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Otacilia Severa, Augusta, February or March 244 - September or October 249 A.D., Nisibis, Mesopotamia
NEW Nisibis is the city of Netzivin in the Talmud. The Jews of Nisibis resisted the Roman conqueror, Trajan, to maintain Parthian rule. The city was taken only after a lengthy siege. After the it fell, Nisibis was laid waste and the massacre was so great that the houses, streets, and roads were strewn with corpses.RP111194. Bronze AE 26, RPC Online VIII U2575 (12 spec.); BMC Mesopotamia p. 123, 27; SNG Cop 244; SNG Hunterian 2447, VF, broad flan, porosity, light corrosion, weight 8.049 g, maximum diameter 25.5 mm, die axis 0o, Nisibis (Nusaybin, Turkey) mint, 247 - 249 A.D.; obverse MAP ΩTAKIΛ CEOYHPAN CEB (Marcia Otacilia Severa Augusta), diademed and draped bust of Otacilia Severa right, crescent behind shoulders; reverse IOY CEΠ KOΛΩ NECIBI MHT, temple with arched pediment and four twisted columns enclosing draped, veiled and turreted Tyche seated facing, wearing veil, chiton and mantle, ram leaping right above her, half figure of river god swimming right below; from the Michael Arslan Collection; $9999.00 (10098.99)
Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, Ptolemy II Philadelphos, 285 - 246 B.C.
NEW SL111466. Gold pentekontadrachmon (50 drachms), Lorber CPE 314; Svoronos 604; BMC Ptolemies p. 40, 4 - 5; SNG Cop 133; SGCV II 7790, NGC CH F, strike 5/5, surface 3/5 (6558782-002), weight 13.840 g, maximum diameter 20.1 mm, die axis 0o, Alexandria mint, 285 - Aug 272 B.C.; obverse A∆EΛΦΩN, jugate busts of Ptolemy II Philadelphos, diademed and draped, and Arsinoe II, diademed and veiled, Galatian shield behind; reverse ΘEΩN, jugate busts of Ptolemy I Soter, diademed and wearing aegis, and Berenike I, diademed and veiled; ex Harlan J. Berk; NGC| Lookup; $3600.00 (3636.00)
Caracalla, 28 January 198 - 8 April 217 A.D., Emesa, Syria
NEW Emesa was famous for its Temple of the Sun, the center of worship for the ancient pagan cult El-Gebal (or Elagabal). El-Gebal, worshiped in the form of a conical black stone, was the Aramaic name for the Syrian Sun God and means God of the Mountain. Emesa was the birthplace of the Roman emperor Elagabalus and four Roman empresses, Julia Domna, Julia Maesa, Julia Mamaea, and Julia Soaemias.RP111034. Bronze AE 23, Mantis ANSCD 1944.100.66180, SNG Cop -; SNG Munchen -, BMC Galatia -, Lindgren -, VF, near centered, flaw on Caracalla's jaw, weight 11.075 g, maximum diameter 22.5 mm, die axis 0o, Emesa (Homs, Syria) mint, 216 - 217 A.D.; obverse AVT KAI ANTΩNEINOC CEB, laureate head of Caracalla right; reverse IOVΛIA ∆OMNA CEB, draped bust of Julia Domna right, H-K/Φ ([year] 528) across field; Coin Archives records only two specimens of the type at auction in the last two decades; this is the finest specimen of the four known to FORVM; very rare; $350.00 (353.50)
Faustina Junior, Augusta 146 - Winter 175/176 A.D., Wife of Marcus Aurelius
Faustina Junior and Marcus Aurelius had 14 children. Commodus was the tenth of the fourteen children and the only son to survive. His twin brother Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antonius died at the age of four.RS110253. Silver denarius, RIC III AP502a, RSC II 54, BMCRE IV AP1086, Hunter II 13, SRCV II 4704, EF, choice obv., rose tone on luster, radiating flow lines, rev. a little off center, mild die wear, weight 2.829 g, maximum diameter 18.4 mm, die axis 180o, Rome mint, struck under Antoninus Pius, 154 - 156 A.D.; obverse FAUSTINA AVG PII AVG FIL, draped bust right with head bare, hair waved and coiled on back of head; reverse CONCORDIA (harmony), Concordia seated left, flower in right hand, left forearm resting on cornucopia atop globe; ex Inasta (San Marino) auction 100 (24 June 2022), lot 238; $300.00 (303.00)
Faustina Junior, Augusta 146 - Winter 175/176 A.D., Wife of Marcus Aurelius, Roman Provincial Egypt
NEW This coin was struck during the reign of her father Antoninus Pius. Faustina II was the daughter, wife, and mother of emperors and empresses. When she gave birth to the first of many children she was given the title of Augusta, which for a time made her superior in rank to her husband. She was a devoted wife and mother and accompanied her husband on all his military campaigns.RX110732. Bronze drachm, Geissen 1954 (same obv. die); RPC Online IV.4 T13703; BMC Alexandria p. 163, 1334; Kampmann 38.60; Emmett 1976; Dattari 3279 var. (L - I∆), F, attractive green-brown patina, centered, most of legend weak/unstruck, small edge splits, obv. edge beveled, weight 25.632 g, maximum diameter 33.7 mm, die axis 0o, Alexandria mint, 29 Aug 150 - 28 Aug 151 A.D.; obverse ΦAVCTINA CEB EVCEB ΘVΓ (from upper right), draped bust right; reverse Athena standing facing, head left, wearing crested helmet, chiton with diplois and aegis, Nike in her extended right hand offering wreath and bearing palm frond, spear vertical in left hand, L I-∆ (year 14) divided across fields, no shield; $270.00 (272.70)
Julia Soaemias, Augusta 16 May 218 - 11 March 222 A.D., Sebaste, Samaria, Syria Palaestina
Sebaste was in the heart of the mountains of Samaria, a few miles northwest of Shechem. The city was called Samaria when it was a capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel in the 9th and 8th centuries B.C. According to Josephus, King Herod the Great renamed Sebastia in honor of emperor Augustus.RP110275. Bronze AE 20, RPC Online VI T8901 (8 spec.); Rosenberger III 36; Sofaer 37; Meshorer City Coins -; BMC Palestine -, VF, green patina, highlighting earthen deposits, weight 9.996 g, maximum diameter 20.5 mm, die axis 15o, Sebaste (Sebastia, Israel) mint, 16 May 218 - 11 Mar 222 A.D.; obverse SVAEMIAS AVGVSTA SEB, draped bust of Julia Soaemias right; reverse COL L SE SEBASTE, front view of temple with four columns, wreath in pediment, Capitoline Triad within: Jupiter in center seated facing on throne, long scepter in right hand, flanked by Juno on right, standing left, and Minerva on left, standing right, resting hand on shield; rare; $225.00 (227.25)
Faustina Sr., Augusta 25 February 138 - Early 141, Wife of Antoninus Pius
NEW The palladium, a small figure of Minerva (Pallas Athena) holding a spear and shield, had a mythological origin from Troy. Troy was believed to be safe from foreign enemies as long as the palladium remained within the city walls. But Odysseus and Diomedes stole the image and soon after the Greeks took the city. The palladium was later taken by Aeneas to Rome where for centuries it was kept in the temple of Vesta in the Forum. In Late Antiquity, it was rumored that Constantine had taken the palladium to Constantinople and buried it under the Column of Constantine.RB110718. Orichalcum sestertius, RIC III AP1125, BMCRE IV AP1521, Cohen II 113, SRCV II 4618, gF, well centered, rev. double struck, flan flaw rev. left, edge cracks, weight 26.663 g, maximum diameter 32.9 mm, die axis 0o, Rome mint, posthumous, 147 - 161 A.D.; obverse DIVA FAVSTINA, draped bust right, hair elaborately waived and banded, drawn up at the back and piled in a round coil at top; reverse AVGVSTA, Vesta standing half left, long torch in right hand, palladium with shield in left hand, S - C (senatus consulto) flanking across field below center; $180.00 (181.80)
Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator, 51 - 30 B.C., Paphos, Cyprus
Kreuzer, in his book The Coinage System of Cleopatra VII and Augustus in Cyprus, assembles evidence dating this type to Cleopatra VII instead of the reign of Ptolemy IV used in older references.GP110630. Bronze 1/4 obol, Kreuzer p. 44, first illustration; Svoronos 1160 (Ptolemy IV); SNG Cop 649; Weiser -, F, weight 1.797 g, maximum diameter 13.2 mm, die axis 0o, Paphos mint, obverse diademed bust of Cleopatra VII as Isis right, hair in melon-coiffure; reverse ΠTOΛEMAIOY - BAΣIΛEΩΣ, double cornucopia flanked by ribbons; $150.00 (151.50)
Agrippina Junior, Augusta 50 - March 59 A.D., Hierapolis, Phrygia
Hierapolis (Greek: "Holy City") was located on hot springs in Phrygia in southwestern Anatolia. Its ruins are adjacent to modern Pamukkale in Turkey and are designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The hot springs have been used as a spa since the 2nd century B.C., with many patrons retiring or dying there. The large necropolis is filled with sarcophagi.RP110002. Bronze assarion, RPC I 2983 (4 spec.); SNGvA 3649; BMC Phrygia p. 249, 127, VF, rough areas of light corrosion, legends weak, weight 3.731 g, maximum diameter 16.2 mm, die axis 0o, Hierapolis (near Pamukkale, Turkey) mint, magistrate Magytes Neoteros, c. 55 A.D.; obverse AΓPIΠΠINA ΣEBAΣTH, draped bust right; reverse MAΓYTHΣ NEΩTEPOΣ IEPAΠOΛEITΩN, Demeter seated left on throne, stalk of grain and two poppies in right hand; rare; $110.00 (111.10)
Julia Mamaea Augusta, 222 - 235 A.D. Bithynia, Nicaea
NEW Nicaea remained an important town throughout the imperial period. Although only 70 km (43 miles) from Constantinople, Nicaea did not lose its importance when Constantinople became the capital of the Eastern Empire. The city suffered from earthquakes in 358, 362 and 368; after the last of which, it was restored by Valens. During the Middle Ages, it was a long time bulwark of the Byzantine emperors against the Turks.RP110615. Bronze AE 21, cf. RPC VI T3149, SNG Leipzig 68, SNG Cop 514, Recueil Gιnιral 628, Lindgren I A146A, McClean 7498 (none with this rev. inscription arrangement), VF, green patina, scratches, off center, weight 4.840 g, maximum diameter 20.7 mm, die axis 180o, Nicaea (Iznik, Turkey) mint, 222 - 235 A.D.; obverse IOVΛIA MAMAIA AVΓ (VΓ ligate), bare-headed draped bust right, hair in horizontal ridges, with looped plait at the back of neck, ornate drapery; reverse three standards topped by wreaths (outer two perhaps topped with crude Capricorns or eagles), N-IKA-IEΩ-N across field below center divided by standards; $110.00 (111.10)