THE COINS OF PAUTALIA FOR CLODIUS ALBINUS AS CAESAR (193 – 195) – A PHENOMENON OF ROMAN PROVINCIAL COINAGE

Abstract

The ancient city of Pautalia was located in the western part of the province of Thrace, in the centre of a fertile field through which flows the great river Strymon, on the site of today’s city of Kyustendil in Southwestern Bulgaria. For unknown reason, in the early years of the reign of the Roman emperor Septimius Severus (193 – 211) – most likely between the second half of 193 and the first half of 195, the mint of Pautalia struck several types of bronze coins for Clodius Albinus as Caesar. These coins are of two main kinds – some of them on the obverse have double images of the emperor Septimius Severus and Clodius Albinus facing each other, while the others on the obverse have only an image of Clodius Albinus. In his study on the coinage of Pautalia, Leon Ruzicka once presented only three coins of Pautalia – two with the double images of Septimius Severus and Clodius Albinus, and one with the single image of Clodius Albinus. Here are presented some more coins. The different coin types of the two kinds, which always have on the obverse an image of Clodius Albinus as Caesar – together with the image of the emperor Septimius Severus, or alone, will be presented in a supposed but, of course, uncertain relative chronological sequence, distinguished by individual types, and each type will be presented by a single specimen. The aim of the present work is to gather and present in one place all types of coins with the image of Clodius Albinus struck at Pautalia that have become known so far.

Keywords

• pautalia, clodius albinus, roman provincial coins