This Roman coin reverse shows the personification of Hope, or Spes, here identified in the inscription as "BONA SPES," "Good Hope." She is shown as a young woman who trips lightly to the left, holding a flower in one hand and the edge of her skirt in the other.
This particular coin, a silver denarius, was minted early in the reign of the emperor Septimius Severus, in 194 or 195 CE. Septimius Severus is famous for his North African birthplace, Lepcis or Leptis Magna in present-day Libya. After winning the power struggle that followed the murder of Commodus (of "Gladiator" fame), he went on to rule the empire for eighteen years. His wife Julia Domna was one of the most talented, powerful, and famous empresses in all of Roman history.
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