Al Kowsky Posted May 14 · Member Share Posted May 14 It's been a long time since I posted anything on this website after starting some special projects. My luck at scoring anything at auction this year has been pretty dismal ☹️, however, I was very happy to score this Emesa tet of Caracalla 😃. The mint-state coin was struck from fresh dies & is highly lustrous, with a well engraved portrait of Caracalla. The unusual mint-mart of a bust of Shamash, the ancient Mesopotamian sun god, is also well engraved for the type. Quoting Michel Prieur from his book: THE SYRO-PHOENICIAN TETRADRACHMS AND THEIR FRACTIONS from 57 BC to AD 253, "From the time of the Severans onwards, religious thinking in the Roman empire moved towards an increasingly strong monotheism. Not only was Christianity part of this trend, but so was the cult of the sun, which expanded with the introduction of Sol Invictus under Gallienus & Aurelian, & became the main cult of the empire." Website members are welcome to post any coins they have struck at the Emesa mint 😊. SELEUCIS & PIERIA, Emesa. Caracalla, AD 198-217 (struck AD 215-217). Billon Tetradrachm: 13.04 gm, 26.32 mm, 1 h, officina "A". Obverse: Laureate bust of Caracalla facing right. Reverse: Eagle with spread wings facing left, holding a wreath in his beak; radiate, draped & cuirassed bust of Shamash facing left, between eagle's legs. 14 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AncientOne Posted May 14 · Member Share Posted May 14 Very nice tet and that Shamash mintmark is sweet! Here's a Pythian games issue that I really like. Obv: AVT K M A ANTWNINOC (or similar), radiate head right. Rev: MHTPO K EMICWN PYQIA HLIA, prize urn on table between two palm branches. RPC VI, 8362 (Sim.) 12 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambr0zie Posted May 14 · Member Share Posted May 14 Here is a "poor relative" of the OP coin. 25 mm, 12,22 g. Syria, Seleucis and Pieria, Emesa. Caracalla 198-217. AR tetradrachm. 215-217. AΥ•T K M ANTΩNEINOC CE•B•, laureate bust right / ΔΗΜΑΡX ΕΞ VΠΑΤOC TO Δ, eagle standing facing, head left, with wreath in beak; H under beak; radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Shamash left between legs. Prieur 983. This was a very satisfactory purchase. Because a few months before buying it, I was outbid on a better example and I regretted it, as I really liked the portrait with the expressive look and also the particularity of these types (Shamash). I won this one quite unexpectedly, paying a good price and the coin has both the features I was interested in. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qcumbor Posted May 14 · Supporter Share Posted May 14 An exceptional coin, as expected with you @Al Kowsky. Although I have several Caracalla tetradrachms, none of them has been struck at Emesa. My only one featuring Shamash is for Julia Domna : Julia Domna, Epouse de Septime Sévère (13/04/193-04/02/211) - Augusta (194-217) - Tetradrachme de billon de l'atelier d'Emese - ca 215-217, officine O IOYΛIA · · · AYΓOYCTA Buste drapé et diadémé de Julia à droite, vu par l'avant ΔHΜΑPX· · ΕΞ OYCIAC· Aigle de face, les ailes déployées, la tête à gauche, tenant une couronne dans son bec. Entre les pattes, buste radié, drapé et cuirassé de Shamash à gauche. Sous la tête de l'aigle O 26 mm - 13,97 gr - 6h Ref : Prieur # 995, Provenance : Ira & Larry Goldberg auction #128/2361, Ex CNG Sale # 91, Lot 632. Q 10 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Kowsky Posted May 14 · Member Author Share Posted May 14 41 minutes ago, Qcumbor said: An exceptional coin, as expected with you @Al Kowsky. Although I have several Caracalla tetradrachms, none of them has been struck at Emesa. My only one featuring Shamash is for Julia Domna : Julia Domna, Epouse de Septime Sévère (13/04/193-04/02/211) - Augusta (194-217) - Tetradrachme de billon de l'atelier d'Emese - ca 215-217, officine O IOYΛIA · · · AYΓOYCTA Buste drapé et diadémé de Julia à droite, vu par l'avant ΔHΜΑPX· · ΕΞ OYCIAC· Aigle de face, les ailes déployées, la tête à gauche, tenant une couronne dans son bec. Entre les pattes, buste radié, drapé et cuirassé de Shamash à gauche. Sous la tête de l'aigle O 26 mm - 13,97 gr - 6h Ref : Prieur # 995, Provenance : Ira & Larry Goldberg auction #128/2361, Ex CNG Sale # 91, Lot 632. Q Q. Your tet of Julia is exceptional for the type, sporting a great portrait 🤩. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shea19 Posted May 15 · Supporter Share Posted May 15 That’s a beauty Al! I don’t have a Caracalla yet from Emesa, but I can share this Macrinus from Emesa which has a similar Shamash on the reverse. Macrinus, Syria, Emesa mint, BI Tetradrachm (26 mm, 14.47 g). AYT K M OΠ CЄ•••MAKPINOC CЄ Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Macrinus to r../ Rev. Eagle with spread wings standing facing, head to l. and holding wreath in beak; between the eagle's legs, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust of Shamash to left. Prieur 974 10 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor Ancient Coin Hunter Posted May 15 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted May 15 The key tet that I have is this one of Elagabalus, who definitely had a connection with Emesa but the coin was struck in Antioch. I do need to re-photograph the obverse, though. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Kowsky Posted May 15 · Member Author Share Posted May 15 9 hours ago, Shea19 said: That’s a beauty Al! I don’t have a Caracalla yet from Emesa, but I can share this Macrinus from Emesa which has a similar Shamash on the reverse. Macrinus, Syria, Emesa mint, BI Tetradrachm (26 mm, 14.47 g). AYT K M OΠ CЄ•••MAKPINOC CЄ Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Macrinus to r../ Rev. Eagle with spread wings standing facing, head to l. and holding wreath in beak; between the eagle's legs, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust of Shamash to left. Prieur 974 Shea19, Your tet has a wonderful portrait 🤩. Of course the tets of Macrinus are much scarcer than the coins of Caracalla, since he was emperor for only 14 months 😉. The powerful Severan women carefully plotted his assassination to install an even worse candidate for emperor, Elagabalus 🤣. Pictured below is a tet of Macrinus I scored at a Roma auction several years ago. SELEUCUS & PIERIA, Emesa. Macrinus, AD 217-218. Billon Tetradrachm: 11.67 gm, 26 mm, 1 h. Prieur 972. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alegandron Posted May 15 · Supporter Share Posted May 15 Great find @Al Kowsky, I am always a big fan of Tets. And welcome back to posting! I, too, took a hiatus for a while. Hoping to become a little more regular. I do not have a Tet, rather a Quinarius: RI Caracalla 198-217 AR Quinarius CE 213 1.3g 13.6mm Laureate - Victory Wreath Palm RIC IV 101 RSC 450 R And an everyday Denarius: RI Caracalla 198-217 AR Denarius MONETA 3 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Kowsky Posted May 15 · Member Author Share Posted May 15 1 hour ago, Ancient Coin Hunter said: The key tet that I have is this one of Elagabalus, who definitely had a connection with Emesa but the coin was struck in Antioch. I do need to re-photograph the obverse, though. ACH, I agree, the coin deserves better photos 😉. His portrait looks so innocent; what a surprise the Romans were in for 🤣. Pictured below is an Elagabalus tet I scored about 5 years ago. SELEUCIS & PIERIA, Antioch. Elagabalus, AD 218-222 (struck AD 219). Billon Tetradrachm: 13.46 gm, 26 mm, 6 h. Prieur 251 & 264; McAlee 762. Ex Michel Prieur Collection; CNG 67, lot 1132, Sept. 22, 2004. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy_collector Posted July 4 · Member Share Posted July 4 (edited) On 5/14/2024 at 7:05 AM, Al Kowsky said: It's been a long time since I posted anything on this website after starting some special projects. My luck at scoring anything at auction this year has been pretty dismal ☹️, however, I was very happy to score this Emesa tet of Caracalla 😃. The mint-state coin was struck from fresh dies & is highly lustrous, with a well engraved portrait of Caracalla. The unusual mint-mart of a bust of Shamash, the ancient Mesopotamian sun god, is also well engraved for the type. Quoting Michel Prieur from his book: THE SYRO-PHOENICIAN TETRADRACHMS AND THEIR FRACTIONS from 57 BC to AD 253, "From the time of the Severans onwards, religious thinking in the Roman empire moved towards an increasingly strong monotheism. Not only was Christianity part of this trend, but so was the cult of the sun, which expanded with the introduction of Sol Invictus under Gallienus & Aurelian, & became the main cult of the empire." Website members are welcome to post any coins they have struck at the Emesa mint 😊. SELEUCIS & PIERIA, Emesa. Caracalla, AD 198-217 (struck AD 215-217). Billon Tetradrachm: 13.04 gm, 26.32 mm, 1 h, officina "A". Obverse: Laureate bust of Caracalla facing right. Reverse: Eagle with spread wings facing left, holding a wreath in his beak; radiate, draped & cuirassed bust of Shamash facing left, between eagle's legs. Thanks for sharing such a beauty, @Al Kowsky. I like the cool-looking Caracalla portrait. I picked up an Emesa Caracalla tetradrachm in last month's CNG Auction. Coin surface is a bit rough, but I am attracted to the coin's Shamash design on the reverse. The coin is my first on Emesa mint. CNG says the coin is very rare. I am unsure if it is because of some minor difference in the obverse legend. SELEUCIS and PIERIA, Emesa. Caracalla.AD 215-217. BI Tetradrachm Obv: Laureate bust right, drapery on left shoulder Rev: Eagle standing facing, head and tail left, with wings displayed, holding wreath in beak; between legs, radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Shamash left. Prieur971 var. (bust); traces of deposits. 26mm,13.27 g, 6h CNG e-Auction 564. June 2024 Edited July 4 by happy_collector 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Kowsky Posted July 4 · Member Author Share Posted July 4 1 hour ago, happy_collector said: Thanks for sharing such a beauty, @Al Kowsky. I like the cool-looking Caracalla portrait. I picked up an Emesa Caracalla tetradrachm in last month's CNG Auction. Coin surface is a bit rough, but I am attracted to the coin's Shamash design on the reverse. The coin is my first on Emesa mint. CNG says the coin is very rare. I am unsure if it is because of some minor difference in the obverse legend. SELEUCIS and PIERIA, Emesa. Caracalla.AD 215-217. BI Tetradrachm Obv: Laureate bust right, drapery on left shoulder Rev: Eagle standing facing, head and tail left, with wings displayed, holding wreath in beak; between legs, radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Shamash left. Prieur971 var. (bust); traces of deposits. 26mm,13.27 g, 6h CNG e-Auction 564. June 2024 happy__collector, Congrats on scoring this Emesan rarity 🤩! Despite the surface roughness on your coin it is well struck. Your coin is cited only once by Prieur, compared to 9 cited examples of my Prieur 954. Not only is the bust different on your coin but it's also missing the officina letter on the reverse. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy_collector Posted July 5 · Member Share Posted July 5 1 hour ago, Al Kowsky said: happy__collector, Congrats on scoring this Emesan rarity 🤩! Despite the surface roughness on your coin it is well struck. Your coin is cited only once by Prieur, compared to 9 cited examples of my Prieur 954. Not only is the bust different on your coin but it's also missing the officina letter on the reverse. Thanks for your additional info, @Al Kowsky. 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.