SYRIA, Coele-Syria. Damascus. Otacilia Severa, Augusta, 244-249. AE (Bronze, 30 mm, 20.49 g, 12 h). [M OTAC S]EVERA•AVG Diademed and draped bust of Otacilia Severa to right. Rev. COL•DAMA•METRO She-wolf standing right, suckling the twins Romulus and Remus; behind, vexillum inscribed LEG V/I FER in two lines; in exergue, head of ram to right. RPC VIII 69784. SNG Righetti 2156. Very rare. Fine.


Raised by Julius Caesar in Cisalpine Gaul, Legio VI Ferrata ("Ironclad") first fought under Caesar, then under Antony and Octavian during the Civil Wars, and ultimately became one of Augustus' many standing legions. Under Mark Antony, it was sent east to garrison Judaea, where it remained for the next two centuries. During Nero’s reign, it fought in Armenia under General Corbulo against the Parthians, and after the outbreak of the Jewish Revolt in 66, it took part in the suppression of the uprising under Vespasian and Titus. The legion was again active during the Bar Kokhba Revolt in the early 130s, and by the reign of Philip I, it was stationed in Damascus - where this coin was struck.

Although the legion's primary symbol was the bull, it occasionally used the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome. This is the case on the reverse of this coin, where the legion is also clearly identified by its standard, inscribed LEG VI FERR, leaving no doubt as to which unit it represents.

Under Diocletian, the legion was based in Jordan (Palaestina Tertia), but by the end of the 4th century it appears to have been disbanded, as it is no longer mentioned in the Notitia Dignitatum, a late Roman document outlining the administrative organization of the Eastern and Western Empires.