Æ17 - Aphilas

Descrizione del dritto	Draped bust of King Aphilas facing, depicted frontally with a diadem or crown, set within the central field. The effigy is rendered in a schematic Aksumite style characteristic of early fourth-century bronze coinage. A circular Greek legend surrounds the bust, reading AΦIΛAC BACIΛЄYC AξѠ, identifying the king and his royal title. The flan is irregular and the fields show the typical rough surface of hammered Aksumite bronze issues.
Scrittura del dritto	Accedi per vedere i dettagli
Legenda del dritto	Accedi per vedere i dettagli
Descrizione del rovescio	Accedi per vedere i dettagli
Scrittura del rovescio	Greek
Legenda del rovescio	Accedi per vedere i dettagli
Bordo	Accedi per vedere i dettagli
Zecca	Accedi per vedere i dettagli
Tiratura	Accedi per vedere i dettagli
Informazioni aggiuntive	Aphilas ruled Aksum in the early fourth century and is known almost exclusively through his coinage — no contemporary written sources document his reign. His issues are among the earliest sub-Saharan African coins to carry a royal portrait with gilded inlay, a technique that distinguishes Aksumite production from virtually all other ancient minting traditions. This particular type, catalogued under MHAC#13, falls within the smaller bronze denominations that circulated alongside silver and gold issues in a remarkably sophisticated trimetallic system for the period.