Roman Empire. Orbiana, wife of Severus Alexander. 222-235 AD. Rome, c. 225 AD. AE Sestertius, 21.60g (30mm, 12h). Draped bust with diadem / Concordia seated l.
Pedigree: Acquired in August, 1989 from Günther Schlüter (Chairman of the German Numismatic Society 1975-1977), Berlin.
References: BMC 293; Coh. 4; RIC 655
Grade: Softly struck but extremely pleasant portrait of empress. Reverse has some areas of red encrustation. Good VF
Price: $1,250
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There is a little known about the short-lived Roman empress Orbiana. She was renowned for her beauty and apparently she had a good relationship with her husband Severus Alexander. Her ostracism from the family came when her father, Lucius Seius Herennius Sallustiusa, a praetorian guard under Severus Alexander, attempted a coup and failed. Another theory is that Julia Mamaea, the mother of Severus was extremely jealous of the beautiful Orbiana and merely found a way to dispose of her. Whatever the case, she was forced to divorce her husband, exiled to Libya shortly after her father’s execution and was never heard from again.
A statue was unearthed near the church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (the floor of the church had dirt from Jerusalem) which depicts Orbiana as Venus. The statue now stands in the gardens of the Vatican Museum grounds.