Julia Domna. Augusta, AD 193-217. Æ Sestertius (31mm, 26.48 g, 12h). Rome mint. Struck under Caracalla, AD 215. EF.

CNG Feature Auction 133
Lot: 575. Estimated: $ 1 500

Roman Imperial, Bronze, Coin-in-Hand Video

Sold For $ 3 750. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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Julia Domna. Augusta, AD 193-217. Æ Sestertius (31mm, 26.48 g, 12h). Rome mint. Struck under Caracalla, AD 215. Draped bust right, wearing stephane / Felicitas standing left, holding long, vertical caduceus and sacrificing out of patera over garlanded and lighted altar to left. RIC IV 590 (Caracalla); Banti 42. Dark green and brown patina. EF.

Ex Classical Numismatic Group 117 (19 May 2021), lot 577; Jack A. Frazer Collection (Triton XXIII, 14 January 2020), lot 797; James Fox Collection (Classical Numismatic Group 40, with Numismatica Ars Classica, 4 December 1996), lot 1573; Leu 50 (25 April 1990), lot 335.

Julia Domna was of Syrian-Arab ancestry, the daughter of the hereditary high priest of Elagabal at Emesa, a wealthy caravan city in the Syrian desert. Beautiful, cultured, and highly educated, she was made even more of a prize by a horoscope that proclaimed she would marry a king. Septimius Severus probably encountered her family while serving as a general in Syria in the AD 180s. When he learned of the horoscope, the recently widowed Severus, then serving as governor of Gaul in Lugdunum, immediately wrote to Julia’s father and secured her hand in marriage. She gave him two sons, Bassianus (later renamed Antoninus and known to history as Caracalla) in AD 188, and Geta the following year. Upon Severus’ ascension as Roman Emperor in AD 193, Julia was named Augusta and became his closest advisor and confidant. She frequently accompanied Severus and their sons on military campaigns, for which the soldiers granted her the title Mater Castrorum (“Mother of the Camp”). Her love of art, learning, and philosophy fostered a cultural revival in Rome, with Julia serving as patroness of a diverse salon circle.

Julia Domna’s coinage was more vast and diverse than that of any previous Roman empress, beginning soon after her acclamation as Augusta in AD 193.

The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 133 lots will be determined at the live online sale that will be held on 15-16 September 2026.

CNG Feature Auction 133 – Session Two – Lot 309-594 will be held Tuesday morning, 15 September 2026 beginning at 2:00 PM ET.

Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.

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