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Home ▸ Catalog ▸ |Roman Coins| ▸ |Roman Provincial||View Options:  |  |  |   

Roman Provincial Coins

From Augustus (27 B.C. - 14 A.D.) to Tacitus (275 - 276 A.D.), the Roman Empire allowed many provinces and cities to mint coins for local use - those coins are referred to as Roman provincial coins (or Greek imperial coins). Most Roman provincial coins were copper, bronze or brass, but silver provincial coins were also issued. There are three subcategories: colonial (mostly Latin legends), Greek imperial (Greek legends), and quasi-autonomous (issued under Roman authority but without the Emperor's portrait). Roman provincial coins are known from about 600 cities, though after Caligula (37 - 41 A.D.) only cities from Greece eastward issued them. If you are looking for coins of a specific emperor, use the menu on the left. If you are looking for coins from a specific city or region, these coins are organized geographically under Greek Imperial in our Greek Coins pages. The link to our Greek Coins is in the header above.

Hadrian, 11 August 117 - 10 July 138 A.D., Nicomedia, Bithynia

|Bithynia|, |Hadrian,| |11| |August| |117| |-| |10| |July| |138| |A.D.,| |Nicomedia,| |Bithynia||cistophoric| |tetradrachm|
"A cistophorus was a silver coin of about 12.5 grams which originated in Asia Minor about 200 BC and soon became the common currency there. Its name came from its obverse design, a 'cista mystica' or mystical chest used in worship of Dionysius (cistophorus means 'chest-bearer'). Roman governors first put their names on them about 58 BC, and Augustus began the imperial issuance from Asian mints about 27 BC (at about 12.0 grams and 27 mms), abandoning the 'cista mystica' design and promoting Imperial themes. Only Claudius, Titus, Domitian, Nerva, Trajan, and Hadrian issued cistophori after Augustus." - from Moneta Historical Research by Tom Schroer
SH25882. Silver cistophoric tetradrachm, Metcalf Type B1, 3 (dies 2/3); BMCRE III 1099 note; RSC II 240b, VF, weight 10.410 g, maximum diameter 27.3 mm, die axis 180o, Nicomedia (Izmit, Turkey) mint, obverse IMP CAES TRA HADRIANO AVG P P, laureate bust right; reverse COM - BIT, octastyle temple on podium of three steps, ROM S P AVG in entablature in pediment; ex Harlan Berk; SOLD


Judean Kingdom, Herod the Great, 37 - 4 B.C.

|Herod| |the| |Great|, |Judean| |Kingdom,| |Herod| |the| |Great,| |37| |-| |4| |B.C.||eight| |prutot|
The eight prutot was Herod's largest denomination. The style of this scarcer variety is somewhat schematic. The vertical legends are also unusual. This is an appendage group type (O2/R3) as discussed in the Feb '05 Celator.
SH08332. Copper eight prutot, Hendin 6204, Meshorer AJC 1a, MCP O-I-04, Fontanille Celator Feb '05 O2/R3, RPC I 4901, HGC 10 651, VF, areas not fully struck, nice green patina highlighted by buff earthen fill, weight 10.14 g, maximum diameter 28.0 mm, die axis 0o, Samaria mint, 37 B.C.; obverse HPΩΔOY BAΣIΛEΩΣ (Greek: of King Herod) in 3 strait lines, tripod, ceremonial bowl (lebes) above, LΓ - P (year 3 of the tetrarchy = 40 B.C.) across fields; reverse military helmet facing with cheek pieces and straps, wreathed with acanthus leaves, fillets and star above, flanked by two palm-branches; SOLD


Gaza, Philistia, Autonomous Period, c. 108/107 - 30 B.C.

|Judaea| |&| |Palestine|, |Gaza,| |Philistia,| |Autonomous| |Period,| |c.| |108/107| |-| |30| |B.C.||AE| |20|
Gaza's long and rich history as an important port and link in the Incense Route is largely one of subjugation, but beginning around 108/107 B.C., the city apparently was granted autonomous status by the Seleucid king, Antiochus VIII. This act was in line with other bestowals of autonomy to several of Gaza's coastal neighbors (e.g. Sidon and Ascalon) around the same time. The present coin, although undated, is believed by Oliver Hoover in a footnote to his 2007 Schweizerische Numismatische Rundschau article "The Dated Coinage of Gaza in Historical Context (264/3 BC - AD 241/2)," to have been struck right before the city's earliest known dated civic issues, of SE 205 (108/107 B.C.). Autonomous coinage would continue to be sporadically produced down to 43/42 B.C., during which time (and for many years before) its "freedom" was dictated by the Romans. In 30 B.C., they added the city to Herod the Great's Judaean kingdom.

ΔHMOY ΓAΞAIΩN is commonly translated as "of the Demos of the Gazaeans" (or similar). This would make sense if the personification so invoked was present pictorially somewhere on our coin. Instead, the head on the obverse, identified as Zeus's by a string of numismatic authorities stretching all the way from Sestini and Mionnet to the present, is sometimes seen with a scepter behind, as on some (or all?) the specimens of the left-leaning double cornucopia variety (e.g. Sofaer 30). An attribution to Demos is therefore unlikely. The alternative interpretation "of the people of the Gazaeans" sounds awkwardly redundant to our modern ears, but is perhaps more accurate, stressing the coin was issued by "the people" and not some authority above the Gazaeans. In reading the long version of their bold statement of autonomy (i.e. ΔHMOY ΓAΞAIΩN IEP[AΣ] AΣY[ΛOY]), the Sofaer authors treated the ethnic more along the lines of an adjective: "of the Gazaean people, sacred [and] inviolable."
GB13853. Bronze AE 20, Sofaer 30; Rosenberger 27; HGC 10 585; BMC Palestine p. 143, 1 & 3 var. (horns r.); Mi Supp 8, no. 47 var. (obv. star; horns r.; leg. arr.), aF, uneven strike on oblong flan with casting sprue and attractive sandy sediments; some roughness on rev., weight 4.581 g, maximum diameter 19.8 mm, die axis 0o, Gaza mint, c. late 2nd century B.C.; obverse laureate head of Zeus right, scepter (probably) behind (off flan); reverse ΔHMOY - ΓAΞAIΩN (clockwise beginning upper right), a "branch" of two cornucopias attached to stalk-like base, both horns parallel with tops leaning left, each sporting a dangling grape cluster; this coin sat in the FORVM mystery box unattributed for 20 years!; very rare; SOLD


Athens, Attica, Greece, c. 86 - 84 B.C., New Style Tetradrachm, Issued by Sulla

|Athens|, |Athens,| |Attica,| |Greece,| |c.| |86| |-| |84| |B.C.,| |New| |Style| |Tetradrachm,| |Issued| |by| |Sulla||tetradrachm|
On 1 March 86 B.C., after a 5 month siege, Sulla began his midnight sack of Athens. The city had been occupied by the forces of Mithridates VI of Pontus under the command of Archelaus. Blood was said to have literally flowed in the streets, it was only after the entreaties of a couple of his Greek friends (Midias and Calliphon) and the pleas of the Roman Senators in his camp that Sulla decided enough was enough. This issue was struck for Sulla, either at Athens or outside Athens during the siege, to pay his legions and expenses during the war against Mithradates. The silver was collected from Greeks who supported the Romans against Mithradates and requisitioned from the sacred temple treasuries at Epidaurus, Olympia and Delphi. The ancients admired these Roman-Athenian coins and called them "flats of Lucullan." The MARKOY monogram may refer to Marcus the brother of the Roman general and politician Lucullus.
SH70948. Silver tetradrachm, cf. Thompson Athens 1293; Svoronos Athens pl. 78, 11; Dewing 1653; Boehringer AMUGS V, pp. 28-31 and pl. 9, 10; Kraay-Hirmer pl. 120, 366, gVF, attractive style, well struck, nicely toned, centered on a crowded slightly irregular shape flan, weight 16.581 g, maximum diameter 29.5 mm, die axis 0o, Athens mint, c. 86 - 84 B.C.; obverse helmeted head of Athena Parthenos right, triple-crested helmet decorated with a griffin right above the raised earpiece, and protomes of horses above visor; reverse owl standing right on amphora on its side right, head facing, MARKOY monogram left, TAMIOY monogram right, A on amphora, all within olive wreath; ex John Jencek; rare; SOLD


Athens, Attica, Greece, c. 132 - 131 B.C., New Style Tetradrachm

|Athens|, |Athens,| |Attica,| |Greece,| |c.| |132| |-| |131| |B.C.,| |New| |Style| |Tetradrachm||tetradrachm|
In 1961, Margaret Thompson completed her brilliant study, "The New Style Coinage of Athens." At that time, she estimated there were fewer than 8000 new style tetradrachms "above ground."

The letter on the amphora may indicate the month of production.
SH28914. Silver tetradrachm, Thompson Athens 388d var. (same obverse die; different control letters), superb EF, weight 16.912 g, maximum diameter 29.9 mm, die axis 0o, Athens mint, 132 - 131 B.C.; obverse head of Athena Parthenos right, wearing crested ornamented helmet; reverse A-ΘE ΔΩP/OΘE NIKO/ΔO ΔIOΦ, owl stands right on amphora, lion forepart right, H on amphora, ΣΦ below, all within olive wreath; far nicer than any new-style tetradrachm FORVM has handled to date; SOLD


Hadrian, 11 August 117 - 10 July 138 A.D., Roman Provincial Egypt

|Hadrian|, |Hadrian,| |11| |August| |117| |-| |10| |July| |138| |A.D.,| |Roman| |Provincial| |Egypt||drachm|
The sparse references for this type do not note the strong resemblance of the reverse figure to Antinous, as found on this example. We were unable to find even a single plate example of this type from this year to determine if other examples bear the same resemblance to Antinous.

Antinous probably joined the entourage of Hadrian when it passed through Bithynia in about 124. He became Hadrian's constant companion and lover but in October 130 Antinous drowned in the Nile. Hadrian's grief knew no bounds; he enrolled him among the gods, erected a temple, and founded a city in his honor. Artists vied with each other in immortalizing his beauty. Temples and statues to his memory were erected all over the Empire, and there began a Cult of Antinous. On this coin he is depicted in the guise of Hermanubis.
SH17103. Bronze drachm, Emmett 986, year 18: cf. BMC Alexandria p. 91, 770 (year 19), Choice VF, weight 23.873 g, maximum diameter 33.5 mm, die axis 0o, Alexandria mint, regnal year 18, 133 - 134 A.D.; obverse AVT KAIC TPAIANA AΔPIANOC CEB, laureate and draped bust right; reverse bust of Antinous as Hermanubis right, diadem and modius ornamented with lotus on head, bare chest, himation on back, L - IH, palm right; very rare; SOLD


Claudius, 25 January 41 - 13 October 54 A.D., Ephesos, Ionia

|Claudius|, |Claudius,| |25| |January| |41| |-| |13| |October| |54| |A.D.,| |Ephesos,| |Ionia||cistophorus|
This issue celebrated their marriage and Agrippina Junior's elevation to Augusta. Julia Agrippina was a great-granddaughter of Augustus, great-niece and adoptive granddaughter of Tiberius, sister of Caligula, niece and fourth wife of Claudius, and mother of the Nero. She is described by the ancient sources as ruthless, ambitious, violent and domineering, but also beautiful and reputable. According to Pliny the Elder, she had a double right upper canine, a sign of good fortune. Many ancient historians accused Agrippina of poisoning Claudius. A soothsayer prophesied if Nero became emperor, he would kill his mother, Agrippina replied "Let him kill me, only let him rule!" Nero had her executed in 59 A.D.
SH79841. Silver cistophorus, RPC I 2223, RIC I 117 (R), BMCRE I 234, BnF II 294, RSC II 2, SRCV I 1887, VF, excellent portraits, toned, nice surfaces, highest points flatly struck, reverse slightly off-center, weight 11.054 g, maximum diameter 25.1 mm, die axis 180o, Ephesus mint, 50 - 51 A.D.; obverse TI CLAVD CAESAR AVG P M TR P X IMP XIIX (counterclockwise), laureate head of Claudius right; reverse AGRIPPINA AVGVSTA CAESARIS AVG (counterclockwise), draped bust of Agrippina Jr. right, hair in queue at back, hair in three rows of curls above ear and long curly strand below ear; rare; SOLD


Gordian I Africanus, 18 or 22 March - 12 April 238 A.D., Roman Provincial Egypt

|Roman| |Egypt|, |Gordian| |I| |Africanus,| |18| |or| |22| |March| |-| |12| |April| |238| |A.D.,| |Roman| |Provincial| |Egypt||tetradrachm|
Gordian I was proconsul of Africa where he and his son were selected as leaders of a rebellion. The Roman Senate concurred and declared them emperors. They did not, however, have an army. The Governor of Numidia attacked with a legion and Gordian II was killed. Hearing the news Gordian I committed suicide.
SH99225. Billon tetradrachm, Geissen 2600; Dattari 4656; BMC Alexandria p. 235, 826; Kampmann 68.6; Milne 3296; Emmett 3341; SNG Cop -, VF, well centered on a broad flan, small pit on drapery, edge flaw on rev., porous, weight 12.513 g, maximum diameter 24.3 mm, die axis 0o, Egypt, Alexandria mint, Mar - Apr 238 A.D.; obverse A K M AN ΓOPΔIANOC CEM AΦP EVCEB, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right; reverse Athena seated left, wearing helmet and aegis, grounded shield against near side of throne, tiny Nike in right hand bearing wreath and palm, long scepter vertical behind in left hand, L A (year 1) lower left; ex VAuctions 322 (13 Dec 2016), lot 303; ex Coin Galleries mail bid sale (16 Jul 2003), lot 264; first specimen of this rare type handled by FORVM; rare; SOLD


Hadrian, 11 August 117 - 10 July 138 A.D.

|Hadrian|, |Hadrian,| |11| |August| |117| |-| |10| |July| |138| |A.D.||cistophoric| |tetradrachm|
Bacchus was the Roman god of agriculture, wine and fertility, equivalent to the Greek god Dionysus. He carried a pinecone-topped staff, and his followers were goat-footed Satyrs and Maenads, wild women who danced energetically during his festivals. Bacchus was the child of Jupiter and Semélé, a human. Juno tricked her into asking to see Jupiter as he really was. Since she was a mortal, she was burned up by the sight of his divine form. So Jupiter sewed the infant Bacchus into his thigh, and gave birth to him nine months later. Before he took his place at Olympus, Bacchus wandered the world for many years, going as far as India to teach people how to grow vines. In myth, Dionysius was the last god to join the twelve Olympians. Hestia gave up her seat for him.
SH32539. Silver cistophoric tetradrachm, RIC II 485; Metcalf Type 101/Type 98 (unidentified mint D), Choice gVF, weight 10.161 g, maximum diameter 29.1 mm, die axis 180o, uncertain Asia Minor mint, obverse HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS P P, bare-headed bust right, drapery on left shoulder; reverse COS III, Bacchus standing facing, nude, head left, thyrsus in left hand, oenochoe in right hand over panther left at feet; SOLD


Otho, 15 January 69 - 17 April 69 A.D., Antioch, Seleucis and Pieria, Syria

|Antioch|, |Otho,| |15| |January| |69| |-| |17| |April| |69| |A.D.,| |Antioch,| |Seleucis| |and| |Pieria,| |Syria||as|
Gaius Licinius Mucianus (named on this coin) was governor of Syria. When he failed to put down the Jewish revolt, Vespasian was sent to replace him. After the death of Galba, Mucianus and Vespasian both swore allegiance to Otho. Mucianus persuaded Vespasian to take up arms against Vitellius, who had seized the throne. They agreed Vespasian would settle affairs in the East, while Mucianus made would attack Vitellius. On his way to Rome, Mucianus defeated a Dacian invasion of Moesia. Mucianus reached Rome the day after Vitellius' death. Mucianus never wavered in his allegiance to Vespasian and was appointed consul for the third time in 72. As no mention is made of Mucianus during the reigns of Titus or Domitian, he probably died during the reign of Vespasian.
RP85562. Bronze as, McAlee 319 (ex. rare, same dies), cf. RPC 4316 (not specifying obverse legend direction), aVF, nice portrait, dark patina with buff earthen highlighting, spots of light corrosion, obverse legend mostly weak or off flan, weight 11.757 g, maximum diameter 27.9 mm, die axis 0o, Antioch (Antakya, Turkey) mint, 15 Jan 69 - 17 Apr 69 A.D.; obverse IMP M OT-HO - CAE AVG (counterclockwise from upper left), head laureate right, dot in field behind; reverse EΠI / MOYKIA/NOY AN/TIOXEΩ/N ET ZIP (legate Mucianus, of Antioch, year 117) in five lines within a linear circle in a laurel wreath; this variant with a counterclockwise obverse legend is extremely rare; ex Gemini auction XIII (6 Apr 2017), lot 158, ex Jyrki Muona Collection; SOLD




  




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