Yes,
E was also used on some coins minted at
Laodicea ad Mare.
There is a really
good explanation, or more accurately exploration, regarding the potential meaning of
E in Butcher's
Coinage of Roman Syria. See pages 233-235.
To summarize,
Butcher argues (sorry Lars!) that
E probably does not represent tribunician power
(
H M A P X I K H
) E (
xi O Y
I A
) because at
Antioch E also appears on coins that that do not display the image of the emperor (who held the TR P power), but also on tetradrachms of
Otacilia Severa and
Herennia Etruscilla. He notes that the first appearance of
E is on Antiochene civic coins portraying a
bust of
Tyche or a
portrait of
Lucilla. Clearly, these women did not hold tribunician power. Furthermore, the letters also do not appear on SC bronzes of
Commodus, who did hold it.
Butcher proposes that
E means
E (
A P X E I
N) or "of the four eparchies" and is related to the imperial cult at
Antioch (and later at Laodicea).
His argument is interesting, but deeply involved.
I would be happy to email people a scan of the three pages involved in
his discussion, though I won't be able to until tonight. Please send me your email via a PM and I'll send the pages later today.
Mark
