Featured Two New Roman Provincials: Impulse Purchases

Blake Davis · Mar 26, 2021

DonnaML said: ↑

I don't make a lot of impulse purchases. It's no exaggeration at all for me to say that I often look at 500-1,000 ancient coins before I see one that interests me, and that when I do see one, I often let it sit in my watch list for weeks or even months before I make a decision to buy. Once in a while, though, I do see coins that for whatever reason -- usually just because I like the way they look -- I feel I simply have to have, and buy either immediately or after only a day or two. That happened recently with not one but two coins, both of them Roman Provincials. There's nothing special about either of them, and I certainly wasn't looking for either type. The appearance of both appealed to me a lot, for reasons I can't specifically explain, so I bought them. And thought I'd post them together.

The first is a Hadrian didrachm from Caesarea in Cappadocia, purchased from a dealer in Spain; the coin arrived less than 48 hours after I ordered it. I assure you that I'm not a violent woman, but nonetheless I liked the design of the fancy club on the reverse. Something I'm more used to seeing on Trajan's coins. I assume that it symbolizes Roman power, authority, etc., and suggests Hercules or Melqart -- especially given how big your hand would have to be to hold it. (I could swear that someone posted an article once about representations of power on Trajan's provincial coins, but perhaps I"m imagining it.)

It feels like I have dozens of Hadrian coins, but this is actually only the 11th. Still the most I have of any emperor other than Gallienus, for whom I also have 11.

Hadrian, AR Didrachm, 128-138 AD, Caesarea. Cappadocia Mint. Obv. Laureate head right, ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟϹ - ϹΕΒΑϹΤΟϹ/ Rev. Club, handle at top, ΥΠΑΤΟϹ Γ ΠΑ-ΤΗΡ ΠΑΤΡΙΔΟϹ [ΥΠΑΤΟϹ Γ = COS III, 128-138 AD; ΠΑΤΗΡ ΠΑΤΡΙΔΟϹ = Pater Patriae]. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. III 3109 (2015); RPC III Online at https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/3/3109 ; Sydenham 280 [E. Sydenham, The Coinage of Caesarea in Cappadocia (1933)]; Metcalf, Caesarea 280 [Metcalf, W.E., The Silver Coinage of Cappadocia, Vespasian-Commodus. ANSNNM (American Numismatic Society, Numismatic Notes & Monographs) No. 166 (New York 1996)]; SNG Von Aulock 6422 [Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Deutschland, Sammlung Hans Von Aulock, Vol. 3: Pisidia, Lycaonia, Cilicia, Galatia, Cappadocia, Cyprus, Imperial Cistophori, Posthumous Lysimachus, Alexander tetradrachms (Berlin, 1964)]; Ganschow 178d [Ganschow, T., Münzen von Kappadokien, Band 1 Konigreich und Kaisareia bis 192 n. Chr. (Istanbul 2018). 21 mm., 6.02 g.

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Here's a question: does anyone think that either side of my coin is a die match to this coin, from CNG E-Auction 110, 16 Mar 2005, Lot 134? See https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coin/70825:

View attachment 1276959

It's one of those cases where two coins look extremely similar, but I just can't tell if they're a die match on either side.

The other coin is an Elagabalus from Alexandria, Egypt. Again, it's nothing out of the ordinary, but I liked both the portrait of Elagabalus and the depiction of Nike. Both look less crude to me than many Alexandrian portraits -- as charming as I find them in general. Also, it's my first provincial of Elagabalus.

Elagabalus, Billon Tetradrachm, Year 3 (219/220 AD), Alexandria, Egypt Mint. Obv. Laureate head right, Α ΚΑΙϹΑΡ ΜΑ ΑΥΡ - ΑΝΤѠΝΙΝΟϹ ƐΥϹƐΒ / Rev. Nike advancing right, holding wreath out with right hand and palm branch over left shoulder with left hand, L Γ [Year 3] before her. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. VI, 10053 (temporary); RPC Online at https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/6/10053; Emmett 2939.3 (R2) [Emmett, Keith, Alexandrian Coins (Lodi, WI, 2001)]; Dattari (Savio) 4122 [Savio, A. ed., Catalogo completo della collezione Dattari Numi Augg. Alexandrini (Trieste, 2007)]; Milne 2775 [Milne, J., A Catalogue of the Alexandrian Coins in the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford, 1933, reprint with supplement by Colin M. Kraay)]; Geissen (Köln) 2320 [Geissen, A., Katalog alexandrinischer Kaisermünzen, Köln, Band II (Hadrian-Antoninus Pius) (Cologne, 1978, corrected reprint 1987)]; K&G 56.28 [Kampmann, Ursula & Granschow, Thomas, Die Münzen der römischen Münzstätte Alexandria (2008)]. 23 mm., 12.40 g., 12 h.

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Please post (1) any recently-acquired Roman Provincials of any emperor, and/or (2) any recently-acquired coins of Hadrian or Elagabalus whether they're Provincial or Imperial.
Click to expand...

obverse - clearly

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Featured Two New Roman Provincials: Impulse Purchases

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