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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Ocatarinetabellatchitchix, post: 4296664, member: 99554&quot;]In another thread, [USER=101013]@Limes[/USER] gave me a good suggestion :&quot;If you still have more time, how about writing a background story on each coin?&quot; So with more time lately for my favorite hobby, I revisited some old friends. I found a similarity between a provincial coin of Caracalla from Alexandria Troas and an Imperial one from Antoninus Pius struck in Rome. At first look, it seems they don&#039;t have nothing in common. Can you find the &quot;likeness&quot; between the two specimen ???</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1093675[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1093677[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>They are both featuring the same ichonographic detail: a <b>Cippus. </b>But what is it exactly ?</p><p>It is a low column of stone, sometimes round but often of rectangular shape, and used as a mark of division of land, for indicating the distance of places or as a sepulchral monument. On many <b>Cippi</b> are found the letters TTL meaning &quot;<i>Sit tibi terra levis&quot; </i>(May the earth rest lightly on you) which is a latin funerary inscription. On my first coin Appolo is putting his right foot on a <b>Cippus</b>. What was the meaning of this gesture? The American archaeologist and numismatist Alfred Bellinger wrote that when the emperor visited the city of Alexandria in 214 AD, he renamed the place COLONIA ALEXANDREIA AVGVSTA ( COL A-LEXAND AVG on my example). So putting is foot on a landmark could symbolize he was extending his power over the region. Interesting facts: many of these <b>Cippi</b> have been exhumed during archeological excavations in Alexandria Troas (Turkey).</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1093678[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>On the reverse of my second coin, Annona is placing hand on a <b>Cippus</b>, but some describe it as an altar...The reason of the confusion is maybe that sometimes <b>Cippi</b> are constructed in two parts, the base being a rectangular block which is supporting a pillar that may represent a <i>candelabrum </i>. Here is an example from Musée le Louvres, Paris.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.louvre.fr/sites/default/files/imagecache/940x768/medias/medias_images/images/louvre-cippe.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>Another example of a &quot; 2 pieces&quot; <b>Cippus</b>. I don&#039;t tell you what the upper part is (but if you absolutely want to know please ask [USER=103829]@Jochen1[/USER]) From British Museum</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://research.britishmuseum.org/collectionimages/AN00292/AN00292508_001_l.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>And finally a superb example of a Roman <b>Cippus</b> from the Ist Century AD. It&#039;s exposed in the British Museum, is 16 inches of height and 13 inches wide. The description says : Marble sepulchral cippus in form of altar with cover (which may not belong); on the front is a draped elderly man reclining on a couch; before the couch is a three-legged table with food; a draped youth stands at the foot; cover worked in lunette form; wreath in relief.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://research.britishmuseum.org/collectionimages/AN00879/AN00879776_001_l.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>So now it&#039;s time to show off your coins ; <b>please present us your CIPPUS !</b>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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