Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Æ15 - Aphilas
| Issuer | Aksum |
|---|---|
| Year | 305-315 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | 4 mm |
| 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 | Greek |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Small draped bust facing right, wearing a headcloth terminating in a triangular ribbon falling behind the neck. A pellet on crescent device appears above the bust, dividing the encircling Greek legend into two portions. The compact, summary modeling of the portrait is characteristic of the earliest Aksumite bronze coinage, reflecting limited die-engraving resources relative to the gold issues of the same reign. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| 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 |
Aphilas is among the earliest documented Aksumite rulers, and his coinage — struck before Ezana's conversion made Aksum the first state to place the Christian cross on its coins — reflects a transitional moment in Ethiopian numismatic history. The gilt and ungilded variants within his bronze issues suggest deliberate production tiers, possibly tied to ceremonial or tributary function rather than everyday exchange.