It sometimes happened that the Rome mint, usually issuing SC bronze coinage for circulation in Italy and the western provinces, also minted special emissions designed for Orient. In 2nd c. Orient, the regular bronze SC coinage of Rome mint circulated along with the local provincial Greek bronze coins. But there were also at Rome some special emissions. Under Trajan the Rome mint issued Greek or Latin legend orichalcum coins meant to be shipped to Orient for circulation there. The Roman Provincial Coins online database lists them as "Orichalcum coinage struck at Rome for circulation in Syria". For ex. RPC III, 3653-78. Under Hadrian there are orichalcum asses and semisses of perfectly Roman style, obviously minted in Rome, but for circulation in Syria only. The reverse types are Antiochene : the Tyche of Antioch, Apollo's cithara, a griffin (associated with Apollo), and a Roman type: Roma seated left (RPC III, 3756-65). Here is one of them: Hadrian, orichalcum as struck at Rome for circulation in Syria, AE 24 mm, 7.20 g. Obv.: HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS, laureate and cuirassed bust, with paludamentum, seen from rear, r. Rev.: COS III / S C, cithara RIC II, Part 3 (second edition) Hadrian 757; RPC III, 3757 There is also this very common quadrans of Trajan, which is not listed by RIC or RPC as specially minted for circulation in Orient: Trajan, quadrans, Rome. AE 16 mm, 3.11 g Obv.: IMP CAES TRAIAN AVG GERM, bust of Hercules, diademed, right, wearing lion-skin rev.: S C (in ex.), boar right with head down RIC II Trajan 702 No specimen of this coin seems to be recorded in any western hoard, not even a stray find in the British PAS database, but it is common in Israel, Jordan and South Syria, according to the archaeological reports. Julian Bowsher, in a 1987 article in The Numismatic Chronicle, noticed they were particularly frequent in Roman Arabia, which has been confirmed by subsequent finds. It is clear that this quadrans, like the orichalcum asses and semisses minted at Rome for Antioch, was minted at Rome for circulation in the newly created province of Arabia and in Palestine. In Arabia it probably replaced the Nabataean bronze coins of Rabbel II... I wonder if some of you has coins issued by the Rome mint not for Rome, but for some other place...
Nice coins! The As has a lovely patina. This is my only example. Hadrian, AE As, 125-128 AD, Lyre reverse. RIC II 688 Rome 9.00 grams
Hi All, SEVERUS ALEXANDER (11 Mar 222 - Mar 235 CE) ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT Year 05 (29 Aug 225 - 28 Aug 226 CE) Bi Tetradrachm 24x27mm 8.18grams Axis: 11:00 Broucheion Collection R-1995-09-22.003 Obv: Severus Alexander laureate and draped bust facing right. Legend: AKAIMAVPCЄOVHPAΛЄXANΔPOCЄVCЄB. Dotted border. Rev: Serapis, modius on head, standing, facing left with right hand upraised in greeting. Left hand cradles staff. Legend: [L]ΠЄM - ΠTOY. Dotted border. Refs: Emmett-3134.05 (Roman style coinage); Geissen-2434; Dattari-4357; ; Milne-2973; Curtis-1098; SNG Copenhagen 632; BMC-1659; Mionnet-2635. Note: Rome style struck at the Rome mint for use in Egypt. See "ROME AND ALEXANDRIA: THE MINTING OF EGYPTIAN TETRADRACHMS UNDER SEVERUS ALEXANDER" by Andrew Burnett & Paul Craddock. Museum Notes (American Numismatic Society), Vol. 28 (1983), pp 109-118. [Available on JSTOR if you are an ANS member.] - Broucheion
Hi @GinoLR , Trajan’s camel drachms were another type made in Rome and used in the conquered Nabatean region. - Broucheion
