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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Roman Collector, post: 4293769, member: 75937&quot;]Post your coins of Side, coins with die damage, or anything you feel is relevant!</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Background:</b></p><p><br /></p><p>Side (modern Selimiye)[1] was the principal city and port of ancient Pamphylia, originally situated on the Mediterranean coast west of the mouth of the Melas (Ancient Greek: Μέλας; now Manavgat) River, in southwestern Turkey. (The site is now inland.)</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1092984[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Though the city was founded by Aeolian Greeks, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidetic_language" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidetic_language" rel="nofollow">Sidetic language</a>[2] was spoken there. According to Arrian, when settlers from Cyme came to Side, they could not understand the dialect.</p><p><br /></p><p>Having a good natural harbor and two artificial harbors for larger vessels, it was the most important port in Pamphylia. Alexander the Great occupied the city (333 BC), and the Rhodian fleet defeated that of the Seleucid king Antiochus III there (190 BC). In the 1st century BC Cilician pirates made Side their chief slave market.</p><p><br /></p><p>The consul Servilius Vatia defeated these pirates in 78 BC as did Pompey in 67 BC, bringing Side under the control of Rome and beginning its second period of ascendancy, when it established and maintained a good working relationship with the Roman Empire.</p><p><br /></p><p>Augustus placed Pamphylia and Side in the Roman province of Galatia in 25 BC, after the short reign of Amyntas of Galatia between 36 and 25 BC, after which Side began another prosperous period as a commercial center through its trade in olive oil and slaves and by piracy. By the 3rd century AD, its population had grown to 60,000 inhabitants. As in most towns of similar size, wealthy merchants paid for such tributes as public works, monuments, and competitions as well as the games and gladiator fights, many of which are celebrated on the coins of this city.</p><p><br /></p><p>Under Gallienus, the city gained its first neocorate, which is celebrated on the coin of Salonina, below. This allows the coin to be dated to Gallienus&#039; sole reign, AD 260-268. Three neocorates for Side were held under Aurelian and an unparalleled six in the fourth century![3]</p><p><br /></p><p>Most of the extant ruins at Side date from this period of prosperity. The great ruins—excavated by the Turks from 1947 to 1966—cover a large, walled promontory; one of the most prominent remains is a colossal theater, built upon arches and considered one of the finest in Anatolia.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>The coin in my collection:</b></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1093001[/ATTACH]</p><p>Cornelia Salonina, AD 253-268.</p><p>Roman provincial Æ decassarion, 18.56 g, 28.8 mm, 12 h.</p><p>Pamphylia, Side AD 260-268.</p><p>Obv: ΚΟΡΝΗΛΙΑ CΑΛΩΝΙΝΑ CЄΒΑ, diademed and draped bust, r., I (=10) before</p><p>Rev: CΙΔΗΤΩΝ ΝЄΩΚΟΡΩΝ, Apollo standing, facing, head l., holding patera and resting on scepter surmounted by flower(?)</p><p>Refs: Lindgren III 669; SNG von Aulock 4861 (same obv. die); SNG PFPS 872; BMC --; Sear <i>GIC</i> 4647 var.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>An analysis of progressive die deterioration:</b></p><p><br /></p><p>On the obverse of my coin, there is a die break above and involving the P in ΚΟΡΝΗΛΙΑ. The die becomes progressively damaged over time. This obverse die was also used with a second die of the same reverse type, as well as with at least two different reverse types.</p><p><br /></p><p>A similar degree of die deterioration is seen on this example used in conjunction with the Athena standing left, dropping pebble into vase and holding palm reverse type (SNG PFPS 877 var.; CNG Electronic Auction 220, <a href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=679302" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=679302" rel="nofollow">lot 288</a>, Oct 14, 2009 (incorrectly attributed)):</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1093032[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>A bit more advanced state of die deterioration in the same location is seen on this example with the Athena standing left, resting hand on shield and holding scepter reverse type (SNG von Aulock 4862; Naumann, Auction 50, <a href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=3624952" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=3624952" rel="nofollow">lot 373</a>, Feb 5, 2017):</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1093016[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>With further use, die breaks appear at the bottom of the letters ΗΛΙΑ and before the C in CΑΛΩΝΙΝΑ, as on this example of the Apollo standing type, but with the second reverse die (Roma E-Sale 23, lot <a href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=2843148" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=2843148" rel="nofollow">333</a>, Jan. 9, 2016):</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1093017[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>With further use, the die break involving ΚΟΡΝΗΛΙΑ becomes more extensive, as on this example of the Athena standing left, resting hand on shield and holding scepter reverse type (SNG von Aulock 4862; CNG Auction 37, lot 64156, Sept. 10, 2001,<a href="http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/salonina/i.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/salonina/i.html" rel="nofollow"> Wildwinds specimen</a>) ...</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1093034[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>... and on this example of the Apollo standing type and the second reverse die (CNG Electronic Auction 413, <a href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=4719035" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=4719035" rel="nofollow">lot 266</a>, Jan. 31, 2018):</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1093035[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Further study might reveal an earlier, undamaged die-state, as well as subsequent die deterioration from usage beyond the examples shown here. Moreover, additional examples of reverse dies and types may yet be uncovered with further research.</p><p><br /></p><p>~~~</p><p><br /></p><p>1. Much of the background material consists of common knowledge as summarized in &quot;Side, Turkey.&quot; <i>Wikipedia</i>, Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Mar. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Side,_Turkey.</p><p><br /></p><p>2. &quot;Sidetic Language.&quot; <i>Wikipedia</i>, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Nov. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidetic_language.</p><p><br /></p><p>3. Price, S. R. F. <i>Rituals and Power: the Roman Imperial Cult in Asia Minor</i>. Cambridge University Press, 1998, p. 272.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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