Syria, Leucas on the Chrysorrhoas (AKA Balanea), Septimius Severus, AE 20 mm, 6.40 g Obv.: illegible legend (?), laureate head of Septimius Severus right Rev.: ΛЄΥΚΑ[...], male deity holding sceptre in quadriga galloping right It was not easy to ID it. No trace of any specimen at the BNF or the British Museum, I eventually found 9 similar ones on ACsearch, some labeled "selten", "très rare", even "extremely rare" - which is obviously not the case. On some specimens, traces of an obv. legend can be seen, only in the right field : perhaps CЄΥΗΡ... but that's far from clear. The rev. legend must be read Λευκα(δίων), "(money) of the citizens of Leucas". This Leukas, renamed Balanea under Roman rule, still minted coins with her traditional name. It's today the small city-port of Baniyas in Syria. There is nothing interesting to see in the city, but on the hills overlooking the port stands the medieval and still very well preserved crusader castle of Marqab...
