Definitely not Alexandria but a very interesting type: that's a Baetyl in the temple, weird giant stones (sometimes meteorites) thought to be connected to the gods somehow. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baetylus Very popular in Near Eastern religion, and appear especially on coins from the Severan period (but at least as early as Trajan and through the mid 3rd century). Elagabalus was very into them. Most Severan coins aren't on RPC Online yet & I can't find any matches in ACSearch. I can't work out the legends. Hopefully someone else can. (Maybe Septimius Severus? Maybe Carrhae? Not sure.)
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=11906174 Thank you for the answer. I found this link myself. But most likely I was wrong.
It's a great coin, but that one you linked (Antoninus Pius Drachm from Egypt, Alexandria) is different in several important ways. (Impossible for your coin to be from Egypt, Alexandria for a few reasons.) The linked coin shows a person seated (Sarapis) inside the temple. Yours shows a Baetylus (a big rock). (If the temple contains an object/person, it's always important, since it defines which temple or kind of temple.) Egypt, Alexandria has many coins with different temples. But none have a Baetyl like yours To find your type you'll need to match it to one showing a Baetyl [EDIT: Apparently not! See type w/ Mt. Argaeus linked in next comment] and Temple (they come from mints in Asia, such as in Syria or Mesopotamia): https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?term=Baetyl+temple+&thesaurus=1 [EDIT: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?term=Septimi+arg+temple+&thesaurus=1] For coins of Egypt, Alexandria, the reverse legend is usually just the date (L + Greek numerals). Occasionally, like on the coin you linked, the date is spelled out (L + ΔωΔΕΚΑΤΟΥ for Twelve, as in Dodeka). But yours is different -- it's a (partial) city name, but I can't read enough to be sure which. For Provincials it's hard to recognize portraits without legend, but I don't think it's Antoninus Pius. My hunch is Septimius Severus (for whom there are plenty of coins with Baetyl in temple), but others are conceivable.
Yes. You're right. I understood this difference myself. Thank you. There is an inscription there. It looks like it can be read. But I can't do it.
Actually, I think it's definitely Septimius Severus from the mint at Cappadocia, Caesarea, struck in 194 CE. Reverse legend reads: MHTΡO (left/missing) KAICAΡI (right) ЄT B (in exergue). Translated: Metropolis Caesarea / Year 2 = 194 CE. Here's a nearly identical coin -- but with Mount Argaeus in the temple (I'd catalog it as "SNG von Aulock 6455 [variant?]"): https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=9567269 https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=985482 Mount Argaeus was very common on Caesarean coins, including in temples, but I took yours for a Baetyl because it looks like there's a crescent on top. That would make it the Baetyl of El-Gabal, which first appears with the crescent on coins of Septimius at various mints in Syria and Mesopotamia. There are also coins possibly showing a Baetyl (atop Mt. Argaeus or on its own, at least once for Septimius [Ganschow 436]) from Cappadocia, Caesarea. So, I would still consider that very possible. It would make this a very interesting & important rarity, if true. It's also possible my eyes deceive me and it's a worn Mt. Argaeus (or Agalma shrine), but it makes sense to me that it's another rarer type (possibly new). Mt Argaeus was often depicted with a star/sun above (and/or Baetyl at summit), sometimes a crescent in the field. Perhaps the crescent-topped Baetyl type is the second part of the pair, a compliment to the more usual Mt. Argaeus type? (Or third type, since another showed Agalma, the burning altar, in the temple.) That's speculative. But a specialist could say if this would be possible or if any specimens are already known. Either way, certainly Septimius of Caesarea, dated Year 2 of his rule.
Thank you very much. Yes, it's Caesarea. There the Caesarea and Mesopotamia collections were sold separately. But this coin seems to be rare and interesting and rare sold at auctions.
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=11605292 This is 100% this mountain on the altar. We have carried out interesting scientific research work. All of this means that we have to go to the stone, which leads to the altar. Thank you again.
