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Bronze
| Issuer | Orthosia |
|---|---|
| Year | 64 BC - 40 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Draped bust of Tyche facing right, her head surmounted by a turreted mural crown, rendered in the Hellenistic tradition typical of civic coinage from Phoenician coastal cities. The portrait is set within a plain field on an irregularly shaped flan, with the surface exhibiting characteristic green patination. The modelling of the facial features, though worn, retains the characteristic soft contours of late Hellenistic die-cutting. No legend appears on the obverse. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Standing figure of Ba'al Orthosia facing right, flanked symmetrically by two winged griffins rearing on either side, a composition evoking the ancient Near Eastern Master of Animals iconographic tradition adapted into Hellenistic civic coinage. A Greek inscription appears in the upper field above the central figure. The reverse design is contained within the irregular flan, typical of hammered bronzes from Phoenician civic mints of the late Hellenistic period. |
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| Additional information |
Orthosia was a minor Phoenician coastal city — administratively absorbed into the Roman province of Syria after Pompey's reorganization of the eastern territories in 64 BC, which marks the opening of this coin's possible date range. The city retained limited civic autonomy, including the right to strike local bronze for small transactions, a privilege Rome extended selectively to towns of marginal strategic value.
RPC I 4503 is among the scarcest civic bronzes from this stretch of the Phoenician coast, with very few specimens recorded across major collections.