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Message:: [QUOTE="TIF, post: 1791264, member: 56859"]I like meteorites and I like A-Pi (he was a decent guy compared to most of those sociopaths) so I wanted this coin with him and the Sacred Stone of Emesa, which may have been a meteorite. [ATTACH=full]289131[/ATTACH] SYRIA, Seleucis and Pieria. Emesa. Antoninus PiusAD 138-161Æ24, 12.06 gm, 11h Obv: Laureate head right Rev: Eagle, holding wreath in beak, standing right, head left, on baetyl of El-GabalRef: SNG Copenhagen 309 (Γ in right field of rev.); SNG München 811 var. (Є in right field of rev.); BMC 1-7 (various letters on rev.) From CNG:Emesa was the major cult center for the deity El-Gabal, who was worshipped there in the form of a baetyl (an aniconic stone idol; in the case of El-Gabal, a large black conical stone, often interpreted as a meteorite). Some sixty years after Pius’ death, a teenage priest of the god, Varius Avitus Bassianus, was declared emperor and took the name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, although he is more commonly known as Elagabalus for his devotion to El-Gabal. Elagabalus moved the baetyl to Rome upon his accession and, for a brief period, it seemed that El-Gabal might become the principle deity in the Roman pantheon. Wishing to distance himself from Elagabalus’ unpopular religious practices, his successor Severus Alexander sent the baetyl back to Emesa. The cult of El-Gabal saw a resurgence in Rome under Aurelian, who wisely promoted the worship of the deity in an iconic form more acceptable to westerners. Although not a coin, I'll use this excuse to show off an interesting slice of meteorite from the Esquel pallasite, the best and most desirable pallasite ever found. The main mass is owned by Bob Haag, from whom I purchased these two precious slices. The crystals are olivine. Isn't that incredible? Peridot from space![ATTACH=full]289135[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]289136[/ATTACH] [/QUOTE]

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