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!
Æ21 - Antoninus Pius ΑΒΩΝΟΤΕΙΧ
| Issuer | Mint of Ionopolis (Abonoteichos), Bithynia and Pontus |
|---|---|
| Year | 138-161 |
| 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 | 6.35 g |
| 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 | ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙϹΑΡ ΑΝΤΩΝΕΙΝΟϹ (Translation: Emperor Caesar Antoninus) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| 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 | ND (138-161) |
| Additional information |
Abonoteichos was the home town of Alexander of Abonoteichus, the self-proclaimed oracle-prophet who founded the cult of Glycon — a snake deity he claimed was a new incarnation of Asclepius — sometime around 150 AD. Lucian of Samosata wrote a devastating exposé of Alexander, accusing him of fraud, puppetry, and political manipulation, including cultivating influence with Marcus Aurelius's father-in-law. The cult drew pilgrims from across the Greek-speaking world during precisely the reign this coin represents.
The town was reportedly renamed Ionopolis at Alexander's own instigation, a remarkable instance of a private religious operator reshaping civic identity under imperial rule.