ROMAN. Pescennius Niger. A.D. 193-194. Silver Denarius (2.88g). Antioch mint. IMP CAES C PESC NIGER IVST AVG; laureate head right / SALVTI AVGVSTI; Salus standing facing, head right, holding serpent and feeding it from a patera; lighted altar to right; two pellets in field. BMCRE 312A (note); Cohen 68; RIC IV 77. Lovely grey toning. gVF for the type. This denarius, struck at Antioch in the turmoil of A.D. 193, captures the brief and ambitious bid for power by Pescennius Niger. Proclaimed emperor by the eastern legions after the murder of Pertinax, he set up his court in Antioch and styled himself IVST AVG, the Just Augustus, to claim moral legitimacy against rivals such as Didius Julianus and Septimius Severus. On the reverse, Salus feeds a serpent from a patera beside a lit altar, a clear appeal for the health of the emperor and the welfare of his troops on campaign, while the two small pellets in the field serve as simple mint control marks. The sharply cut, distinctly Syrian portrait, with tight features and close-cropped beard, contrasts with the broader Roman style of Severan issues from the capital. Defeated near Issus in A.D. 194, Niger left a short but evocative coinage, and this well-struck example with full legends and crisp details is a particularly attractive representative of the Antioch series. From the half-century formed collection; previously ex Savoca Numismatik, 91st Auction, lot 648 (13 December 2020), hammered USD 2,700. (P)

Estimate: AUD 2500