| Davissons, Ltd. > Auction 43 | Auction date: 20 March 2024 |
| Lot number: 144 Price realized: 1,900 USD (Approx. 1,750 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: Elagabalus. A.D. 218-222. AR denarius. 3.18 gm. 19 mm. Uncertain eastern mint. Struck A.D. 218-219. His laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right; ANTONINVS PIVS FEL AVG / Slow quadriga right, bearing the sacred stone of Emesa on which is an eagle, surrounded by four parasols; SANCT DEO SOLI around, ELAGABAL in exergue. RIC IV.2 195 (R2). RSC 268. Good Very Fine; crisp and attractive with good surfaces and slightly lustrous tone. Rare. Ex Harlan Berk BBS 139 (4 August 2004) lot 339. Elagabalus was 14 years old when he inherited the role of high priest of the sun god El-Gabal at Emesa in Syria. Following his unlikely rise to power in A.D. 218 he brought the cult's baetyl (a sacred conical cult stone, likely a meteorite) with him to Rome. Dedicated to spreading his cult among the Romans, he would make senators watch as he danced around the altar to drums and cymbals. He had some success, and the Syrian deity combined with the Roman sun god Sol to be known as Sol Invictus ("the unconquered sun"). At the summer solstice he would parade the stone through the city: "a six horse chariot carried the divinity, the horses huge and flawlessly white, with expensive gold fittings and rich ornaments. No one held the reins, and no one rode in the chariot; the vehicle was escorted as if the god himself were the charioteer. Elagabalus ran backward in front of the chariot, facing the god and holding the horses' reins. He made the whole journey in this reverse fashion, looking up into the face of his god" (Herodian). That chariot, complete with baetyl, is depicted on the reverse of this piece. Estimate: 1250 USD |  |
