Featured Coinage of Marcianopolis

The Roman provincial city of Marcianopolis was located in Thracia, just west of modern-day Devnya, Bulgaria.


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Marcianopolis was originally the city of Parthenopolis. Trajan renamed it after his sister Ulpia Marciana, at the conclusion of the Second Dacian War, in 106 AD. The city flourished under the Severan Dynasty, but suffered from barbaric invasions in the mid-3rd Century. The Goths were repulsed by Gallienus, and the city continued to prosper through the reign of Diocletian, during which it became the hub of Moesia Inferior.


Roman Ruins at Marcianopolis, Source

The city continued to grow in importance, and became the temporary capitol of the Empire during Valens’ conflict with the Goths (366-369). After that, its history becomes a roller-coaster ride: destroyed by Atilla the Hun in 447, rebuilt by Justinian I, sacked by the Avars, retaken by the Byzantines, and finally destroyed by the Avars in 615.

Very little remains of Marcianopolis today. Ruins of the Roman amphitheater…


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A visitor to the Museum of Mosaics in Devnya can view a number of lovely pieces...






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The Roman provincial coinage of Marcianopolis is rich and varied, spanning a period of almost 250 years. Much of it is affordable and easy to collect. For a broad overview of this coinage, click on this Wildwinds page. Here is a coin from the heyday of the city during the reign of Septimius Severus.

Moesia Inferior, Septimius Severus, Marcianopolis, AD 193-211
AE26, 9.1g; struck under legate Julius Faustinianus
Obv.: AV Λ CEΠTI CEVHPOC; Draped, cuirassed, laureate bust right, seen from behind.
Rev.: YI ΦAYCTINIANOY MARKIANOΠOΛI//TΩN; Homonoia, diademed, in long double chiton and mantle, wearing kalathos, stg. r., holding cornucopia in l. arm and in extended r. hand patera.
Reference: AMNG 568.2; Varbanov 796; Hristova/Jekov (2013) No. 6.14.36.9.



Please post only your coins of Marcianopolis, and if you don't have any, don't you think it's about high time you did? Go buy some. And post them in this thread.

 

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Great bronze. I see Marcianopolis often but havent got any yet.

 

Cool coin and post. I only have one Marcianopolis coin that was given to me. But its in very poor shape so I haven't bothered photographing it.

 

That is a beautiful SS with complete legends. Nice.
My only Marcianopolis:

ELAGABALUS 5 Assaria
OBVERSE: AVT K M AVP ANTΩNEINOC AVΓ IOVΛIA MAICA AVΓ. Laureate and cuirassed bust of Elagabal right, facing draped bust of Julia Maesa left
REVERSE: YΠ IOYΛ ANT CEΛEYKOY MAPKIANOΠOΛITΩN. Bust of Serapis right, wearing kalathos; E in right field
Struck at Marcianopolis, 218-222 AD
11.15g, 27mm
Varbanov 1648 var

 

Thanks for the great Marcianopolis post & special thanks for including the maps. May I repeat that? Special thanks for including the maps!

I only have coins from Odessus, Apollonia, & Mesembria. (The Mesembria ended up being a known fake).

 

Sorry to hear that about the known fake from Mesembria. Maybe we should start a thread about known fakes we have purchased. I have a couple and it feel awful when it's revealed as a fake.

 

If you start the "fakes we have bought" thread, then I'll have one to post in it. However, I was fortunate that the seller cheerfully accepted the Mesembria coin back for full refund. (He obviously didn't like it but he acted cheerful about it ).

 

That's a great coin, Bing!

Notice that on my coin, the last three letters of MAPKIANOΠOΛITΩN are retrograde and upside-down, making them right-side up in exergue - a strange little engraver's variation. That's why I've notated it MAPKIANOΠOΛI//TΩN. This coin is a die match to the Histrova/Jekov plate coin, which Jochen (at FORVM) owns...

http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-78175

 

As long as I'm not the only one to post!

 

I have posted before this link to a friend's page listing the magistrates from Marcianopolis and other cities of the region which allow confirmation, among other things, as to whether you coin is a Caracalla or Elagabalus or more close dating sequence.
http://akropoliscoins.com/page8.html


There was a time that these were rare coins but the opening of Eastern Europe in the 1990's made it possible to get some coins and even some books specializing on these coins. I even have a friend who learned Bulgarian so she could read these books. That led to a period where some dealers looked down their noses at coins of this region since they were now common and (this one really offends me) since most coins of the region have those centration pits that make condition snobs unwilling to own the coins since they consider them 'faults'. That is better for me since I was able to buy some of them during the time they were uncool. For the most part, Marcianopolis is less common than Nicopolis and a couple other cities of the region. Really high grade ones are not common.

A few I like (Have fun identifying them.) CT limits us to ten per post.


This one is unusual but not as rare as I might expect. Why?

 

JA said go buy and that's all I needed. It also fits well with my Sep Sev fetish....I mean collection. Vendor photo.

 

Fantastic eye-appeal on that bad-boy!! ... great new addition, JA

Oh, and ummm ... please welcome my sweet addition to your great new thread ...

MOESIA INFERIOR, "Marcianopolis"
Philip II. As Caesar Æ Pentassarion
AD 244-247
Diameter: 27 mm
Weight: 13.73 grams
Obverse: Bareheaded, draped, and cuirassed bust of Philip II right, facing draped bust of Serapis left, wearing calathus
Reverse: Serpent coiled left; E (mark of value) to right

 

Nice one! Notice JBG's coin is Ulpian while the OP coin is Faustinian making it slightly later in date. Faustinian was out before Geta became Augustus but all three are known for Ulpian. After Ulpian was out we have Quintillian whose coins lack Geta and Septimius so both of them must have been dead before he took office. I wonder is we might research the matter and find out if Ulpian was linked to Geta in some way and was one of the casualties that followed Geta's murder.

 

Oh man, how do I not have anything from Markianopolis?! Great coins, everyone!

 

I'll take a crack at attributing your coins, Doug, but not all at once. I'm only going to use Varbanov, since I have the volumes. It'll be good practice.

#1 is obviously S. Severus, Faustinianus. Dionysos standing left, holding thyrsos and pouring wine from kantharos to panther at his feet. This is Varbanov 713, except 713 is recorded with the obverse legend AV K Λ CEΠTI CEVHPOC ΠE. This is a mistake in the description, as the plate coin only exhibits Π at the end, not ΠE.

I notice your coin also has the curious retrograde TΩN in exergue. I love the sharp detail of the vines on the thyrsos, the kantharos, and the little panther that looks more like a rat.

 

Oh wait, I do have one


MOESIA INFERIOR, Marcianopolis
Macrinus, with Diadumenian (217-218)
AE27, 12.3 gm
Obv: AYT K M OΠEΛ CEV MAKPEINOC K M OΠE ANTΩNINOC.
Laureate head of Macrinus left and bare head of Diadumenian right, vis-à-vis.
Rev: VΠ ΠONTIANOV MAPKIANOΠOΛEITΩN.
Artemis advancing right, holding bow and drawing arrow from quiver; E to left.
Ref: Varbanov 1159 var. (obverse legend).

 

Wow => last-minute save and the best of the whole bunch!! (well played, Coin Princess) ... you really are all that, eh?

 

#2 is Varbanov 831, with obverse legend AY K Λ CEΠ CEVHPOC. Reverse: eagle standing left, head right, wings gathered, with wreath in beak. Y ΦΛ OYΛΠIANOY MARKIANOΠOΛITΩN. Ulpian.

 

Wow. Gorgeous!

 

two not so great.

Caracalla...Cybele rev. and Macrinus/Diadumenian...Hermes rev.