Reconstructing the Legends on a Samaritan Æ 21 of Julia Soaemias

I purchased this coin from Stack's some years ago and, after researching it online, have been able to reconstruct its legends. The coin is from Sebaste, which received the status of a Roman colony under the name Lucia Septimia Sebaste around the year 201/202. We know this from numismatic evidence: SNG ANS 1080, a coin of Julia Domna from that year, has the Latin legends of subsequent colonial coinage, but the reverse is still in Greek, with no colonial title. Septimius Severus revoked the city of Neopolis' colonial standing for supporting Pescennius Niger and subsequently awarded colonial status to Sebaste for supporting him (Barbara Burrell, Neokoroi: Greek Cities and Roman Emperors. Brill 2003, p. 261). Sear (Greek Imperial Coins, p. 618) notes a Latin legend reading COL. L. SEP. SEBASTE for coins of this city. We should therefore expect some variation of this legend on my coin.

All four examples (including the Rosenberger plate coin) appear have been struck from a single obverse die. There are possibly two different reverse dies represented.

I have been able to find only three examples of this coin online.

First, there is mine:


Julia Soaemias, AD 218-222
Roman Provincial AE 21.4 mm, 12.48 g
Samaria, Sebaste, AD 218-222
Obv: SVΛEMIAS ΛV[GVSTΛ] SEB, bare-headed and draped bust, r.
Rev: COL• L• SE• [SEB• ASTE•], temple of the Capitoline Jupiter* with four columns; Jupiter standing in center between Athena and Hera. Wreath within pediment
Ref: Rosenberger 36 (die match); Price & Trell 786; SNG ANS 1083

*You can read a very interesting article about this temple here.

Stack's noted it was a die match to Rosenberger 36. The coin is missing some of the legends on both sides. It also appears that there isn't any text in the exergue. However, comparison to another, but die-matched, coin, allows us to reconstruct the entire obverse legend and most of the reverse legend as well.

My coin is an obverse and reverse die match to this coin, sold at auction by CNG on May 22, 2002, and noted by Stack's when resold in 2010 that it had been the property of Cornelius C. Vermeule. It was resold again by CNG in March, 2013, noting it had been the property of Patrick H. C. Tan. This coin has definitely been around the block a few times.



This is an attractive and well-centered example, and it demonstrates the legend to the right of the temple reads SEB, probably followed by a dot. It also demonstrates there is, in fact, text in the exergue, probably ASTE followed by a dot. The flan is small and none of the dotted circle forming the border of the design -- clearly visible on my example -- appears on the coin.

The third example was sold at a CNG e-auction and was once part of the J. S. Wagner Collection. It is an obverse die-match to the two preceding coins (and thus to the Rosenberger plate coin). And while CNG claims it's a die match to the Rosenberger coin (by which I assume they mean a reverse die match as well), I am not convinced it's a reverse die match to the above coins. The angle of the pediment is steeper and the figures within the temple appear somewhat different in posture. I think that two reverse dies are represented among these three coins, but I can't say that with certainty.

Nonetheless, it allows us to reconstruct the exergue of the coin as reading ASTE• or ΛSTE•. It also looks like there is no dot after the SEB on the right-hand side on this particular die.



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I had this thread saved so I could come back and read it properly.

Great coin and write up @Roman Collector. I'm really surprised that this thread didn't generate more discussion so I decided to give it a bump in case anyone missed it. I'm excited to get a chance to visit the remains of this temple in the next few months.

 

I did miss this thread so am happy it has gotten bumped
@ RC, very neat coin! The portrait is attractive. And very nice write up!
I cannot decide if the reverses are all a die match. With such different wear patterns and condition I find it hard to tell.