the empire for an extended interregnum "does not appear to be based in historical fact", though her coins may have been issued at a few mints in the weeks between Aurelian's death and Tacitus's accession. The coins most widely suggested to have been minted under Severina's supposed tenure as ruler of the empire bear the legend and depict the goddess Concordia holding two legionary standards, interpreted as Severina perhaps working to retain the loyalty of the soldiers. No similar coins were issued with the name of Aurelian, taken by some to mean that they were minted after his death. Coins of this type minted at Antioch are even more unusual in that they style Severina as , a feminine version of the normal title of the emperors (). A handful of coins also bear the legend . That it is the singular (Augusta/Augustus) used rather than the plural (Augusti) is a striking detail that may perhaps hint at them being minted at a time when Severina was the sole ruler. Though they are highly unusual, a problem with attributing these coins to after Aurelian's death is that most agree that such issues were minted in Antioch, Rome and Ticinum, but not in the Balkans and other eastern cities (which had never minted any coins in Severina's name but would have been the first places to hear of Aurelian's death). It is possible that some of the coins of Severina were minted after Aurelian's death, but that in of itself does not necessarily mean that she ruled in her own right since it is also possible that the time it took to name Aurelian's successor led to a period of confusion, and that some coin mints thus simply continued to mint coins recognizing Severina. References Bibliography 3rd-century Roman empresses Crisis of the Third Century Ulpii Augustae Aurelian 3rd-century women rulers