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Æ34 - Elagabalus ΕΠΙ ϹΟΥΛΠ ΕΡΜΟΦΙΛΟΥ ΑΡΧ Α ΤΟ Β ϹΑΡΔΙΑΝΩΝ Γ ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ, ΟΙΚΟΥΜΕΝΙΚΑ

Issuer Sardes (Conventus of Sardis)
Year 218-222
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Shape Round (irregular)
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Obverse description Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Emperor Elagabalus facing right, rendered in three-quarter view from the rear, displaying the paludamentum and segmented armor in typical provincial die-cutting style. The effigy is boldly modelled with the laureate wreath clearly indicated atop the head. A circular Greek legend runs along the outer border of the flan. The overall style is characteristic of the Sardis civic mint during the Severan period, with strong relief on the portrait against a broad, flat field.
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Edge Plain
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Additional information

Sardis held the title of neokoros — official keeper of an imperial cult temple — three times over, a distinction fiercely competed among the cities of Asia Minor and granted by the Roman Senate. The legend referencing a third neokorate places this coin within a narrow window of Elagabalus's reign when Sardis was actively advertising that status on its civic coinage. The magistrate name Sulpicius Hermophilus appears across several issues from this period, suggesting a term of office that was either unusually productive in bronze output or that spanned multiple minting campaigns.

The ΟΙΚΟΥΜΕΝΙΚΑ reference almost certainly alludes to ecumenical games held at Sardis — contests of empire-wide standing, not merely regional ones.

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