Catalog
Æ15
| Issuer | Philadelphia (Lydia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 133 BC - 1 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Bronze |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Four-line Greek civic inscription within a laurel wreath, reading ΕΡΜΙΠ / ΠΟΣ / ΦΙΛΑΔΕΛ / ΦΕΩΝ, identifying the magistrate Hermippos and the city of the Philadelphians. A horizontal thunderbolt divides the inscription field, placed centrally between the upper two and lower two lines of text. The entire composition is enclosed within a finely detailed laurel wreath tied at the base. |
| Reverse script | Greek |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Philadelphia in Lydia was a young city by ancient standards, founded by Attalid king Eumenes II in the second century BC and named for his brother Attalus II — whose loyalty had earned him the epithet Philadelphos. The city sat on the eastern edge of the Hermus valley along the Royal Road, and when Rome absorbed the Attalid kingdom in 133 BC following Attalus III's bequest, Philadelphia passed into the province of Asia without resistance. This bronze issue spans that entire transition.
Philadelphia was severely damaged by the earthquake of 17 AD, though this denomination predates that event by well over a century.