The awkward coins of Rhesaena

[seth77]

Rhesaena gains importance as the garrison of the Legio III Parthica Severiana, after c. 197, when Severus annexed Mesopotamia. Coinage here starts very likely around 215, in anticipation of Caracalla's eastern campaign.

The base metal is a rather distinct coinage, that looks like war money from the start and is dedicated to the Legio:


Caracalla
AE18mm 5.32g orichalcum(?) unit, c. 215-17
[...] ANTW - NINOC; laureate head right, supported by eagle with spread wings
[L]EG - III / P - S (reverse); in center field vexillum with Δ on banner

But then under Elagabal, things really get weird:


Elagabal
AE23mm 6.19g copper unit, c. 218-222
[...] laureate, draped an cuirassed bust right seen from back, holding boar-hunting spear(?)
Right field: Sagittarius running right, about to shoot arrow; left field: veiled Tyche(?) wearing polos; in the background center: two military standards

This type in a few variations is present in RPC VI 7899-7904 (temporary), although with some errors -- most visibly the bust type that seems to be generally seen from the back and certainly always cuirassed beneath the drapery. There is an old study on these from K.O. Castelin - The coinage of Rhesaena in Mesopotamia from 1946, but it seems rather dated so I am not going to reference it as a catalog. It is still an interesting read for the background of the town itself, it's similarity to its more famous sibling of Dura-Europos and its connection to the copper mines of Arghana Maden, which probably provided the metal for Rhesaena's coins including these two specs.

But the most interesting stuff here is the oversized 'boar spear' that Elagabal seems to be holding, that looks nothing at all like any Roman weapon but rather some pike from fantasy LARPing.

Edited March 8 by seth77

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

Very interesting!  I found it enjoyable to learn about the city.

[seth77]

1 hour ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

Very interesting!  I found it enjoyable to learn about the city.

Glad you liked it. I also ended up seeing these weirdos when looking for Mesopotamian mints that struck for Alexander as Caesar. And while the coinage for Caracalla can be seen in better shape, the absurd pike-holding Elagabal is one of the mid to better specs for the type. 

[Orange Julius]

Oooh great post. I have one of these and although ugly, find them interesting. On my coin, you can just read “ANT…” on the reverse legend. Mine’s a beefy little coin at 4.6 grams. This is a great example of when not to clean a coin. This coin is black. Without the dirt, you wouldn’t be able to see much without it in hand and a ton of light. Some coins are better with a little grime.

The below information is from the FORVM listing for my coin and a few other listings. I bought this one from eBay for about $4 total. 

Caracalla, 28 January 198 - 8 April 217 A.D., Rhesaena, Mesopotamia

This type with an eagle at the base of the vexillum on the reverse is unpublished in the many references examined by Forum. There are similar types and a few examples in the references that could have the eagle on the reverse (but not the same dies) but are off-center or worn. 

Rhesaena became a colony during the reign of Septimius Severus, when the Legio III Parthica was settled there. 

RP59266. Bronze AE 17, apparently unpublished; Castelin -, BMC Arabia -, SNG Cop -, SNG UK -, SNG Leipzig -, SNG Righetti -, Lindgren -, aF, Rhesaena (Ra's al-'Ayn, Syria) mint, weight 4.571g, maximum diameter 16.7mm, die axis 0o, obverse [...] ANT[...], laureate head right, eagle right below; reverse vexillum, eagle below, III - C (reversed) / P (reversed) - S across field; extremely rare. 

Rhesaena, in the Roman province Mesopotamia Secunda, became a colony during the reign of Septimius Severus, when the Legio III Parthica was settled there. Rhesaena was an important town in the far north of Mesopotamia, on the way from Carrhae to Nicephorium, about eighty miles from Nisibis and forty from Dara, near the sources of the Chaboras (Khabur) River. Today, it is Ra's al-'Ayn, Syria. Gordian III fought the Persians nearby in 243, at the battle of Resaena. The Notitia dignitatum (ed. Boecking, I, 400) lists it under the jurisdiction of the Dux of Osrhoene. Hierocles (Synecdemus, 714, 3) also locates it in Osrhoene but it was renamed Theodosiopolis. It was fortified by Justinian. In 1393, it was nearly destroyed by Tamerlane's troops

Note: Legio III Pia was comprised of approximately 3,500 troops when created in Rheseana by Septimius Severus for the Parthian Campaign of 197-199. The bull was the legion mascot and the city was granted colonial status.

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?param=59266q00.jpg&vpar=2748&zpg=64320&fld=https://www.forumancientcoins.com/Coins2/

Edited March 9 by Orange Julius

[seth77]

11 minutes ago, Orange Julius said:

Oooh great post. I have one of these and although ugly, find them interesting. On my coin, you can just read “ANT…” on the reverse legend. Mine’s a beefy little coin at 4.6 grams. This is a great example of when not to clean a coin. This coin is black. Without the dirt, you wouldn’t be able to see much without it in hand and a ton of light. Some coins are better with a little grime.

The below information is from the FORVM listing for my coin and a few other listings. I bought this one from eBay for about $4 total. 

Caracalla, 28 January 198 - 8 April 217 A.D., Rhesaena, Mesopotamia

This type with an eagle at the base of the vexillum on the reverse is unpublished in the many references examined by Forum. There are similar types and a few examples in the references that could have the eagle on the reverse (but not the same dies) but are off-center or worn. 

Rhesaena became a colony during the reign of Septimius Severus, when the Legio III Parthica was settled there. 

RP59266. Bronze AE 17, apparently unpublished; Castelin -, BMC Arabia -, SNG Cop -, SNG UK -, SNG Leipzig -, SNG Righetti -, Lindgren -, aF, Rhesaena (Ra's al-'Ayn, Syria) mint, weight 4.571g, maximum diameter 16.7mm, die axis 0o, obverse [...] ANT[...], laureate head right, eagle right below; reverse vexillum, eagle below, III - C (reversed) / P (reversed) - S across field; extremely rare. 

Rhesaena, in the Roman province Mesopotamia Secunda, became a colony during the reign of Septimius Severus, when the Legio III Parthica was settled there. Rhesaena was an important town in the far north of Mesopotamia, on the way from Carrhae to Nicephorium, about eighty miles from Nisibis and forty from Dara, near the sources of the Chaboras (Khabur) River. Today, it is Ra's al-'Ayn, Syria. Gordian III fought the Persians nearby in 243, at the battle of Resaena. The Notitia dignitatum (ed. Boecking, I, 400) lists it under the jurisdiction of the Dux of Osrhoene. Hierocles (Synecdemus, 714, 3) also locates it in Osrhoene but it was renamed Theodosiopolis. It was fortified by Justinian. In 1393, it was nearly destroyed by Tamerlane's troops

Note: Legio III Pia was comprised of approximately 3,500 troops when created in Rheseana by Septimius Severus for the Parthian Campaign of 197-199. The bull was the legion mascot and the city was granted colonial status.

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?param=59266q00.jpg&vpar=2748&zpg=64320&fld=https://www.forumancientcoins.com/Coins2/

Mine was a grand total of 2EUR, probably best spent 2EUR in the history of people spending 2EUR on things.

Also, I think there was a mixup: the bull was on the vexilla of LIII Gallica, LIII Parthica Severiana had the centaur as its symbol. This is why the centaur archer is on the reverse of the coins of Elagabal.

Edited March 9 by seth77

[Orange Julius]

Haha, that’s what’s great for us history lovers. Ugly but interesting coins fly under the radar due to many being focused on condition. $2 of my $4 total was shipping. Money well spent. You could probably build a specialized collection of these for less than the price of a single EF denarius.

The mint city is in Syria but not as far East as I had imagined. The map below has me wondering, what’s the furthest East minted coin by the Romans?

Edited March 9 by Orange Julius

[seth77]

I think the most eastern mints known to have minted for the Roman Empire were Singara and Nisibis. Although there are some distinctly Mesopotamian minimi that sometime pop up at biddr auctions, sometimes lumped together with the small Carrhae coins, but that I am not sure are actually from Carrhae and not somewhere else in the neighborhood.

[Marsyas Mike]

Very interesting and informative post @seth77 and @Orange Julius.  A while back I got one of these minted for Herennius Etruscus.  Mine is pretty ugly, but because of condition - it is actually pretty nice in terms of artistry and strike/flan, in my opinion.  Not so martial this time - a founders' scene with priest and oxen:

Herennius Etruscus  Æ 25 Rhesaena, Mesopotamia  (c. 249-251 A.D.) [ΓΑΙ Μ]ЄϹ ЄΡ ЄΤΡΟΥϹΚΙΛΛ[ΙΟϹ ΔЄΚΙΟϹ ϹЄΒ], laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r. /  ϹЄΠ ΚΟΛ ΡΗϹΑΙΝΗϹΙωΝ L III P, priest holding staff plowing with two oxen right | eagle on palm with wreath in beak above | river god Chaboras swimming in exergue RPC IX 1593; Castelin 178-180. (12.24 grams / 25 x 24 mm) eBay Nov. 2018  

Die-Match Obverse: Coin no. 1 of RPC IX 1593 Bibliothèque nationale de France Reference 2194; Castelin 180 pl. XIII

Die-Match Reverse: DEMOS Auction 8; Lot 650; 19.03.2022

 

  

[seth77]

32 minutes ago, Marsyas Mike said:

Very interesting and informative post @seth77 and @Orange Julius.  A while back I got one of these minted for Herennius Etruscus.  Mine is pretty ugly, but because of condition - it is actually pretty nice in terms of artistry and strike/flan, in my opinion.  Not so martial this time - a founders' scene with priest and oxen:

Herennius Etruscus  Æ 25 Rhesaena, Mesopotamia  (c. 249-251 A.D.) [ΓΑΙ Μ]ЄϹ ЄΡ ЄΤΡΟΥϹΚΙΛΛ[ΙΟϹ ΔЄΚΙΟϹ ϹЄΒ], laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r. /  ϹЄΠ ΚΟΛ ΡΗϹΑΙΝΗϹΙωΝ L III P, priest holding staff plowing with two oxen right | eagle on palm with wreath in beak above | river god Chaboras swimming in exergue RPC IX 1593; Castelin 178-180. (12.24 grams / 25 x 24 mm) eBay Nov. 2018  

Die-Match Obverse: Coin no. 1 of RPC IX 1593 Bibliothèque nationale de France Reference 2194; Castelin 180 pl. XIII

Die-Match Reverse: DEMOS Auction 8; Lot 650; 19.03.2022

 

  

That is a pretty amazing coin. For starters, Decius seems to have minted the most at Rhesaena in it's c. 45 years of colonial coinage. But your coin has Etruscus as Augustus, which is from May 251 until Abrittus that summer when both Augusti fell in battle. The fact that the short period at the end of the reign of Decius is so well represented and the large number of emissions noted in RPC under Decius could mean that the mint struck continuously during these 2 years and not just then and there as it had happened at the beginning. 

And while the reverse does focus on the foundation of the town by Severus in 197, its original purpose as a military base is recorded in the reverse legend -- L III P is Legion III Parthica. 

[Marsyas Mike]

4 minutes ago, seth77 said:

That is a pretty amazing coin. For starters, Decius seems to have minted the most at Rhesaena in it's c. 45 years of colonial coinage. But your coin has Etruscus as Augustus, which is from May 251 until Abrittus that summer when both Augusti fell in battle. The fact that the short period at the end of the reign of Decius is so well represented and the large number of emissions noted in RPC under Decius could mean that the mint struck continuously during these 2 years and not just then and there as it had happened at the beginning. 

And while the reverse does focus on the foundation of the town by Severus in 197, its original purpose as a military base is recorded in the reverse legend -- L III P is Legion III Parthica. 

Thank you so much for this additional information - I had no idea the L III P stood for a legion - I'm pretty thrilled about that!  😀

[seth77]

I'm actually very glad you showed it here @Marsyas Mike. That's a coin that I'd very much like to add myself as the final stage of the local mint operation.

[Marsyas Mike]

2 minutes ago, seth77 said:

I'm actually very glad you showed it here @Marsyas Mike. That's a coin that I'd very much like to add myself as the final stage of the local mint operation.

I lucked into in on eBay - it was listed as an As of Caracalla or something like that in 2018.  Although I had no idea what it was, I liked the "cows" on the reverse and thought maybe I could figure it out.  It took me hours - and as this post shows, I am still learning about it.  Thanks again!  

[seth77]

When the central theme of the coin is decently preserved, even these awkward coins command some premium. Here the LE III P on the reverse is highlighted by the earthen filling and can be easily read. As a consequence, the hammer price on it was 240EUR:

[AncientOne]

Many different variations on these small AE from Rhesaena.

Mesopotamia, Rhesaena. Caracalla Æ16

Obv: Laureate head right, supported by eagle.
Rev: [LEG-III] to left and right of vexillum, S(retrograde)-P across lower fields, A on banner.
Lindgren I 2608.

 

 

[seth77]

Another Decian coin, from the earlier period, before the sons were raised to be Caesares in 250, for Herennia Etruscilla:

[seth77]

Decius from 251