This latest entry in my 'off the beaten path' series of provincials features a very rare city for the Flavian era. I had to get my Barrington Atlas out to even find it! Titus Æ20, 6.57g Lystra, Lycaonia mint, 79-81 AD Obv: IMP T CAE AVG VESPA; Head of Titus, laureate, l. Rev: COL I(V)L LVS; Helmeted bust of Athena, l., two spears over shoulder RPC 1606 (2 spec.). Acquired from Forvm, September 2021. The colony of Lystra was located south east of lake Beysehir in Galatia-Cappadocia. According to RPC II, it was remote and located far from the major trading routes and never gained any importance. It struck a small issue under Augustus and later under Titus. The coinage was for local circulation, which would explain its extreme rarity today. Feel free to post your obscure provincials!
I like provincials from obscure towns! I'm glad you were able to acquire that coin for your numophylacium, @David Atherton! Palaeopolis in Pisidia is pretty obscure and nobody seems to know much about it or its exact location. You won't find this city in your collection, though -- it didn't issue coins in the Flavian period. Rather, the city issued coins from the early Antoninine period (Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius as Caesar, Faustina II under Pius, and some semi-autonomous issues) through the late Severan period (Elagabalus, Mamaea, and Severus Alexander). This husband-wife pair (or cousin-cousin pair or step-brother and step-sister pair) are thus among the first coins issued by the city. RPC dates the coins to "soon after 147" and I would agree. Marcus Aurelius bears the title Caesar and is clean-shaven, while Faustina's coiffure is that seen on her imperial issues dating from AD 147-149. Marcus Aurelius, Caesar AD 139-161. Roman Provincial Æ 17.5 mm, 2.88 g, 7 h. Pisidia, Palaeopolis, shortly after AD 147. Obv: ΑVΡΗΛΙΟϹ ΚΑΙϹΑΡ, bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust, right. Rev: ΠΑΛΑΙΟΠΟΛЄΙΤΩΝ, nude Apollo standing facing, head left, quiver at shoulder, holding laurel-branch, resting arm on lyre. Refs: RPC IV.3 7691 (temporary); SNG BnF 1654; von Aulock Pisidiens 1086-9. Faustina II, AD 147-175. Roman provincial Æ 19.5 mm, 5.14 g, 6 h. Pisidia, Palaeopolis, shortly after AD 147. Obv: ΦΑVϹΤЄΙΝΑ ϹЄΒΑϹΤ; draped bust of Faustina II, right, with early coiffure. Reverse: ΠΑΛΑΙΟΠΟΛЄΙΤΩΝ; Mên standing, left, wearing Phrygian cap, holding pine-cone and long scepter; behind his shoulders, crescent. Refs: RPC IV.3, 7692; von Aulock Pisid. I, 1090–2; SNG France 1655; Imhoof-Blumer 386, no. 1.
True! And also a rare city period. I have an early Lystra from Augustus' reign which portrays a ploughing scene: Galatia province; Lycaonia region, Lystra city. Augustus, 27 BC - AD 14 Bronze; Diam.: 26mm; Weight: 13.03 gr. Obv.: (IMPE A)VGVSTI, Laureate head left, cornucopiae behind Rev.: COL IVL FEI GEM LYSTRA, Colonist ploughing left with two oxen Attrib.: RPC I 3538. (Schulten, 20 Oct. 1988, lot 599.)
Ha! I recognized the name, because all the competitive bicyclists around here flock to the biggest climb in the area - on Lystra Road. Now I know!
