How to Identify the Antoninianus of Otacilia Severa

Begin with the obverse legend, because the name is the surest attribution. A genuine piece carries an imperial titulature built around the empress's name, most often M OTACIL SEVERA AVG or OTACIL SEVERA AVG, running clockwise around a draped female bust facing right. The hairstyle, waved and gathered low at the back of the head, is characteristic of mid-third-century empresses and helps separate her from earlier Severan women.

Confirm the denomination from the bust, not a crown. Empress antoniniani are marked by a crescent moon placed beneath the shoulders of the bust; this crescent is the female signal that the coin is a double-denarius rather than a denarius. If the drapery sits on a visible crescent, you are looking at an antoninianus.

Read the reverse next. Expect a single standing personification, commonly Concordia, Pietas, or Pudicitia, holding identifying attributes such as a patera and cornucopia, a sceptre, or a raised veil. Match the figure's attributes to the reverse legend (for example CONCORDIA AVGG or PIETAS AVGVSTAE); that pairing, not the figure alone, fixes the exact type. Check the fabric too: diameter should fall near 21-23 mm with a weight around 3.5-4.5 grams, and a dull grey, brown, or coppery billon surface is normal and expected for the period.

Watch for look-alikes and fakes. Antoniniani of other third-century empresses, such as Herennia Etruscilla or Salonina, share the crescent-bust format and standing-personification reverses, so always verify the OTACIL name before attributing. Cast copies betray themselves with a raised seam around the edge, small surface pits or bubbles, and soft, mushy lettering, whereas genuine coins are struck with crisp high points. When authenticity or value matters, compare the exact obverse and reverse legends against a standard reference such as RIC rather than relying on the portrait style alone.