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Important copyright information:
The data below is presented by permission of the copyright holder(s). Reproduction is allowed only by authorization from Roma Numismatics Ltd.
| Roma Numismatics Ltd > Auction 7 | Auction date: 22 March 2014 |
| Lot number: 869 | |
| Lot description: Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus Æ31 of Philadelphia, Lydia. Circa AD 161-169. Lad... Severus, archon (?). AVT K M AVP ANTΩNEINOC K AVP OVHPOC, confronted busts of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus / Statue of Helios, radiate, advancing right, holding extended torch and whip, within distyle shrine, [ΕΠΙ] ΛΑΔ... CΕΒΗΡΟV [ΑΡΧ(?)] around, ?ΙΛΑΔΕΛ[ΦΕΩΝ] in exergue. RPC IV Online temp. 1359; Waddington 5144; cf. Price and Trell 468. 29.55g, 31mm, 6h. Good Very Fine. The third known specimen and the only example not in a museum collection. The city of Philadelphia, originally founded by Attalos II of Pergamon, was situated on the lower slopes of Mount Tmolos and commanded the fertile river valley of the Corgamis. Seismic activity in the area is severe, and the city suffered frequent devastation throughout the classical period. After a particularly devastating earthquake in AD 17, the emperor Tiberius aided the town in its reconstruction, and to honour the imperial beneficence the city assumed the additional name of Neocaesarea. Aside from the trade it controlled, a principal attraction of the city in antiquity was its many religious festivals which brought in numerous pilgrims and much needed revenue. These religious cults figure predominantly on the coinage, and particular honour was accorded Asklepios and, as on this coin, Zeus Helios. In later antiquity Philadelphia is noted as being one of the Seven Churches of the Book of Revelation. Estimate: 5000 GBP |  |
