I've had this coin for over 15 years but I just recently started to flesh out the numismatic specifics. I've gone around in circles since yesterday afternoon with it. If you, or someone you know, can put me out of my misery, I'd be hugely appreciative! It is surely safe to presume it's a coin on which Damnatio Memoriae was exacted. And because of the evidence of it being a dual portrait obverse coupled to a reverse showing a horse-and-rider (presumably Zeus Panamaros), the logical presumptions would be that (a) the obverse's removed portrait is/was Geta, (b) the obverse's remaining portrait is Caracalla, and (c) the host coin is SNG von Aulock 2682, 2685, or 2689-91. (All those types were issued in Stratonicaea in Caria, under Septimius Severus, have a Caracalla / Geta dual obverse portrait, and a Zeus Panamaros on horseback reverse.) BUT... not only is the 31.5 mm. diameter slightly small for any of those options, but under the horse's forelegs I see a kneeling captive facing right, not a lighted altar as is the norm for the SNGvA cites listed above. For a Thracian Caracalla reverse with a very similarly shaped and positioned captive see: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=4800768 I have begun to wonder if the host coin's type could be one with obverse dual portraits of Caracalla and Julia Domna, as I noticed some of those while hunting through the Caracalla and Geta dual portrait types. However, that would mean that in antiquity someone mistook Julia for Geta and defaced/removed her portrait thinking it was Geta. But that seems unlikely. Further complicating the issue, the worn surface and purposely partially obliterated obverse has resulted in virtually no obverse legend remaining to aid the hunt for an attribution. 31.5 mm. 15.25 g. In addition to a host coin attribution, I'd love to have a Howgego number for the countermark at the bottom of the obverse. I have Howgego's book, but have been unable to find a match. Howgego 188, 536, & 233 are the three c/m's I found to be associated with Geta's Damnatio coins, but none of those seem to be a match. Below are 2 different close-up images of the countermark. (I rotated each one 90-degrees to the left because it looks like it goes that way. I think I see a head with eyes and hair, and a torso underneath -- possibly with wings?) Note also that it looks like someone tried to remove the horseman's head also, which would be a little odd. Thanks for reading this far!
Thank you for joining the hunt I appreciate your time. Attributes of that type you found make it somewhat of a possibility, but with 2 restrictions. (1) The flan is quite smaller than my host coin (26 mm -vs- 31.5 mm), and (2) it just still seems a stretch to imagine that someone in that day and time would have erased (female) Julia Domna by confusing her with (male) Geta who was the person that should be erased. However, you sure found that kneeling captive under the horse's front legs! And whatever type my host coin is, it for sure includes that feature!
Hi . This might help.Bargylia (Rhousopoulos 3878) Busts of Caracalla and Geta with Geta removed.Countermark is a veiled facing bust of Artemis Kindyas. Reverse is Septimius Severus on horseback spearing Parthian .I spotted it on Wildwinds. Rhousopoulos reference can be found archived on the internet .Hope this helps.
Thank you @jtlartgallery -- Your post not only "helps", but it looks like it has pointed directly to both of the answers I have been hunting! The c/m must be Howgego 182, Artemis Kindyas, bust facing. This Atemis was the cult of a neighboring city of Bargylia, the coin's mint city. The host coin's attribution looks best pegged as a combination of:"Rhousopoulos 3878 (Sammlung Griechischer Muenzenm auction catalogue, 1905)" -and- "Asia Minor Coins Coin ID #6481". So... Successful end of my frustration! Courtesy of @jtlartgallery!!! In case anyone is interested: Here is a little info re: the "Rhousopoulos" auction catalog: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=rhousopoulos Here is a link to the entire auction catalogue and plates from Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/Hirsch05151905/page/n1/mode/2up Here is a link to the Asia Minor coin #6481: https://www.asiaminorcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=200&pid=6481#top_display_media And here is the auction listing and the auction plate photograph of the coin: My host coin's type was indeed struck with an obverse dual-portrait of Caracalla and Geta, from which Geta was later removed in an act of Damantio. And the type's reverse portrays the father of Caracalla and Geta on the horse (i.e.: Septimius Severus, not Zeus Panamaros).
EDIT: MISSED THE LAST COMMENT! Never mind all this It does look like the host coin could be Stratonicaea, which should in theory lead to other examples, but I don't see any that jump out as matches. The one unusual thing about it is the shape of the incuse (sort of rectangular/ oval; usually they're pretty circular). I assume the riders head is smashed from being opposite the stamp? Once these types come out in RPC Online there's a good chance of finding another example. Countermarks can be some of the hardest ID challenges.
100% agree! Christopher Howgego did a great service to Classical Numismatists with his reference. It would be great if someone took it to the next level with plate images that were more numerous (multiple examples of each c/m), larger, and higher quality. And add a paragraph of relevant explanatory information for each c/m. Of course, that would require 10 years of work. I'm on my own huge project now, so it would be a minute before I could start on it. ;-) You absolutely nailed it! Yes, the die axis is 6h, so the c/m placement aligns perfectly with the rider's head. That had confounded me as to why the Damnatio would have been executed on the head of the rider (Septimius Severus) as well as Geta. Is there a known estimate of when RPC will reach that point for of this early-3rd century coinage of Caria? And again: A big kudos and shout out to @jtlartgallery for the eagle-eye catch!
Oh! Apparently I just missed the release of RPC V.2 online because this type is actually there, including the two examples (their first example from Vienna / Kunsthistorisches is the Rhousopoulos coin) https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/type/59612 I will have to check for coins I need to submit to that volume
@Curtis Thank you! This is excellent news! I am literally right now in the process of summarizing all this information for my documentation of this coin. Perfect timing!
