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Home ▸ Catalog ▸ |Greek Coins| ▸ |Greek Imperial| ▸ |Asia Minor & Cyprus||View Options:   | | | |
Augusta, Cilicia was founded in 20 A.D., and named for Livia (Julia Augusta). Just over 16 km north of Adana in a loop of the river Seyhan (Sarus), and at the west end of a narrow plain bounded to the north and south by low hills. Represented at the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the city probably did not long survive the Moslem invasion of Cilicia in the 7th century. The site, discovered by chance in 1955, was identified by ancient literary sources and from finds there, and in the neighboring village of Gübe, of Roman provincial coins naming the city. Later that same year Gübe, and with it the ruins of Augusta, disappeared below the waters of the Seyhan dam, but not before the site had been partially surveyed. Two colonnaded streets crossed each other at right angles typical of Roman towns in Cilicia. The foundations of a triumphal arch, a theater, a civic basilica, some shops, a bath building, were mapped. These structures were all of brick and mortar, and probably dated to the 3rd century.RP111040. Bronze AE 19, apparently unpublished; SNG BnF -, SNG Levante -, SNG Cop -, SNGvA -, SNG Tahberer -, SNG Pfälzer -, BMC Cilicia -, Lindgren -, VF, near centered, dark patina, choice reverse, light marks, weight 4.773 g, maximum diameter 18.8 mm, die axis 0o, Cilicia, Augusta (under Seyhan Dam Reservoir) mint, autumn 249 - Jun/Jul 251 A.D.; obverse AVT KAI KYN ΔEKION TPAIANON CEB, laureate head right, light beard; reverse AVΓOVCTANΩN ΕT ΘKC (of Augustus, year 229), draped bust of ivy wreathed Dionysos right; zero sales of this type listed on Coin Archives in the last two decades; extremely rare;
Augustus, 16 January 27 B.C. - 19 August 14 A.D., Uncertain Mint, Anatolia or Syria
The mint, the quaestor who struck this type, and even the identity of the person in the portrait remain uncertain. The type has previously been attributed to Macedonia and the portrait identified as Brutus (Friedlander) or Caesar (Grant). David Sear notes the type has never been found in Macedonia. Finds point to Syria or Anatolia. It is possible that the type was issued, with his own portrait, by Sosius, a general under Marc Antony who was quaestor in 39 B.C. Much more likely, however, the portrait is of Augustus.RP111713. Bronze AE 27, RPC I 5409; Sear CRI 957 (Syria); AMNG II 29 (Pella), F, dark green patina, weight 18.142 g, maximum diameter 27.4 mm, die axis 0o, uncertain Anatolian or Syrian mint, c. 39 B.C.(?); obverse bare head right; reverse hasta (spear), sella quaestoria (quaestor's seat of office), and fiscus (imperial treasury), Q (quaestor) below; previously a rare type but recent finds have made it easier to acquire;
Severus Alexander and Julia Maesa, 222 - 235 A.D., Ninica-Claudiopolis, Cilicia
Ammianus mentions Silifke and Claudiopolis as cities of Cilicia, or of the country drained by the Calycadnus; and Claudiopolis was a colony of Claudius Caesar. It is described by Theophanes of Byzantium as situated in a plain between the two Taurus Mountains, a description which exactly, corresponds to the position of the basin of the Calycadnus. Claudiopolis may therefore be represented by Mut, which is higher up the valley than Seleucia, and near the junction of the northern and western branches of the Calycadnus. It is also the place to which the pass over the northern Taurus leads from Laranda. The city received the Roman colony name Colonia Iulia Felix Augusta Ninica.RB91011. Bronze AE 36, cf. asiaminorcoins.com 6551 (same obv. die & c/m), SNG Levante -, RPC Online -, SNG BnF -, SNG Cop -, BMC Cilicia -, c/m: Howgego 262, F, weak legends, porosity, edge cracks, weight 17.901 g, maximum diameter 35.8 mm, die axis 180o, Ninica-Claudiopolis (Mut, Mersin, Turkey) mint, 222 - 235 A.D.; obverse IMP C SEVERUS ALEXANΔER AVΓ (or similar), laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, from behind; c/m: Nike right in c. 5 x 8 mm oval punch (3 times); reverse IVL MAECA COL IVL FEL NINIO CLAUΔIOPOLI (or similar), draped bust of Julia Maesa right; huge 35.8 mm!; ex Forum (2015); extremely rare;
Severus Alexander, 13 March 222 - March 235 A.D., Anazarbus, Cilicia
Anazarbus was founded by Assyrians. Under the early Roman Empire it was known as Kaicareωn (Caesarea), and was the Metropolis (capital) of the late Roman province Cilicia Secunda. It was the home of the poet Oppian. Rebuilt by the Byzantine emperor Justin I after an earthquake in the 6th century, it became Justinopolis (525); but the old native name persisted, and when Thoros I, king of Lesser Armenia, made it his capital early in the 12th century, it was known as Anazarva.RP110457. Bronze tetrassaria, apparently unpublished; Ziegler - (Vs6/Rs12), RPC Online VI -, VF, broad flan, green patina, some legend unstruck, a little rough, small edge cracks, weight 12.496 g, maximum diameter 30.3 mm, die axis 0o, Anazarbus (Anavarza, Turkey) mint, 229 - 230 A.D.; obverse AYT K M AY CE AΛΕΞANΔPOC, radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from the front; reverse ANAZAPBOY MHTPO, saddled horse right, left foreleg raised, ΓB (holder of 3 neocorates) above, ET ΘMC (year 249) in exergue; perhaps unique; extremely rare;
Elagabalus, 16 May 218 - 11 March 222 A.D., Caesarea, Cappadocia
Kayseri, originally called Mazaka or Mazaca, is in central Turkey on a low spur on the north side of Mount Erciyes (Mount Argaeus in ancient times). During Achaemenid Persian rule, it was the capital of a Satrapy on the crossroads of the Royal Road from Sardis to Susa and the trade route from Sinope to the Euphrates. It was conquered by Alexander's general Perdikkas, was ruled by Eumenes of Cardia, then passed to the Seleucid empire after the battle of Ipsus. It became the capital of the independent Cappadocian Kingdom under Ariarathes III, around 250 B.C. During Strabo's time it was also known as Eusebia, after the Cappadocian King Ariarathes V Eusebes, 163 – 130 B.C. The name was changed again to "Caesarea in Cappadocia" in honor of Caesar Augustus, upon his death in 14 A.D. The city passed under formal Roman rule in 17 A.D. In Roman times, it prospered on the route from Ephesus to the East. Caesarea was destroyed by the Sassanid King Shapur I after his victory over the Emperor Valerian I in 260 A.D. At the time it was recorded to have around 400,000 inhabitants. Arabic influence changed Caesarea to the modern name Kayseri. The city gradually recovered and has a population of around 1 million people today. Few traces of the ancient city survive.RP111776. Bronze AE 26, cf. RPC Online VI T6722; Henseler 1090, VF, centered on a tight flan, high-points cleaned to contrasting bare metal, earthen deposits in fields, weight 11.979 g, maximum diameter 25.2 mm, die axis 0o, Cappadocia, Caesarea (Kayseri, Turkey) mint, 221 - 222 A.D.; obverse AY K M AYPHΛIOC - ANTWNEIN, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind; reverse MHTPOΠ - KAICAPI, agalma of Mount Argaeus placed on altar, ET E (year 5) on altar;
Antoninus Pius, August 138 - 7 March 161 A.D., Nicaea, Bithynia
According to myth, Hermes and Dionysos were sons of Zeus, but Hermes' mother was the princess Semele and Dionysos' mother was the minor goddess Maia. To protect the infant Dionysos from his wife Hera, Zeus entrusted him to Hermes, who together with a band of nymphs, hid the child near Mt. Nysa in Anatolia.RP111796. Bronze hemiassarion, RPC Online IV 5875 (3 spec.); Rec Gen 79; SNG Cop 480 corr. (obv. leg., M. Aurelius), aVF, dark and earthen patina, weight 4.044 g, maximum diameter 19.2 mm, die axis 180o, Nicaea (Iznik, Turkey) mint, obverse AVT KAICAP ANTΩNINOC, laureate head right; reverse NIKAIEΩN, Infant Dionysos seated right in cradle, extending both arms, thyrsus in cradle behind (not visible); Coin Archives records only one specimen of the type at auction in the last two decades; very rare;
Plautilla, Augusta 202 - 22 January 205 A.D., Nikaea, Bithynia
Plautilla was the wife of Caracalla and daughter of the Praetorian Prefect Plautianus. She and Caracalla hated each other, lived separately, and the marriage was likely never consummated. After the fall and execution of her father, she was exiled to the Lipari islands and executed in 212 A.D.RP111800. Bronze AE 18, Apparently unpublished in references, 4 specs. known from auctions, gVF, nice green patina with a few small chips, nice portrait, light earthen deposits, broad flan with a casting sprue remnant, weight 2.803 g, maximum diameter 18.4 mm, die axis 45o, Nicaea (Iznik, Turkey) mint, obverse ΠΛAVTIΛΛA CEBACTH, draped bust right; reverse NI-KAI-EΩN, basket four stalks of grain and a poppy in the center; Coin Archives records only four specimens of the type at auction in the last two decades and these are the only specimens known to FORVM; very rare;
Korykos, Cilicia, c. 50 B.C. - 50 A.D.
Korykos (Corycus) was the port for Seleucia, an important harbor and commercial town. The Romans defeated the fleet of Antiochus the Great near Korykos, in 191 B.C. In Roman imperial times emperors usually kept a fleet there to watch over the pirates.
Hermes was the messenger of the gods and the god of commerce and thieves. He was the son of Zeus and the nymph Maia. His symbols include the caduceus and winged sandals.RB110022. Bronze AE 25, SNG Levante 803, SNGvA 5681, SNG BnF 1100, BMC Lycaonia -, SNG Cop -, attractive aF, nice green patina, highlighting earthen deposits, scattered light pitting, edge split, weight 8.505 g, maximum diameter 24.8 mm, die axis 225o, Korykos (Kizkalesi, Turkey) mint, c. 50 B.C. - 50 A.D.; obverse head of Aphrodite right, wearing diadem and stephane, KOPY downward on right, aphlaston lower right; reverse Hermes standing half-right, nude except for chlamys fastened around neck and winged sandals, caduceus in right hand, messenger bag (made from an udder) in extended left hand, AYTONO-MOY in two upward lines, starting on the left, the last three letters on the right ;
Faustina Junior, Augusta 146 - Winter 175/176 A.D., Wife of Marcus Aurelius, Saitta, Lydia
Saitta (or Saittai) was in eastern Lydia, in the triangle between the upper Hyllus river (modern Demirci Çayi) and the Hermus river (modern Sidaskale). Representations of the river gods are found on coins of the Imperial Period. The moon god Mên Akziottenos was honored, but Zeus, Dionysos, Aphrodite, Hygieia, Asklepios, Apollo, Kybele, and Herakles were also revered at Saitta. The town was a regional center for textile production. Hadrian probably visited in 124 A.D. In the city, In the Christian era Saittai was attached to the Archbishopric of Sardeis.RP110656. Bronze AE 18, GRPC Lydia III pl. 255, 71; RPC Online IV.2 T1392; BMC Lydia p. 218, 36; SNGvA 8247; Lindgren I A790B; Winterthur 3887; SNG Cop -, Choice aVF, well centered, dark patina, earthen deposits, scratches, weight 4.402 g, maximum diameter 18.2 mm, die axis 180o, Saitta (Sidaskale, Turkey) mint, Titianos (archon), c. 161 - 163/165 A.D.; obverse ΦAVCTEINA CEBAC (from upper right), draped bust right; reverse EΠI TITIANOV CAITTHNΩN (under authority of Titianus, Saitta), Apollo standing facing, nude, head left, legs crossed, laurel branch downward in right hand, drapery over left left forearm which is resting on a waist high column;
Domitian, 13 September 81 - 18 September 96 A.D., Philadelphia, Lydia
Several ancient cities were named Philadelphia, but this one is the sixth among the seven churches listed by John in the Book of Revelation. A letter to the Philadelphian church is recorded in Revelation 3:7-13. According to which, the Philadelphian Christians were suffering persecution by the local Jews. The city's history of earthquakes may lie behind the reference to making her church a temple pillar. Philadelphia shares with Smyrna the distinction of receiving nothing but praise from Christ, except Smyrna was warned of temptation lasting "ten days," while Philadelphia was promised a total exemption from temptation. This explains why modern Protestant churches sometimes use "Philadelphia" as a component in the local church's name as a way of emphasizing its faithfulness.SL111606. Bronze AE 16, GRPC Lydia III 219; RPC Online II 1331; SNG Leypold 1126; BMC Lydia p. 197, 62; Winterthur 3863, NGC VF (4933657-005), weight c. 2.5 g, maximum diameter c. 16 mm, die axis 180o, Philadelphia (Alasehir, Turkey) mint, as caesar, 79 - 81 A.D; obverse ΔOMITIAN KAICAP (counterclockwise from lower right), bare headed, draped and cuirassed bust right; reverse ΦΛABI ΦIΛAΔEΛΦEΩΝ (counterclockwise from lower right), Apollo standing half right, head right, wearing long belted chiton, plectrum in right hand low at side, kithara (lyre) in left hand and arm;
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