Roman Empire: Philip II, as Caesar (244-247 AD), Orichalcum Sestertius, Rome mint, 246 AD, Cohen 49,

Roman Empire: Philip II, as Caesar (244-247 AD), Orichalcum Sestertius, Rome mint, 246 AD, Cohen 49, RIC 256a (15.73 g, 27 mm)

Obverse: M IVL PHILIPPVS CAES. Bare headed, draped and cuirassed bust of Philip to right.

Reverse: PRINCIPI IVVENT / S - C. Philip wearing military dress, standing left, holding globe in his right hand and reversed spear with his left.

 

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Nice I have a Philip I to photo.

 

Very nice examples posted!

Philip II, AE 27, Samosata, Commagene, 247-49 AD.
BMC 62
15.11 grams

Tyche seated facing left, with river god swimming right below on the reverse.

Purchased from Roma Numismatics.



Philip II, sestertius, Rome, 247-49 AD.
RIC IV.3-267A
27.5mm; 15.76 grams.

Philip I and Philip II seated facing left on the reverse.

 

I like the bare head; a very "honest" looking coin!

 

Beautiful coin @Amit Vyas !

 

Philip II, Sestertius, Rome.
LIBERALITAS AVGG III : this one was minted to celebrate the third congiarium given by Philip the Arab and his son, both Augusti. The Chronica Urbis Romae (in the Calendar of 354) states that the "Two Philips" gave a congiarium of 350 denarii. This is probably the total amount for each citizen in Rome of their 3 distributions.


Philip II as Augustus, AE octassarion, Antioch, 247-249

These large bronze coins were minted in Antioch from Elagabalus (218-222) to Trebonianus Gallus, but not under Maximinus Thrax and Gordian III (who nevertheless minted in Antioch many billon tetradrachms). They were obviously the oriental equivalent of Roman sestertii (coins of 4 asses in theory), but were dubbed octassaria, "8 assaria" coins. Under Philip the Arab similar sestertius-like large bronzes were issued by other Syrian and oriental cities, but it happened that these not Antiochene octassaria were minted in Antioch and shipped to the issuing cities for circulation in their areas : some are obverse die-linked with Antiochene coins.

The octassaria of Antioch are very common in Syria, East Turkey, even Jordan. A great number of cities in the oriental provinces (Palestine, Arabia, Phoenicia, Syria, Mesopotamia) issued their own local bronze coinage with a climax under Elagabalus. After Elagabalus and Severus Alexander many local mints closed, and local bronze coins were replaced in circulation by these large coins of Antioch from the reign of Philip on. A significant number of hoards with dozens, sometimes hundreds of these octassaria have been found. In Damascus in the 1980s I even acquired a handful of them I did not try to clean. They were coins from Antioch and 1 of Cyrrhus, from Elagabalus to Trebonianus Gallus, most of them of Philip I and II. It must have been the content of a purse, but unfortunately it was impossible to know its context, not even its provenance.



The minting of these sestertius-like coins ceased in Antioch under Valerian. One could think it was because Antioch was taken, destroyed and partially depopulated by the Persians in 260, but it may as well be linked to the end of the sestertius in Rome.


Philip I, octassarion of Samosata