Trajan Decius Tetradrachm

ROMAN SYRIA, Antioch. Trajan Decius, AD 249-251. Billon Tetradrachm: Officina 2 (two dots under bust), 13.03 gm, 27 mm, 6 h, silver fineness about 15%. Obverse: Bust laureate, draped & cuirassed, seen from behind. Reverse: Eagle standing on palm frond, wreath in beak. All inscriptions are Greek except the S C (Senatus Consulto), that is Latin. McAlee 1126b; Prieur 578; RPC IX 1701.

I was pleased to score the above coin at a recent CNG auction . Building a "type set" of Trajan Decius tetradrachms has been a goal of mine for the last decade. The above coin is a common type but, well-struck, high grade coins are difficult to find. I now have examples from officina 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6, along with examples from his wife & two sons. Examples from officina 6 & 7 are difficult to find & can be pricey. Officina 6 coins have an "S" under the bust & officina 7 coins have a "Z" under the bust, often the Z is reversed like the coin pictured below. Despite the low silver content of the coins, the Antioch mint was able to "blanch" or "reverse plate" a good layer of silver on these coins. Coins that have been over-cleaned or have seen extensive circulation appear copper in color.


Photo Courtesy of Zeus Coins.






CT members are welcome to post their Trajan Decius Tets on this thread .

 

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Nice addition.

My only one.


Trajan Decius (249 - 251 A.D.)
Syria, Seleucis and Pieria, Antioch
Billon Tetradrachm
O: AYT K Γ ME KY TPAIANOC ΔEKIOC CEB, Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right; Z below.
R: ΔHMAPX EΞOYCIAC / S C. Eagle standing left on palm branch, wreath in beak.
Antioch Mint
26mm
11.5g
Prieur 548

 

It amazes me that so many of these Third Century Tetras are out there, often in excellent condition, many at quite modest prices. I wonder why that is. Were they minted in very large numbers? Immediately hoarded and removed from circulation? Just not popular among modern collectors? Many of them still look like they had considerable silver still remaining in them.

 

I love the quality and style of those antiochian tetradrachms. Sadly I havent got a nice example for Decius yet but mine atleast shows that the silver wasnt too easy to wear of those coins yet:

 

Mat, That's a nice one with lots of silvering, & one of the types I'm still looking for .

 

J'aime !


TRAJAN DECIUS, Tetradrachm
Antioch, 249-250
Officina 1
10.18 g - 25 mm
Prieur 537
AYT K Γ MЄ KY ΔЄKIOC TPAIANOC CЄB, Radiate bust right
ΔHMAPX ЄΞOYCIAC, Eagle standing right on a palm SC

 

Great coin. It is indeed surprising how many Antioch tets must have been struck, also wonder how many denarii/antoniniani equaled a tet in value.

 

Kevin, The Philip I, & Trajan Decius Tets are the most plentiful of all the Antioch issues. The quantity of Trajan Decius Tets is surprising considering how short his reign was. Most of these coins were minted to pay the expanding military in the mid 3rd century. Decius & his oldest son died fighting the Goths at the Battle of Abritus. No doubt countless hoards of undocumented coins have fueled the market.

 

wittwolf, That's the copper color I was talking about . Thanks for posting .

 

Alwin, That's a handsome gem grade example ! I managed to score a 1st year issue of the one dot variety years ago .

 

Kevin, I'm pretty sure it was 2 antoniniani = 1 Tet. I don't think denarii were struck for Decius.

 

A beautiful coin, @Al Kowsky!

In my limited experience, Philip I tets from Antioch are the most common; I see new ones up for sale all the time. For whatever reason, Caracalla tets seem to me to be the second most commonly offered, rather than those of Trajan Decius.

My one Trajan Decius tetradrachm, which I've posted before (the page reference to McAlee is new, because I recently bought a copy and have greatly enjoyed going through it):

Trajan Decius, billon Tetradrachm, 249-251 AD, Syria, Antioch Mint. Obv. Radiate bust right, three pellets below (•••) (= 3rd Officina), ΑΥΤ Κ Γ ΜƐ ΚΥ ΔƐΚΙΟϹ ΤΡΑΙΑΝΟϹ ϹƐΒ / Rev. Eagle standing left on palm branch, head left, wings spread, wreath in beak, ΔΗΜΑΡΧ ƐΞΟΥϹΙΑϹ [= Tribunicia Potestas]; in exergue: S C. [Group II, Officina 3.] RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Online IX 1644 (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/9/1644 ); Prieur 540 (11), McAlee 1120c (Group 2) (see p. 368), BMC 586. 24 mm., 12.85 g.

 

Donna, That's a handsome gem grade example, & considered rare by McAlee ! I have a more common variety of the 3 dot type pictured below.

 

For your Decius tetradrachm set, will you also include his different obv. legends and bust types, and the different poses of the eagle on the reverse, in addition to a coin from each officina?

McAlee's Groups 1A and 1B look interesting, with obv. legend of Decius before he adopted the name Traianus. Also Decius' latest tetradrachms, McAlee's Group 4: eagle on rev. standing on ground line not palm branch, and with a pellet added between his legs.

 

I would need two more lifetimes to complete a type-set like that .

 

Trajan Decius Ar Tetradrachm Antioch Group 2 249-251 AD Obv Bust right laureate draped and cuirassed. Below single dot. Rv Eagle standing right on palm branch wings open wreath in mouth. Prieur 357 McAlee 1119a This coin illustrated. 11.70 grms 30mm Phot by W. Hansen
This coin was part of the Prieur Collection which was auctioned off some years ago at CNG. The bidding on these coins was very strong and I felt fortunate to have been able to get one of these coins.

 

Judging only from this post, it seems ... is most common. It is always hard to tell if common coins are common because many were made or if there was a chance find of thousands of them that gave us more, perhaps even all, of the ones that were made. Die studies shed light on such questions but my interest in these stopped short of that with just this one example. 2001, from stock of Brian Kritt.



You lost me on the Z. This image does not show it reversed.

 

Sorry, I picked the wrong illustration . I'll correct the thread . Thanks for the sharp eye . Pictured below is the coin correct illustration.

Photo courtesy of Zeus Coins.

 

T.C., That's a great gem grade example ! I probably scored some coins from the very same auction . Thanks for posting.