| Roman Provincial Coins from Dacia and Moesia |  |
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| Commodus, March or April 177 - 31 December 192 A.D., Odessos, Moesia Inferior |   | |
| RP48782. Bronze AE 21, AMNG I/II 2256, VF, weight 4.624 g, maximum diameter 21.3 mm, die axis 180o, Odessos mint, obverse AUT K M AUR ANT KOMODOC, laureate head right; reverse ODHCCEITWN, Apollo seated left, branch in right, resting left on lyre which sits on stele behind; beautiful dark jade patina; $125.00 (€96.25) |
| Elagabalus, 16 May 218 - 11 March 222 A.D., Marcianopolis, Moesia Inferior |  | Homonoia was the goddess (or spirit or personification) of harmony, concord, unanimity, and oneness of mind. She is usually depicted either seated or standing with a cornucopia. |
| RP54113. Bronze AE 26, Varbanov 1526 var (obv legend); AMNG 856 var (same); Hristova & Jekov 6.26.36 var (same); SNG Cop 231 var (same); BMC Tauric etc p. 34, 47 var (same), aVF, weight 10.213 g, maximum diameter 28.0 mm, die axis 0o, Marcianopolis mint, obverse AVT K M AVP ANTWNEINOC, laureate bust right, from behind; reverse VP IOYL ANT CELEYKOY MARKIANOPOLITWN, Homonoia standing left, patera in right, cornucopia in left; unpublished variant; $120.00 (€92.40) |
| Caracalla, 28 January 198 - 8 April 217 A.D., Marcianopolis, Moesia Inferior |  | The ancients did not agree on the attributes of Serapis. A passage in Tacitus affirms that many recognized in this god, Aesculapius, imputing healing to his intervention; some thought him identical with Osiris, the oldest deity of the Egyptians; others regarded him as Jupiter, possessing universal power; but by most he was believed to be the same as Pluto, the "gloomy" Dis Pater of the infernal regions. On this coin, Pluto's influence is evident with the fearsome Kerberos at Serapis' feet. |
| RP54128. Bronze AE 27, Varbanov 977, AMNG I 636, Hristova & Jekov 6.18.6.5, VF, weight 13.050 g, maximum diameter 26.5 mm, die axis 180o, Marcianopolis mint, Quintilianus, consular legate, 215 A.D.; obverse PIOC AUG ANTWNINOC, laureate head right; reverse UP KUNTILIANOU MARKIANOPOLITWN, Hades-Serapis enthroned left, holding right hand over Kerberos, scepter in left; well centered, nice green patina; $115.00 (€88.55) |
| Septimius Severus, 9 April 193 - 4 February 211 A.D., Marcianopolis, Moesia Inferior |  | The first of Heracles' twelve labors, set by King Eurystheus (his cousin), was to slay the Nemean lion and bring back its skin. It could not be killed with mortal weapons because its golden fur was impervious to attack. Its claws were sharper than swords and could cut through any armor. Heracles stunned the beast with his club and, using his immense strength, strangled it to death. During the fight the lion bit off one of his fingers. After slaying the lion, he tried to skin it with a knife from his belt, but failed. Wise Athena, noticing the hero's plight, told him to use one of the lion's own claws to skin the pelt. |
| RP56080. Bronze AE 21, H-J Marcianopolis 6.14.14.3, Varbanov I 733 var (obv legend), AMNG 585 var (same), VF, nice green patina, weight 3.415 g, maximum diameter 20.0 mm, die axis 180o, Markianopolis mint, obverse AV L CEPT CEVHPOC, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, from behind; reverse MARKIANOPOLITWN, Herakles strangling the Nemean lion; $115.00 (€88.55) |
| Gordian III, 29 July 238 - 25 February 244 A.D., Tomis, Moesia Inferior |  | The Roman poet Ovid was banished by Augustus to Tomis in 8 A.D. and died there eight years later. By his account, Tomis was "a town located in a war-stricken cultural wasteland on the remotest margins of the empire." |
| RP48205. Bronze AE 27, Varbanov 5567, AMNG I/II 3402, VF, cleaning scratches, weight 13.328 g, maximum diameter 26.8 mm, die axis 30o, Tomis mint, obverse AUT K M ANT GORDIANOC AUG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, from front; reverse MHTRO PONTOU TOMEWC (final C in right field), Demeter standing left, grain and poppy in right, long torch vertical in left, D left; $110.00 (€84.70) |
| Julia Domna, Augusta 194 - 8 April 217 A.D., Marcianopolis, Moesia Inferior |  | The first of Heracles' twelve labors, set by King Eurystheus (his cousin), was to slay the Nemean lion and bring back its skin. It could not be killed with mortal weapons because its golden fur was impervious to attack. Its claws were sharper than swords and could cut through any armor. Heracles stunned the beast with his club and, using his immense strength, strangled it to death. During the fight the lion bit off one of his fingers. After slaying the lion, he tried to skin it with a knife from his belt, but failed. Wise Athena, noticing the hero's plight, told him to use one of the lion's own claws to skin the pelt.
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| RP63869. Bronze AE 19, H-J Marcianopolis 6.17.14.1 var (obv legend ends CEB), AMNG I/I 606 var (same), Varbanov I -, SNG Cop -, SNG Budapest -, VF, green patina, weight 4.628 g, maximum diameter 19.5 mm, die axis 180o, Marcianopolis mint, obverse IOULIA DOMNA CEP (sic, engraving error), draped bust right.; reverse MARKIANOPOLOITWN, Hercules standing right wrestling the Nemean lion; rare; $110.00 (€84.70) |
| Geta, 209 - c. 26 December 211 A.D., Marcianopolis, Moesia Inferior |  | The figure on the reverse is sometimes identified as Eros (Cupid) or a generic winged Genius. The inverted torch represents a life extinguished, indicating the figure is Thanatos (death). By the Severan Era, there was increased hope for an afterlife in pleasant Elysium than in dismal Hades and Thanatos was associated more with a gentle passing than a woeful demise. Thanatos as a winged boy, very much akin to Cupid, with crossed legs and an inverted torch, became the most common symbol for death, depicted on many Roman sarcophagi.
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| RP64004. Bronze AE 18, Varbanov I 1110 (same dies), H-L Marcianopolis 6.22.41.2 (but same obv die as 6.22.41.3), AMNG I -, VF, weight 3.205 g, maximum diameter 16.8 mm, die axis 180o, Markianopolis mint, obverse P CEPTI GETAC K, draped bust right, from behind; reverse MARKIANO-POLITWN, Thanatos standing left, legs crossed, leaning on inverted extinguished torch set on altar; $100.00 (€77.00) |
| Septimius Severus, 9 April 193 - 4 February 211 A.D., Tomis, Moesia Inferior |  | Artemis is depicted here in the same pose as The Diana of Versailles, a slightly over life-size Roman marble statue from the 1st or 2nd century A.D., copying a lost Greek bronze original attributed to Leochares, c. 325 B.C. The sculpture has a stag at her side, rather than a hound. The sculpture may have come from a sanctuary at Nemi or possibly from Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli. In 1556, it was given by Pope Paul IV to Henry II of France, a subtle allusion to the king's mistress, Diane de Poitiers. It is now in in the Musée du Louvre, Paris. |
| RP48184. Bronze AE 27, Varbanov 4799, AMNG I 2742, aVF, weight 11.080 g, maximum diameter 26.6 mm, die axis 225o, Tomis mint, obverse A K L CEP CEUHROC P, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, from behind; reverse MHTRO PONTOU TOMEWC, Artemis advancing right, bow in left, drawing arrow from quiver with right, hound at feet, D in left field; interesting portrait; $85.00 (€65.45) |
| Kallatis, Moesia Inferior, 2nd - 3rd Century A.D. |  | |
| GB54152. Bronze AE 15, SNG Stancomb 858, AMNG I/I 267; SNG BM Black Sea -, VF, weight 2.290 g, maximum diameter 15.8 mm, die axis 180o, Kallatis mint, 2nd - 3rd Century A.D.; obverse bust of Athena right; reverse KALLATIANWN, round embossed shield, bow left, club right; rare; $85.00 (€65.45) |
| Elagabalus, 16 May 218 - 11 March 222 A.D., Nikopolis ad Istrum, Moesia Inferior |  | Nicopolis ad Istrum was founded by Trajan around 101-106, at the junction of the Iatrus (Yantra) and the Rositsa rivers, in memory of his victory over the Dacians. Its ruins are located at the village of Nikyup, 20 km north of Veliko Tarnovo in northern Bulgaria. The town peaked during the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian, the Antonines and the Severan dynasty. In 447, Nicopolis was destroyed by Attila's Huns. In the 6th century, it was rebuilt as a powerful fortress enclosing little more than military buildings and churches, following a very common trend for the cities of that century in the Danube area. It was finally destroyed by the Avar invasions at the end of the 6th century. |
| RP39114. Bronze assarion, Varbanov I 3859, VF, weight 2.121 g, maximum diameter 18.5 mm, die axis 180o, Nikopolis mint, obverse AVT K M ANTWNINOC or similar, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right; reverse NIKOPOLITWN PROC ICT[...], Nike standing right, and Elagabalus standing left holding spear, they erect a trophy of arms with two bound captives at the base; nice patina; rare; $70.00 (€53.90) |
| Macrinus, 11 April 217 - 8 June 218 A.D., Nicopolis ad Istrum, Moesia Inferior |  | Hristova and Jekov identify the youth as a mountain-god, others only say youth or river-god. |
| RP62497. Bronze AE 27, Nikopolis 2012 8.23.43.9, AMNG I/I 1765, Varbanov 3572, VF, weight 10.842 g, maximum diameter 27.0 mm, die axis 0o, Nikopolis ad Istrum mint, Consular Legate Statius Longinus, 217 - 218 A.D.; obverse AU K OPPEL CEOUHROC MAKRINOC, laureate bust right; reverse UP CTATIOU LONGINOU NIKOPOLITWN, PROC ICT/RW, Young mountain-god seated left on mound, torso bare, himation around waist and legs, branch in right, left holding reeds and propped on vase (or above cave?) from which water flows; $70.00 (€53.90) |
| Commodus, March or April 177 - 31 December 192 A.D., Dionysopolis, Moesia Inferior |  | The primary reference for Dionysopolis is Dimitar Draganov's "The Bronze Coinage of Dionysopolis" in Spink's Numismatic Circular CV/10, December, 1997, pp. 371-7. He collected 800 coins from Dionysopolis to conduct his study but none of this type. |
| RP48233. Bronze AE 21, AMNG I/I 374 var (different reverse legend breaks), Draganov Dionysopolis -, SNG Stancomb -, SNG BM Black Sea -, VF, nice patina, weight 7.034 g, maximum diameter 21.2 mm, die axis 180o, Dionysopolis mint, obverse AUT KAI M AURH KOMODOC, laureate head right; reverse DIONUCOPO-LEITWN, Demeter veiled standing left, torch in right, ears of grain in left, G in left field; extremely rare; $65.00 (€50.05) |
| Commodus, March or April 177 - 31 December 192 A.D., Tomis, Moesia Inferior |  | The Roman poet Ovid was banished by Augustus to Tomis in 8 A.D. and died there eight years later. By his account, Tomis was "a town located in a war-stricken cultural wasteland on the remotest margins of the empire." |
| RP48186. Bronze AE 26, Varbanov 4775 var (obv legend), aVF, weight 8.586 g, maximum diameter 25.6 mm, die axis 180o, Tomis mint, obverse AUT K L AIL AUR KOMODOC, laureate head right; reverse MHTROP PONTOU TOMEWC, Nike advancing right, wreath in extended left, palm over shoulder in right, G in right field; $60.00 (€46.20) |
| Geta, 209 - c. 26 December 211 A.D., Dionysopolis, Moesia Inferior |  | Demeter in Greek mythology is the goddess of grain and fertility, the pure; nourisher of the youth and the green earth, the health-giving cycle of life and death; and preserver of marriage and the sacred law. In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, dated to about the seventh century B.C. she is invoked as the "bringer of seasons," a subtle sign that she was worshipped long before she was made one of the Olympians. She and her daughter Persephone were the central figures of the Eleusinian Mysteries that also predated the Olympian pantheon. |
| RP63126. Bronze AE 23, Varbanov 488, AMNG -, SNG Cop -, BMC Moesia -, F, weight 5.430 g, maximum diameter 22.6 mm, die axis 0o, Dionysopolis mint, obverse AU K P CEP GETAC, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, from behind; reverse DIONUCOPOLEITWN, Demeter standing left, ears of grain downward in right, long flaming torch vertical behind in left, G in left field; $55.00 (€42.35) |
| Caracalla, 28 January 198 - 8 April 217 A.D., Odessos, Moesia Inferior |  | The supreme god of Odessos was the Thracian god Darzalas. |
| RP39903. Bronze AE 27, Varbanov I 4373, nice gF, weight 9.353 g, maximum diameter 26.0 mm, die axis 180o, Odessos mint, obverse AVT K M AVP CEVHPOC ANTWNEINOC, laureate head right; reverse ODHCCEITWN, Great god of Odessos standing left, wearing kalathos, holding patera over flaming altar and cornucopia; $50.00 (€38.50) |
| Marcianopolis, Moesia Inferior, Pseudo-Autonomous, c. 2nd - 3rd Century A.D. |  | |
| RP30731. Bronze AE 18, AMNG 539, aVF, weight 3.636 g, maximum diameter 17.8 mm, die axis 0o, Markianopolis mint, obverse MARKIANOPOLIC, turreted and draped bust of Markianopolis right; reverse MARKIANOPOLEITWN, Cybele enthroned left, wearing kalathos, phiale in right, left elbow on drum, two lions at feet; $40.00 (€30.80) |
| Julia Domna, Augusta 194 - 8 April 217 A.D., Marcianopolis, Moesia Inferior |  | This coin is almost certainly from an issue different from that of the similar type listed by Hristova & Jekov. Perhaps our coin was struck under Caracalla, while the H-J coins were struck under Septimius Severus. Our coin is unpublished in the primary references but other examples have been on the market.
The first of Heracles' twelve labors, set by King Eurystheus (his cousin), was to slay the Nemean lion and bring back its skin. It could not be killed with mortal weapons because its golden fur was impervious to attack. Its claws were sharper than swords and could cut through any armor. Heracles stunned the beast with his club and, using his immense strength, strangled it to death. During the fight the lion bit off one of his fingers. After slaying the lion, he tried to skin it with a knife from his belt, but failed. Wise Athena, noticing the hero's plight, told him to use one of the lion's own claws to skin the pelt.
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| RP60538. Bronze AE 19, cf. H-J Marcianopolis 6.17.14 (AE17, rev legend not into exergue, no center depressions), AMNG I/I 606 (same), Moushmov 419, Varbanov I -, SNG Cop -, F, rough, corrosion, weight 3.624 g, maximum diameter 19.2 mm, die axis 0o, Markianopolis mint, obverse IOULIA DOMNA CEB, draped bust right; reverse MARKIAN-OPOLIT,WN, Herakles standing right, strangling the Nemean lion; very rare variant; $35.00 (€26.95) |
| Tomis, Moesia Inferior, c. Late 1st Century B.C. - Mid 1st Century A.D. |  | Tomis (Constanta, Romania today) was founded by Greek colonists around 600 B.C. on the Black Sea shore for trade with the local Getic population. |
| BB60429. Bronze AE 16, RPC I 1819, AMNG I 2513, aF, weight 1.765 g, maximum diameter 15.7 mm, die axis 0o, Tomis mint, obverse veiled head of Demeter right, ear of grain before; reverse TO-MI/TW-N, APOLW, two ears of grain; $34.00 (€26.18) |
| Severus Alexander, 13 March 222 - March 235 A.D., Dionysopolis, Moesia Inferior |  | Dionysopolis was founded by Thracians and later colonized by Ionians who named it Krounoi. The city was renamed Dionysopolis during the second half of the 3rd century, after a statue of Dionysus was found in the sea nearby. Most of the types from Dionysopolis are scarce or rare. Today it is Balchik, Bulgaria, a Black Sea seaside resort town. |
| RP63127. Bronze tetrassarion, Varbanov 502, AMNG I 381, SNG Cop 188, gF, weight 8.943 g, maximum diameter 24.01 mm, die axis 90o, Dionysopolis mint, 222 - 235 A.D.; obverse AUT K M AUR CEUH ALEXANDROC, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, from behind; reverse DIONUCOPOLEITWN, Serapis(?) standing left, wearing kalathos, patera in extended right, cornucopia in left, garlanded altar at feet left, D (mark of value) in right field; $29.00 (€22.33) |
| Elagabalus, 16 May 218 - 11 March 222 A.D., with Julia Maesa, Marcianopolis, Moesia |  | Issued by the Consular Legate (Governor) Julius Antonius Seleucus.
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| RP64469. Bronze pentassarion, Varbanov 1620, AMNG I/II 962, aF, weight 11.852 g, maximum diameter 27.2 mm, die axis 180o, obverse AUT K M AUR ANTWNEINOC AUG IOULIA MAICA AUG, confronting busts of Elagabalus, laureate and draped, and Julia Maesa, diademed and draped; reverse UP IOUL ANT CELEUKOU MARKIANOPOLEITWN, Dikaiosyne standing facing, head left, scales in right, cornucopia in left, E right; $29.00 (€22.33) ON RESERVE |
| Septimius Severus, 9 April 193 - 4 February 211 A.D., Nicopolis ad Istrum, Moesia Inferior |  | Nicopolis ad Istrum was founded by Trajan around 101 - 106, at the junction of the Iatrus (Yantra) and the Rositsa rivers, in memory of his victory over the Dacians. Its ruins are located at the village of Nikyup, 20 km north of Veliko Tarnovo in northern Bulgaria. The town reached its peak during the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian, the Antonines and the Severan dynasty. |
| RP55674. Bronze AE 19, Varbanov I 2501, AMNG I/I 1406, aVF, rough, weight 3.935 g, maximum diameter 19.3 mm, die axis 45o, Nikopolis ad Istrum mint, obverse AV KAI CE - CEVHPOC, laureate head right; reverse NIKOPOLITWN, PROC IC, bull walking right; $28.00 (€21.56) |
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