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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Al Kowsky, post: 3556843, member: 97383&quot;]About five years ago I was on a quest to get as many tets from different Syrian mints as possible. Acquiring a copy of Michel &amp; Karin Prieur&#039;s book <b>THE SYRO-PHOENICIAN TETRADRACHMS AND THEIR FRACTIONS, from 57 BC to AD 253</b>, along with a strong interest in the Roman occupation of the Eastern Mediterranean area triggered this quest. What surprised me was Prieur listed only 7 different types of tets from Damascus, all struck in the reign of Caracalla, from AD 215-217, with the total cited amounting to 53 specimens. I&#039;m sure many more have come to light since Prieur&#039;s book was authored in 2000. Never the less, tets from Damascus don&#039;t appear to be very plentiful compared to the countless millions of tets that were struck at other Syrian mints. Does anyone have an explanation for this? </p><p>In August of 2015 I bought a slabbed example of a Damascus tet at a Heritage auction, Prieur 1204, for $235.00, see photos below. The coin weighed 12.36 gm &amp; was graded <b>AU, Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5</b>. What struck me as odd with this coin was under the mintmark of a rams head on the reverse, were 5 pellets. Could this be a designation of a workshop number or just a peculiarity of the celator? Different examples of this type show no pellets, 2, 3, or 5 pellets. Do other <b>CT</b> members have a take on this? Anyway I decided to sell the coin &amp; look for a better example. In January of 2018 Heritage auctioned the coin for me &amp; got $470.00 for it <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]945488[/ATTACH] </p><p>[ATTACH=full]945489[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>I recently acquired this handsome looking example, Prieur 1204, from a&nbsp; CNG auction, see photos below. The obverse is slightly off-center but the portrait is complete &amp; finely engraved. The coin is 25 mm, 14.20 gm, 11h, is struck from fresh dies &amp; is lustrous. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]945512[/ATTACH] </p><p>If any <b>CT</b> members have Damascus tets from the Roman occupation please post them.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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