Faustina Friday – An Unlisted Provincial of Laodiceia ad Lycum I Submitted to RPC

[Roman Collector]

Friday felicitations, fellow Faustina fanatics! I hope you have a wonderful and coin-filled weekend ahead. While everyone else will be posting about Julius Caesar and Brutus on this Eidibus Martiis, we will examine a large diameter provincial bronze of Faustina the Younger from Laodiceia ad Lycum in Phrygia. It may well be unique because it is not listed in any of several dozen references that I consulted in collaboration with Dane Kurth.[1] I submitted the coin to RPC, where it was accepted by its editors and remains the only specimen cited at RPC.

Faustina II, 147-175 CE.
Roman provincial Æ 31.5 mm, 16.58 g, 6 h.
Phrygia, Laodiceia ad Lycum, 156 to c. 165 CE (Perhaps 162/3).
Obv: •ΦΑVⳞΤΙΝΑ• ⳞΕΒΑⳞΤΗ•, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: ΛΑΟΔΙΚΕΩΝ, Hera (possibly Tyche or Homonoia) wearing turreted crown, standing left, holding patera and long scepter.
Ref: RPC IV.2, 25032 (temporary); BMC –; Mionnet –; Wiczay –; unlisted in numerous other sources.
Note: An obverse die match to RPC IV.2, 2100 (temporary).

Dating the Coin

The empress wears a hairstyle in use from 154-161 CE (Beckmann Type 5); the obverse inscription corresponds to FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, which came into use on the imperial issues in about August 156.[2] So, I date this coin to 156 to c. 165 (provincial cities often took years to reflect a new hairstyle). The editors of RPC speculate, "perhaps 162/3."

The Identity of the Reverse Figure

The reverse figure holds a patera and scepter, attributes of Hera. In Anatolian iconography, Hera may wear a turreted crown, as on this coin. Therefore, I postulate the figure on the reverse is Hera. However, the authors of RPC refer to her as "turreted female figure (Tyche or Homonoia?)," which are also possible identities, particularly given the turreted crown. I indicate this uncertainty by identifying her as "Hera (possibly Tyche or Homonoia) wearing turreted crown."

About Laodiceia ad Lycum

Laodiceia ad Lycum was an ancient city about 75 miles (120 km) east of Ephesus, situated in the Roman Province of Phrygia Pacatiana on a high plateau at the confluence of the rivers Lycus and Caprus.[3]

From "Asia citerior," Auctore Henrico Kiepert Berolinensi. Geographische Verlagshandlung Dietrich Reimer (Ernst Vohsen) Berlin, Wilhemlstr. 29. (1903). David Rumsey Historical Map Collection.

Although the site had been occupied for millennia – excavations in the area have revealed architecture, pottery, obsidian and flint stone finds dating back to the 4th millennium BCE – the Hellenistic city was founded by the Seleucid King Antiochus II in the mid-3rd century BCE and named after his wife Laodike. There had been an older city on the same site called Diospolis or Rhoas.[4] It is one of many cities named Laodicea and it should not be confused with Laodicea ad Mare in Syria, which had a prolific mint in ancient times and is perhaps more familiar to coin collectors. Biblical scholars, however, are quite familiar with Laodiceia ad Lycum for it is one of the Seven Churches mentioned in the Book of Revelation.

The city flourished because it lay on the crossroads of trade routes and did an extensive trade in textiles.

With the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BC and the Treaty of Apamea signed in 188 BCE, the region passed to the Pergamene Kingdom, and finally, in 133 BCE the last Pergamene king ceded the region to Rome in his will.

Many ruins of the city remain today. These ruins include theaters, temples, baths, an aqueduct, a stadium and a gymnasium.[5]




Post your coins of this city, comments, or anything you feel is relevant!

~~~

Notes

1. I started with RPC online, but it was not referenced there. RPC makes use of several core collections, including Vienna, Paris, Oxford, the British Museum, the BnF, and those illustrated in RG, SNG von Aulock and SNG Copenhagen, so I presume this coin is not listed in those volumes, though I haven't double-checked these myself (except for BMC Phrygia). I checked Mionnet vol.4 and suppl. 7, and Wiczay, as well as acsearchinfo. Dane Kurth was kind enough to assist me with attribution and she checked Sestini, and her extended Isegrim xls file (with over 74,000 entries of Asia Minor coins). She checked Laodikeia in Syria as well as Laodikeia Combusta, with no luck. She also checked the Paris collection (gallica.fr), and, in her personal xls database of various pdfs, she checked any Imhoof articles not yet in her Isegrim list. She consulted SNG France 7, Armstrong's "Phrygia Coinage and Cities", SNG Turkey 11, Engel, Eckhel, Boutkowski, Naury Bey, Gréau and dozens of other articles, also CoinArchives Pro, the Righetti collection sales, plus the same for Laodikeia ad Mare, Syria, just in case. Lastly, she has nearly 400 old and new pdfs under "collections" and searched through them with Agent Ransack and over 660 pdfs under "auction catalogs." Dane Kurth, personal communication, 3 May 2023.

2. Clay, Curtis L. "Faustina Friday -- a Pondersome Dupondius," comment #5. Coin Talk, www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-friday-a-pondersome-dupondius.372253/#post-5311634. Accessed 13 Mar. 2024.

3. Much of the information about the ancient city is taken from Archaeology, Current World. "Laodicea." World Archaeology, 18 Sept. 2018, www.world-archaeology.com/features/laodicea/.

4. Head, Barclay Vincent. Catalogue of the Greek Coins of Phrygia. British Museum. Printed by Order of the Trustees, 1906, p. lxxiii.

5. Photos and information from "Laodicea on the Lycus." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 March 2024, Laodicea on the Lycus - Wikipedia.

Edited March 15 by Roman Collector
I have OCD

[AncientOne]

Nice one @Roman Collector! Always cool to find a previously unknown type. 

 

 

Phrygia, Laodicea ad Lycum. Æ16. Pseudo-autonomous issue, time of the Severans, AD 193-235.

Obv: ΔΗΜΟϹ, diademed head of the Demos to right.
Rev: ΛΑΟΔΙΚЄΩΝ, river Lykos as wolf seated to right, with paw resting on inverted vase out of which flows water.

 

Phrygia, Laodicea ad Lycum. AE15. Time of Tiberius.

Obv: ΛAOΔIKEΩN, laureate head of Apollo to right, lyre to right.
Rev: ΠYΘHΣ ΠYΘOY, altar surmounted by headdress of Isis.
Ref: RPC 2903, SNG Copenhagen 510.
Magistrate Pythes, son of Pythes.

[seth77]

Great coins but damn the cat in that gif is beautiful.

[JAZ Numismatics]

Where did you get the coin? One doesn't stumble across new types every day. Was it misattributed?

[Roman Collector]

3 hours ago, AncientOne said:

Nice one @Roman Collector! Always cool to find a previously unknown type. 

 

 

Phrygia, Laodicea ad Lycum. Æ16. Pseudo-autonomous issue, time of the Severans, AD 193-235.

Obv: ΔΗΜΟϹ, diademed head of the Demos to right.
Rev: ΛΑΟΔΙΚЄΩΝ, river Lykos as wolf seated to right, with paw resting on inverted vase out of which flows water.

 

Phrygia, Laodicea ad Lycum. AE15. Time of Tiberius.

Obv: ΛAOΔIKEΩN, laureate head of Apollo to right, lyre to right.
Rev: ΠYΘHΣ ΠYΘOY, altar surmounted by headdress of Isis.
Ref: RPC 2903, SNG Copenhagen 510.
Magistrate Pythes, son of Pythes.

Thank you for reading and for sharing the Laodicaeia ad Lycum coins in your collection! I really like the pseudo-autonomous one with the River Lykos symbolized by a wolf!

2 hours ago, seth77 said:

Great coins but damn the cat in that gif is beautiful.

Thank you for reading and the kind words. That cat IS beautiful, indeed!

54 minutes ago, JAZ Numismatics said:

Where did you get the coin? One doesn't stumble across new types every day. Was it misattributed?

Back in April of last year, Ryro noticed it for sale at NumisFitz, a fixed-price dealer with an eBay shop. I bought it on eBay.

[PeteB]

PHRYGIA, Laodicea ad Lycum. Pseudo-autonomous issue. Time of Tiberius. 14-37 AD. Æ 16mm; 2.82 gm; 6h. Obv: Laureate head of Apollo right; lyre to lower right; ΛΑΟΔΙ(ΚE)ΩΝ to left and below. Rev: Serpent-entwined altar, surmounted by headdress of Isis. ΠYΘHΣ to left, ΠYΘOY to right. Pythes, son of Pythes, magistrate. RPC 2903; SNG Copenhagen 510 (temp. Augustus); SNG von Aulock 3806 (same); BMC 61 (same).