Attribution help needed for Tarsos AE

[CPK]

Good day to my fellow Numis Forum members! Hope everyone's weekend is going well.

Part of my collecting interest lies in coins related to the New Testament/Apostle Paul, so I was pleased to recently acquire a nice but inexpensive little bronze from Paul's home city of Tarsus.

CILICIA, TARSOS
AE (22.23mm, 6.39g, 12h)
Struck 164-27 BC
Obverse: Turreted head of Tyche right, monogram? behind
Reverse: ΤΑΡΣΕΩΝ, Zeus seated left, holding eagle-tipped scepter
References: Sear 5673 var.
Light earthen patina.

 

Ideally, I would have chosen a coin struck during Paul's lifetime, but those are rare and pretty expensive, so I decided to compromise with a slightly earlier issue. I like to think that this coin still could have been in circulation during Paul's time, kind of like finding a wheat penny in US change today. In any case, having the name of the city clearly legible was an important criterion, and this coin meets that standard very well.

One issue I am having, though, is finding an exact match and assigning a correct catalog attribution. The typical type is this, taken from ACSearch:

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=10533901

"Cilicia, Tarsos Æ 23mm. Circa 164-27 BC. Turreted head of Tyche to right; c/m: bow in bowcase within incuse rectangle / [TA]PΣEΩN, Zeus seated to left and holding sceptre; two monograms to right. SNG BnF 1289 var. (monogram); SNG Levante 918-923 var. (same). 5.79g, 23mm, 12h.
Near Very Fine."

 

The above coin also matches the type described in Sear as #5673, described as follows: "Turreted hd. of Tyche r., Δ behind. R. Zeus enthroned l., holding eagle-tipped sceptre; TAPΣEΩN before, two monograms behind." 

 

As you can see, my coin has several distinctive features that set it apart:

1. The curved reverse legend. on 99.99% of these types, the legend is straight (as is more typical of a Greek issue.)

2. The placement of the legend (Behind Zeus, not before.)

3. The lack of monograms on the reverse.

 

I was able to find one very close match to my coin on ACSearch, sold by Roma in 2012:

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1371868

"Cilicia, Tarsos Æ23. c. 2nd C. Turreted head of Tyche r. / Zeus seated l.; two monograms below. SNG BnF 1285-1294. 9.33g, 23mm, 12h. Green-brown patina, good VF"

But even this doesn't seem to be an exact match - my coin doesn't have the exergual monograms.

Despite the differences, all of these coins are given a range of the same references to both SNG BnF and Levantine. I can't seem to find anything more specific, and I lack the physical copies to check and confirm. Is my particular coin type described anywhere? Or is it unpublished? How would you describe it?

If anyone could give me some help in figuring this out, I would be very grateful!

 

[shanxi]

ISEGRIM lists an example without monogram.

Size and legend match, but no information on the position of the legend and of course no pictures.

 

Edited June 15 by shanxi

[Broucheion]

Hi @CPK,

The book @shanxi noted is online here. See #153.

- Broucheion 

Edited June 15 by Broucheion

[CPK]

45 minutes ago, Broucheion said:

Hi @CPK,

The book @shanxi noted is online here. See #153.

- Broucheion 

Yes, that is it! Note:
 

"Circa 164 B. C. to Early Imperial Times

153. Same type. [Head of City-goddess r., wearing turreted crown]

Rev. ΤΑΡΣΕΩΝ around on r. Zeus seated l., holding eagle-topped scepter in r.

AE. 22 mm. PLATE VII.

This is a transitional type—on the following coins the inscription is in a straight line."

 

Now my question is: what exactly is meant by "transitional type", and does that have anything to do with the period in which the coin was struck (i.e., earlier or later in the 164 BC - Early Imperial Time date range?)

Thank you very much and @shanxi as well!

 

Edited June 15 by CPK