Help with Caracalla/Laodicea medallion

[Thilo]

Is anybody able to help me with a reference for this medallion?

Obverse has draped bust of Caracalla with laurel r., leg. AV [...] M KAI ANTWNEINOC.

Reverse is a bit complicated. Looks like woman seated on rock looking left, child on her knee. Potentially there is a rider on a horse or a dolphin above. River gods reclining at the woman's feet, above them two figures that seem to crown the person in the middle. Legend is LAODIKEIWN  and NEOKOPWN TPiW below.

Size is 44 mm, weight 49.63 grm.

Any help also with determination of what's actually on the reverse is really appreciated.

Thank you and best regards

Thilo

[jon gress]

This looks like it could be it:

http://www.coinarchives.com/a/lotviewer.php?LotID=166974&AucID=209&Lot=220

EDIT:  Never mind.  They are actually quite different.

[Steve Minnoch]

I think the type is likely to be the one described in the HN as "Rhea or Amaltheia nursing infant Zeus, around are the Kuretes beating their shields, and at her feet recumbent River-gods."  It looks like the central figure holds a branch over her head?

The year should be 88, so TΠΗ, perhaps the T really being TO, appearing as T with a tiny O above or to the right?

Steve

[Thilo]

Thank you, Steve. Yes, this should be the type. The central figure is holding a branch above her head. Additionally, yes, it looks like there is a tiny O to the right of the T. Also, the letter I identified as W may very well be a H. So, this is a perfect match. Just two more questions. I am not familiar with the abbreviation HN - Historia Numismatica? And, do you have a number from there?

Best regards

Thilo

[Steve Minnoch]

Close - the Historia Numorum, a 19th century work on Greek numismatics (including a lot of material related to Provincials) - you can find a digitised version under the Numiswiki button near the top of the page.  Sorry, no reference, it just came from a brief summary of types.

Steve

[Thilo]

Thank you, once again.

Thilo

[Thilo]

Hi,

for 15 years I have been searching for this medallion (definitely my largest, heaviest one, even if badly corroded on the obverse) in almost any publication I could lay my hands on. Today, I think/hope I fixed it. It seems to be Mionnet 4, 782 which I otherwise only found in Armstrong who is, however quoting Mionnet.

So, the reverse, according to Mionnet shows Rhea holding infant Jupiter, surrounded by three corybantes, eagle above, below the river gods Caper and Lycus are resting, on the side a small figure holding a rudder, reverse legend: LAODIKEWN; in field: NEWKORWN TO PH (mine definitely says TPH, though).

I am rather positive it is not Mionnet IV 781, SNG Cop 589 as the field legend is different as well as the depiction of the corybantes. Of course it might be another type that I have not yet found.

Happy to hear if anyone has better ideas. For ease I added some better pictures.

Thilo

[Curtis JJ]

Congratulations on finding the reference after all this time! That is a great Medallion, what a fascinating scene on the reverse! Especially interesting that the scene is adapted for the local context by placing it between the two river gods.

Aside from everything else, the Neokoros coins are always interesting, since it was a special status (advertised proudly on local coinage) w/ privileges, and cities had to jump through various hoops to get it.

I wonder exactly which mythological scene this is: Researching and figuring all that out is a big part of the fun of Roman Provincial coins for me.
NOTE: Edited to clean up the writing/thoughts a bit:

The Corybantes are the sons of Chronos (father of Zeus, too). There are coins of Chronos with Rhea (mother of Zeus) holding the infant. I'm assuming those are a mythological scene of her trying to hide the infant from Chronos (the father) who wants to eat him?

Although still seated, Rhea appears much more active in this scene than in some of her others that I see. Searching Rhea in RPC Online [LINK]. On most types, from various other mints, she's "sitting down" in a chair or something. Here, seated higher and seems ready to rise? to run? to fight?

A similar scene to this one shows the Corybantes & Adrasteia holding infant Zeus (from various mints): [LINK/10 EXAMPLES] on RPC.
She was part of the Rhea / Chronos myth, though I'm not sure where she fits in. I guess Rhea gave her the infant Zeus to hide. I wonder how the female figures are identified as Rhea or Adrasteia? Could this one be Adrasteia instead of Rhea? If it's just context (e.g., paired with Chronos [alone, seated] or the Corybantes [2-3, standing]), I would've thought this is Adrasteia.

I plugged "Rhea" into the Isegrim search and came back with 11 from various mints. (You can also type "SNG KOP 30 589" into the "references" and the search will give you this record.)
Website: (http://isegrim.dasr.de/isegrim_neu/).
Using the downloadable Excel files from Wildwinds [INSTRUCTIONS LINK], this one is Row 32794 (version downloaded Aug 2, 2023).
There are only descriptions -- NO PHOTOS. Extr. useful for finding refs, though!

The final result gives the OTHER type for Laodicea, SNG Copenhagen 589. [EDIT: I just noticed -- this is the one that is NOT YOUR type! But same mint/similar, besides the legends, depiction of Corybantes.]

It's the only specimen in the database of this general type / from this mint (copy-pasted, but with some lines removed for brevity):

11. Coin description(39470)
Province, Region:   PHRYGIA
Place of minting:   LAODICEIA
Minting period:   Between 198 and 217

Obverse
Legend(G):   AY K M AY ANTWNEINOS
Legend(G):   ΑΥ Κ Μ ΑΥ ΑΝΤΩΝΕΙΝΟΣ
Type:   PORTRAIT MAN R / CARACALLA
Attributes:   WREATH LAUREL / CLOTHES
Countermark:   HEAD MAN R / EMPEROR<GETA?>

Reverse
Legend(G):   LAODIKEWN NEWKORWN
Legend(G):   ΛΑΟΔΙΚΕΩΝ ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ
Type:   PERSONS 5 / WOMAN SITTING FR(1) / RHEA(1) / BETWEEN / PERSONS 4(2) / KORYBANTES(2) / FIGURE LE / FIGURE RI / RIVER-GOD<?> / THEREUNDER / FIGURES 2 / RIVER-GOD LYKOS / RIVER-GOD KAPROS
Attributes:   FIGURE(1) / ZEUS INFANT(1) / SHIELD(2)

Technical details
Metal:   AE
Weight (g):   42.99(1)
Die-axis:   06(1)
Bibliographical references
this coin:   SNG KOP 30 589(1)