★ Saeculum Frugiferum ★

CLODIUS ALBINUS (Caesar 193-195). Sestertius. Rome.

Obv: D CL SEPT ALBIN CAES.
Bare-headed bust right, with slight drapery.
Rev: SAECVLO FRVGIFERO COS II / S - C.
Saeculum Frugiferum standing left, holding trident and caduceus with corn-ears.

RIC 56b.

Saeculum Frugiferum is linked to the concept of eternity and the idea of 'renovatio'. A bearer of peace and justice, symbolizing the idea of a better order of the universe and the return of the Golden Age, it played a strong role in political propaganda. The Saeculum Frugiferum о 'Saeculum Aureum' is the figurative representation of the idea of time renewing itself eternally, presiding over the regular succession of Seasons, bearer of annual fruits and harvests, making itself the guarantor of an era of universal prosperity. On the coins of Clodius Albinus and Septimius Severus, he is depicted as a naked youth, equipped with the symbols of cosmic power and fertility, according to an iconography that recalls the Ba'al-Saturn of the Punic pantheon worshipped in Africa.

Condition: Good fine.

Weight: 21.88 g.
Diameter: 29 mm.