COELESYRIA,
Damascus.
Otacilia Severa.
Augusta, AD 244-249. Æ (29mm, 15.58 g, 12h). Draped
bust right, set on crescent, wearing
stephane / River-god Chrysorrhoas reclining left in grotto, holding branch and
cornucopia; above,
Marsyas standing left within
tetrastyle temple;
star and crescent flanking upper portion of grotto, [
altar] to lower left of grotto, [ΠΗ]ΓAI in
exergue.
De Saulcy 9;
Rosenberger 40;
Price & Trell fig. 413. VF, thick red-green
patina.
Rare type.
Ex Classical Numismatic Group 85 (15 September 2010), lot 660.
This highly interesting
type explicitly states that the
reverse scene depicts the temple located at the source (πηγή) of the Chrysoroas (Barada) River. A related
type struck under
Macrinus shows the same temple seen in perspective (
De Saulcy 2).
