Everybody loves Philadelphia! That's where the LOVE sculpture is!! It's the home of the cheesesteak, for cryin' out loud!! People sing about it!!! No, no, no ... Not Philadelphia, PA. I'm talking about Philadelphia in Lydia! The city of Philadelphia (modern Alaşehir) was founded in 189 BC by King Eumenes II of Pergamon (197–160 BC). Eumenes II named the city for the love of his brother, who would be his successor, Attalus II (159–138 BC), whose loyalty earned him the nickname, "Philadelphos," literally meaning "one who loves his brother."[1] The city is perhaps best known as the site of one of the seven churches of Asia in the Book of Revelation (Rev 1:11). Philadelphia lies in eastern Lydia, on the lower slope of Mount Tmolus (modern Bozdağ Mountain), in a position commanding the valley of the River Cogamis and the important route connecting the valleys of the Hermus and the Meander.[2] From "Asia citerior," Auctore Henrico Kiepert Berolinensi. Geographische Verlagshandlung Dietrich Reimer (Ernst Vohsen) Berlin, Wilhemlstr. 29. (1903). David Rumsey Historical Map Collection. The earliest coins of Philadelphia belong to the second century BC. Those with the Macedonian shield on the obverse (are you reading, @Ryro?) and a thunderbolt and monogram on the reverse appear to have been the first issued by the city. The second issue, which I illustrate with a coin in my collection, below, features the head of Zeus on the obverse and a Lyre and monogram on the reverse.[3] Lydia, Philadelphia, early-mid 2nd century BC. Greek Æ 17 mm, 5.84 g, 12 h. Obv: Head of Zeus, right, wearing tainia. Rev: ΦΙΛΑΔΕΛ / ΦΕѠΝ either side of lyre (or kithara), monogram above, plectrum below; all within laurel-wreath. Refs: BMC 22.187, 5-7; Sear 4720; cf. SNG Cop 348-50; cf. SNG von Aulock 3061. Let's see your coins of Philadelphia! And enjoy The Sound of Philadelphia! ~~~ Notes 1. "Alaşehir." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Jan. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaşehir. 2. Head, Barclay Vincent. A Catalogue of the Greek Coins in the British Museum: Lydia. Printed by Order of the Trustees, 1901, p. lxxxiv. Available online at Forum Ancient Coins. 3. Ibid.
As always, great write up! And what a patina and what a kithara you've got! The place knew the importance of emulating greatness... LYDIA. Philadelphia. Ae (2nd-1st centuries BC). Obv: Macedonian shield. Rev: ΦΙΛΑΔΕΛ / ΦΕΩΝ. Thunderbolt diving legend; monogram above; all within wreath. SNG Copenhagen 343-7 var. (monogram); SNG von Aulock 3060 var. (same). Condition: Very fine. Weight: 3.75 g. Diameter: 16 mm. Ex: Savoca LYDIA. Philadelphia. Ae (Circa 1st century BC). Obv: Macedonian shield with star on boss. Rev: ΦΙΛΑΔЄΛΦЄΩΝ. Winged thunderbolt within wreath. Control: Monogram above. Cf. SNG Copenhagen 343-7 (Monogram). Extremely fine. 2.68 g. 13 mm. Former: Savoca
Really enjoyed the TSOP/MFSB 45rpm single. Out of HS a couple of years. The local radio station had a contest on what MFSB was short for, Many Fine Soul Brothers or Mother Father Sister Brother. They settled on the Soul Brother one even though the Three Degrees were the featured group.
The city was impacted greatly by earthquakes and resulting strong tremors. Per Strabo (xiii. p. 628, comp. xii. p. 579) the city and its environs frequently suffered violent shocks, causing walls and houses to be liable to be demolished over a long period, and for a time the city became almost deserted. During Tiberius' reign it was struck by a particularly large earthquake. (Tac. Ann. ii. 47.) Below is an example I purchased and cleaned. The type would have circulated in the Philadelphia area at the time of the famous letter in the book of Revelation. Lydia. Philadelphia. Domitian as Caesar, ca.91-96 AD. Obv.: ΔOMIANOC* (KAICAP), laureate head, r. Rev.: ЄΠΙ ΛAΓЄTA ΦIΛAΔЄΛΦЄѠN, facing female cult statue, Lagetes as magistrate (second time in office). Diam.: 18 mm. Weight: 4.96 gr. Attrib.: RPC II 1334 var.* (Obv legend omits ‘TI’ after ‘DOMI’ in emperor’s name.)
Is this is one of your 7 churches coins? I like it. I have only one coin from Lydia, Philadelphia, the shield type: Lydia. AE17, Philadelphia before 133 BC. Obverse: Macedonian shield, star in centre. Reverse: FILADEL/FEWN above and beneath winged thunderbolt, NK monogram above, all within wreath. Reference: BMC 1; cf SNG Von Aulock 3060, GCV 4723 Size: 17mm Weight: 3,34g Conservation: nearly very fine
How about one with the Goddess of Love for the Philadelphia in PA. MARCUS AURELIUS AE33. 13.19g, 33.5mm. LYDIA, Philadelphia, circa AD 166-180. Eugenetor, magistrate. BMC 72; RPC Online IV.2 Temp 1371. O: AY K M AY ANTΩNINOC, Laureate and cuirassed bust right. R: ΕΠΙ ΕΥΓΕΝΕΤΟΡΟΣ ΦΙΛΑΔΕΛΦΕΩΝ, Shrine with two spiral columns enclosing statue of nude Aphrodite (Venus Pudica) standing facing, head left, covering pudenda with right hand and breasts with left hand; dolphin at feet to right.
Nice write-up and lots of nice coins. Here're mine (the first one is from one of my earlier attribution efforts, and may well be wrong): Lydia, Philadelphia Æ 15 Autonomous Issue (after 120 B.C. ) Bearded head of Zeus right, hair bound in a taenia / ΦIΛAΔEΛ-ΦEωN, lyre within laurel wreath, plectrum below, ΡΠME monogram above. Mionnet IV, 528; Paris 912. (4.07 grams / 15 mm) eBay Oct. 2019 Lot @ $1.89 Lydia, Philadelphia Æ 14 (Semi-) Autonomous Issue (c. 100 B.C. - 14 A.D.) Macedonian shield, star in center / ΦIΛAΔEΛ-ΦEωN above and beneath winged thunderbolt, (Ρ?)ΠME monogram above, all within wreath. BMC 2-3; SNG Tuebingen 3738. (5.28 grams / 14 mm) eBay Oct. 2018 $5.50
I've posted this before, but it's my only coin from Philadelphia in Lydia. By the time this coin was issued, Lydia belonged to Rome, so this is what I usually call a "Republican Provincial" coin (rather than a Greek coin or a Roman Provincial coin -- a category that RPC defines as beginning with Augustus although it does encompass some earlier coins). I think this coin has the "distinction" of having my oldest specific catalog citation, to the Mionnet catalog published in 1809, in the middle of the Napoleonic Wars. So this coin type has been known for a very long time. Lydia, Philadelphia, AE 17, Late 2nd/Early 1st Centuries BCE, Hermippos, son of Hermogenes, archiereus [magistrate]. Obv. Head of young Dionysos right, wearing ivy-wreath and band across forehead, [Φ]ΙΛΑΔΕΛΦΕ[ΩΝ] vertically behind / Rev. Spotted pantheress [leopard] walking left, with head turned back to right, cradling thyrsos bound with fillet (ribbon) against left shoulder, right foreleg raised; ΑΡΧΙΕΡ-ΕΥΣ above, ΕΡΜΙΠΠΟΣ in exergue. Seaby II 4720 [Sear, D., Greek Coins and their Values, Vol. II, Asia & Africa (Seaby 1979), at p. 430 (ill.)]; BMC 22 Lydia 16 [Head, B.V. A Catalogue of Greek Coins in the British Museum, Lydia (London 1901) at p. 189]; SNG Von Aulock II 3057 [Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Deutschland, Sammlung Hans Von Aulock, Vol. 2: Caria, Lydia, Phrygia, Lycia, Pamphylia (Berlin 1962)]; SNG Copenhagen 340 [Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Copenhagen, The Royal Collection of Coins and Medals, Danish National Museum, Part 27, Lydia Part 1 (Copenhagen 1947)]; Imhoof-Blumer 8 [Imhoof-Blumer, Friedrich, Lydische Stadtmünzen, neue Untersuchungen (Leipzig 1897) at pp. 114-115]; Mionnet IV No. 536 [Mionnet, Théodore E., Description de Médailles antiques grecques et romaines, Vol. IV, Lydie (Paris 1809) at p. 98]. 17 mm., 5.02 g. [With old collector’s envelope.]
Agrippina Jr. 50-54 AD. LYDIA, Philadelphia. Magistrate Ti. Neikanor. Æ (15 mm, 3.72 gm, 9h). Obv: Draped bust rirght. Rev: Cornucopia. RPC 3042 (Rare. 8 examples known}. Very dark green patina.
I prefer Philadelphia in Decapolis, here is my latest purchase: Decapolis. Philadelphia. Hadrian, 117-138 AD. AE 24 mm. Obverse: Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Hadrian right. Reverse: Turreted and draped bust of Tyche right. Very fine. Spijkerman 16; Sofaer 18; Rosenberger 14. 9.96 gm.
