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!
Æ25 - Valerian and Gallienus ϹΤΡΑ ϹΩϹΤΡΑΤΟΥ ΚΥΖΙΚΗΝΩΝ / ΝΕΟΚΟ(Ω)
| Issuer | Cyzicus (Conventus of Cyzicus) |
|---|---|
| Year | 253-268 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| 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 | 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 | The reverse field depicts two tall flaming torches set upright, each entwined by a serpent rising from the base; between the torches stands a small lighted altar with flames issuing from its top, the whole composition evoking chthonic or mystery-cult iconography associated with the religious prestige of Cyzicus. The Greek magistrate's legend is distributed around the field in two lines, identifying the strategus responsible for the issue and proclaiming the neokorate status of the city. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | ϹΤΡΑ ϹΩϹΤΡΑΤΟΥ ΚΥΖΙΚΗΝΩΝ / ΝΕΟΚΟΡ(Ω) |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Cyzicus held the title of neokoros — temple warden of the imperial cult — multiple times over, a distinction fiercely competed for among the cities of Asia Minor and awarded by the Roman senate. The magistrate name Sosstratos appearing in the legend anchors this piece to a specific civic administration, though the precise year within Valerian and Gallienus's joint reign cannot be narrowed further without die linkage studies.
The joint titulature reflects the unusual co-rule formalized after Valerian's accession in 253, with Gallienus elevated immediately as Augustus rather than Caesar — a constitutional novelty that provincial mints rendered inconsistently across the Greek east before the cessation of civic bronze coinage in the 260s.