVDICITIA AVG means ‘the Modesty of the Empress’. S C stands for ‘Senatus Consulto’, ‘by decree of the Senate’, used on Roman bronze coins.
