Buying new ancients continues to be slow going for me since Covid. But I was happy to finally add this new provincial of Philip II. Philip II (247 - 249 A.D.) NISIBIS (Mesopotamia) Æ25 O: AYTOK K M IOVΛI ΦIΛIΠΠOC CEB. Radiate and cuirassed bust of Philip II left. R: IOY CЄΠ KOΛΩ NЄCIBI MHT. Tyche of Antioch seated facing; above her head, ram (Aries) leaping right, head left; all within tetrastyle shrine; below, half-length river-god Euphrates swimming right. Nisibis mint 11.5g 25mm SNG Copenhagen 240 corr, BMC 22, corr.
Very nice coin! I have a coin of Otacilia Severa (wife of Philip I) from Nisibis with the same reverse type:
Lovely example, @Mat! That's a boardwalk flan on that one! Here's my Philip II from Nisibis. Philip II, AD 244-249. Roman provincial Æ 23.8 mm, 8.42 g, 11 h. Mesopotamia, Nisibis, AD 244-49. Obv: ΑVΤΟΚ Κ Μ ΙΟVΛΙ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟC CЄB, radiate and cuirassed bust left Rev: IOV CЄΠ KOΛΩ NЄCIBI MHT, tetrastyle temple; statue of Tyche within, ram above Tyche's head, river god below. Refs: BMC 22-23*; Sear GIC 4157; SNG Cop 240*; SNG Hunterian 2. *BMC and SNG Cop erroneously attribute this coin to Philip I.
Great capture @Mat ! The reverse is crisp. mine… a mouse nibbled it… RI Philip II 244-249 Nisibis Mesopotamia-farthest EAST Temple Tyche river god Mygdonius - sinister left
Mat, Nice score on the Philip Jr. bronze . The portrait is attractive & the reverse composition is well done too. Coins struck on oversize flans look like special strikes or medallions . The poor lad barely made it to his 12th birthday . Some historians say he died in battle with Philip Sr., although this seems unlikely, & others say he was murdered by the Praetorians.
I have nothing from Nisibis, I'm afraid. But the Tyche with ram leaping right above her reminds me of the reverse of this coin: Philip I AE Octassarion (8 Assaria), Second Issue, AD 247-249, Syria, Seleucis & Pieria, Antioch Mint. Obv. Radiate, draped & cuirassed bust right, ΑΥΤΟΚ Κ Μ ΙΟΥΛΙ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟϹ ϹƐΒ / Rev. Turreted and draped bust of Tyche right; above, ram leaping right with head turned back left; star below bust; ΑΝΤΙΟΧƐΩΝ - ΜΗΤΡΟ ΚΟΛΩΝ around; Δ – Ɛ [Delta – Epsilon] across upper fields; S - C across lower fields. 30 mm., 15.68 g. McAlee 990 (ill. p. 345) [Richard McAlee, The Coins of Roman Antioch (2007)]; RPC VIII Online (unassigned, ID 7493) (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/type/7493); BMC 20 Syria 526 [Warwick Wroth, A Catalog of the Greek Coins in the British Museum, Vol. 20, Galatia, Cappadocia, and Syria (London, 1899) at p. 215]. Purchased from Kenneth W. Dorney, Feb. 2022.* *Second Issue, Star below Tyche. Octassarion: See McAlee at p. 327: “The aes coinage of Philip I and his family can be divided into two issues. The first issue, struck from 244 to c.247, is characterized by an obverse legend for Philip I which includes ‘MA.IOVΛ.’ (or, rarely, ‘MA. IOVΛI.’), a reverse legend ending ‘ΚΟΛΩ.’, and the absence of a star below the bust of Tyche on the largest denomination. The second issue, struck from c. 247 to 249, is characterized by an obverse legend for Philip I which includes ‘M. IOVΛI.’, a reverse legend ending ‘ΚΟΛΩΝ.’, and the presence of a star below the bust of Tyche on the largest denomination. The coins of the first issue are larger and heavier than those of the second issue, and are not as common as those of the second issue. It is apparent that Philip reformed the bronze coinage by reducing its weight, and that the mint marked the reformed coins with a star below the bust of Tyche. The large denomination (eight assaria) consistently employs a bust of Tyche as the reverse type. . . . A scarce medium denomination (four assaria) was struck with reverse Apollo standing, and a very rare type with reverse Tyche standing. Both reverse types appear on the medium denomination aes of later emperors.” Ram: See Butcher, Kevin, Coinage in Roman Syria: 64 BC-AD 253 (PhD Thesis, University of London, 1991) (available at https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10121055/1/Butcher_10121055_thesis.pdf) at p. 369: “The ram which appears as a type or subsidiary device on Antiochene coinage is thought to represent Aries, perhaps the zodiacal sign under which the city was founded (or subsequently refounded). On the reverses of civic bronzes it is usually accompanied by a star, or a star and crescent, strongly suggesting that it is indeed an astral symbol. Although the type is not known on Antiochene coinage before the reign of Augustus, this does not necessarily mean that it is late in date; the Tyche of Antioch, set up in the early third century BC, does not occur on coins until the first century BC.” See also McAlee at p. 8: “Another symbol seen on both silver and bronze coins, and as a primary type on the reverse of some civic coins, is a ram, usually depicted as a leaping or running figure looking backwards. It is likely that the ram is a zodiacal symbol (Aries), perhaps referring to the time of year at which the city was founded.” [Remainder of footnote, analyzing the meaning of the Δ – Ɛ (Delta-Epsilon), and of the S – C (Senatus Consulto) in a Roman Provincial context, is still unwritten, even though I did all the research a while ago!]
Another collector over on Forvm left me this note on this particular coinage. So I edited the description on my gallery upload there.
If it's not Tyche of Antioch, then why the leaping ram associated with Tyche and specifically with Antioch? See the footnote to my description of my Philip I/Tyche octassarion from Antioch, above.
Donna, That's an exceptional example for the type, most of these coins are weakly struck & display more corrosion . Gordian III used the leaping ram with crescent in the exergue of his tetradrachms, replacing the S C on his earlier issues. This change corresponds to a drop in silver fineness from 35% to 25%. For comparison a Tet of the earlier type is pictured below. Gordian III, Group 1, AD 238-240. Ex Al Kowsky collection.
