Roman Empire, Syria. Septimius Severus, 193-211 AD Laodicea ad Mare, c. 207-208 AD
Roman Empire, Syria. Septimius Severus, 193-211 AD Laodicea ad Mare, c. 207-208 AD
AR Tetradrachm, 14.76g (24.6mm, 12h).
AYT KAI CEOYHPOC [CE], laureate and draped bust r. / ΔHMAPX EΞ VPATOCΓ, eagle standing facing, head l., holding beak in wreath, star between legs
Pedigree: Ex UBS Auction 59, 27 January 2004, lot 6645. From the Lakeview Collection of Ancient Coins
References: Prieur 1140; McAlee, Severan Group 2, 16
Grade: Slight rough surfaces but pleasantly struck and with toned surfaces. aEF
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Issued between 207 and 208 AD, this coin belongs to the series’ second group and is characterized by the wreath held in the eagles beak as well as the star between the eagles legs. This star is referred to as the mint mark and thought to represent the light seen from the local lighthouse. Standing in the shadow of the more famous lighthouse at Alexandria, this two-story structure was even pictured on earlier coins struck during the city’s quasi- autonomous period at the time of Domitian. These coins not only depict the lighthouse as cylindrical, but also as having an external staircase. There are currently no known literary references to this structure, and the only evidence of its existence comes from the local coinage.
