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Æ32 - Elagabalus ΑΜΙϹΟΥ ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΑϹ ΕΤ ϹΝΓ
| Issuer | Amisus (Bithynia and Pontus) |
|---|---|
| Year | 221-222 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Draped bust of Julia Maesa facing right, her hair arranged in waves and secured with a diadem, rendered in the conventional provincial portrait style of the Severan period. The effigy is depicted with visible drapery folds over the shoulder, typical of honorific imperial female portraiture on Greek civic coinage. The surrounding field is heavily worn with a dark patina, obscuring parts of the encircling Greek legend. The portrait occupies the central field, with the obverse legend distributed around the periphery. |
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| Reverse description | Hermes depicted standing facing with head turned to the left, rendered in the Classical tradition as a nude or lightly draped divine figure. In his right hand he holds a purse, and in his left hand he carries a caduceus, both attributes emblematic of his role as god of commerce and messenger of the gods — highly appropriate for the prosperous mercantile city of Amisus. The figure stands full-length in the central field, with the Greek civic legend and regnal year disposed around the periphery. The surface displays a dark olive-brown patina with areas of encrustation consistent with prolonged burial. |
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Amisus had held the status of a free city — eleuthera — since Pompey reorganized Pontus in 64 BC, and the civic pride in that autonomy never faded. The date ЄТ ϹΝΓ places this issue in year 253 of the Pontic era, corresponding to 221–222 AD, during the reign of Elagabalus, whose erratic rule from Rome left provincial mints largely to their own devices. Amisus exercised that freedom aggressively, maintaining its own dating system and civic bronze coinage long after most Pontic cities had deferred to imperial conventions.