This billon tetradrachm of Otacilia Severa was struck shortly after she became empress following the accession of her husband, Philip I, commonly known as Philip the Arab. Born Marcia Otacilia Severa, she is believed to have come from a senatorial family, although little is known about her early life. Her father is generally identified as Severianus, who had served as governor of Moesia.

Otacilia received the title Augusta in AD 244 and appeared on coinage issued at Rome and throughout the eastern provinces. Her portraits frequently show her wearing a stephane, a type of diadem associated with imperial women, sometimes with a crescent beneath the bust, as seen on this example. Her coinage also featured personifications such as Concordia, Pietas, and Pudicitia, representing virtues traditionally associated with Roman empresses.

Otacilia was the mother of Philip II, who became Caesar in AD 244 and Augustus in AD 247. She remained Augusta until the overthrow of her husband in AD 249, when Philip I was defeated by Decius and their son was killed. Unlike her husband and son, Otacilia's fate following the collapse of the dynasty is not securely recorded. Her life after AD 249 remains unknown.