| Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 144 with CNG & NGSA | Auction date: 8 May 2024 |
| Lot number: 1134 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction - Bid on this lot  | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: The Geoffrey Cope Collection of Ancient Greek and Roman Bronzes. The Roman Empire. Julia Mamaea, mother of Severus Alexander. Description Bronze, Tium (Bithynia) circa 222-235, Æ 34 mm, 23.01 g. ΙΟΥΛΙΑ ΜΑΜΑΙΑ ΑΥΓ Diademed and draped bust r. Rev. ΤΙΑΝΩΝ Zeus, standing facing, head l., holding patera and sceptre; in l. field, eagle; in field, Gaia and Thalassa; around, the twelve signs of the Zodiac. Reference RPC Online 30121 (this coin) Condition Apparently unique. A coin of great importance and fascination struck on a medallic flan. Lovely brown tone and extremely fine Provenance Leu sale 50, 1990, 347 Note: Julia Mamaea was a niece of Julia Domna, the wife of Septimius Severus, and a member of a powerful priestly dynasty at Emesa in Syria. She was propelled into imperial history when her mother, Julia Maesa, and her sister, Julia Soaemias, raised the revolt that made her nephew, Elagabalus, Roman emperor. Mamaea's husband was killed in the fighting that earned Elagabalus the throne, but she and her son, Severus Alexander, were able to follow Elagabalus to Rome and enjoy court life in the imperial capital. The behaviour of Elagabalus shocked elements of Roman society and the young Severus Alexander was increasingly seen as a preferred option for the emperor. Thus, when Elagabalus was assassinated in 222, the 16-year-old Alexander became emperor, but real power was taken into the hands of his mother. She and a council of senators, including the famous jurist Ulpian, essentially ruled the empire in the name of Severus Alexander until 235, when the German legions revolted and killed both the emperor and his mother. Her stinginess with pay had upset the troops while her long coddling of Severus Alexander and protecting him from danger made him a man that no hard-bitten frontier soldier could respect. This unique coin was struck in honour of Julia Mamaea at the Bithynian city of Tium and is remarkable for its reverse type depicting the standing figure of Zeus surrounded by the wheel of the zodiac. The precise meaning of the type is uncertain, but it may have had some local astrological significance since Tium had previously struck a similar zodiac type for Elagabalus. On the other hand, zodiac types may have had some special Severan dynastic significance. Zodiac wheels also occur on coins struck for Elagabalus at Sidon, for Julia Maesa at Amastris and for Severus Alexander at Perinthus and Cyzicus. Estimate: 10000 CHF |  |
