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Æ30 - Marcus Aurelius ϹΑΜΙΩΝ (Α with curved crossbar)
| Issuer | Samos (Conventus of Miletus) |
|---|---|
| Year | 161-176 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Draped bust of Faustina II facing right, rendered in the provincial Greek style characteristic of Ionian mint production under the Antonine dynasty. The empress's hair is elaborately coiffed and drawn back, consistent with portraiture of Faustina the Younger as Augusta. The effigy is set within a beaded border, with the Greek legend distributed around the periphery of the field. The portrait, though worn, retains the characteristic physiognomy of Faustina II as seen on contemporaneous provincial issues. |
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| Obverse lettering | ΦΑΥϹΤΙΝΑ ϹΕΒ (Αs with curved crossbar) |
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| Additional information |
The curved-bar alpha in the ethnic ϹΑΜΙΩΝ is not a casual engraver's quirk — it appears consistently enough across dies from this period to suggest a deliberate local practice, and it serves as a useful die-identification marker for specialists sorting through the otherwise tangled provincial output of Samos under the Antonines. The island's mint was active but administratively subordinate, striking within the conventus centered at Miletus rather than under any independent civic authority.
Marcus Aurelius spent the bulk of the 161–176 window on the Danubian frontier fighting the Marcomannic Wars, which generated enormous pressure on provincial mints to maintain bronze coinage for local commercial use while imperial resources were consumed by military logistics.