Elagabulus Provincial As

Picky as I am I can't allow this to be called assarion since the size would require it to be either a 4 or 5 assaria piece. some of the cities in the period and region marked denominations but this one is not marked. I could allow it to be called an 'aes' meaning simply a copper/bronze/brass coin. I am terribly unclear on how these exchanged with Roman aes (how many would you need to buy a sestertius?). I am also unclear on how the East Provincial coinage interfaced with denarii issued at Eastern mints. Nicopolis was far enough from a denarius mint (perhaps Antioch) that this is less of a question than it might be if we were showing Syrian aes. Often collectors seem to use Roman denomination names when a coin has Latin legends and Greek system names for Greek legends like on this coin.

I don't seem to find time to read every post immediately on posting so I apologize for dredging up this earlier matter regarding a very nice coin. Later this thread seemed to turn into a 'Show your Elagabalus' so I'll tack on a few favorites of mine:


All are Eastern mint denarii showing a bit of a range of styles. Are all Antioch? I simply do not know. I would love to see an updated RIC volume IV that might place such coins in better perspective but I do not expect it to happen in my lifetime. There are many subjects in numismatics that need updating and relatively few people dedicating their lives to the task.

 

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