I have already tried to ask on the
identification board to no
success, so I apologize to those who have already seen this.
I have problems with the exact
identification of this coin (it is mine, just arrived).
It clearly depicts a
Thracian king and a
Roman ruler, but the
legend on the
Roman ruler's
side is longer than on most examples listed for
Augustus (which is KAIΣAPOΣ ΣEBAΣTOY).
I have looked at the
Moushmov online resource (
http://wildwinds.com/moushmov/thracian_kingdom.html) and found a
legend variant that seems to fit:
AYTOKPATOPOΣ KAIΣAPOΣ ΣEBAΣTOY, but
Moushmov only lists the following variants with this
reverse legend:
1) with double
portrait of Rhoemetalces and
his wife on the
obverse (
Moushmov 5796 - Obv: BAΣIΛEΩΣ POIMHTAΛKOY. The heads of Remetalk and
his wife (or
his son Coti) coupled together, right, with kontramarka.
Rev. : AYTOKPATOPOΣ KAIΣAPOΣ ΣEBAΣTOY. August’s
head. Plate XL 2.), the plate picture (see below) seems to show that the
reverse die is close but not a match;
2) with both
obverse and
reverse depicting double
portraits (
Moushmov 5799 - Obv: BAΣIΛEΩΣ POIMHTAΛKOY. The heads of Remetalk and
his wife right; in front -
head of their son Coti V.
Rev. : AYTOKPATOPOΣ KAIΣAPOΣ ΣEBAΣTOY. The heads of August and
Livia right; in front -
Capricorn. Plate XL 5.)
RPC also lists this
legend for two persons'
obverse (
RPC 1721,
AE24), but it assigns it to Rhoemetalces II and
Tiberius with the following comment (
Vol.1, p. 313):
"
Youroukova attributes series 1711, 1718 and 1721 to Rhoemetalces II. Series 1721 is here given to Rhoemetalces II, as the title AYTOKPATOPOΣ KAIΣAPOΣ ΣEBAΣTOY and the
portrait figuring on it seem more characteristic of
Tiberius. "
The plate in
RPC is quite similar to that in
Moushmov, but without a
countermark.
The coin weighs 3.40g, 19mm in
diameter.
Any
help is greatly appreciated. Is it unpublished?
Also it would be interesting to know the reason for this extension of the
legend: What exactly AYTOKPATOPOΣ means, if this is
Augustus depicted, why is this different from other variants? (as Rhoemetalces I ruled from 12 BC to 12 AD, nothing seemed to be changed in the titles of
Augustus during this period). Or if it is
Tiberius, why it is characteristic for him as
RPC states?
