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Stater - Rhescuporis IV Trajan Decius
| Issuer | Bosporan Kingdom (Bosporos) |
|---|---|
| Year | 251 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Billon Stater (3) |
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| Obverse description | Diademed and draped bust of Rhescuporis IV facing right, rendered in the late Bosporan provincial style with bold but somewhat schematic modeling. The bust is depicted with characteristic regalia of the Bosporan kings, showing the influence of Roman imperial portraiture adapted to local artistic traditions. The Greek legend BACIΛЄѠC PHCKOΠOPIΔ ("of King Rhescuporis") runs around the periphery of the field. The flan is irregular and slightly spread, typical of the late billon staters of the Bosporan series. The die work reflects the declining artistic standards of the mid-third century AD coinage of the kingdom. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Draped bust of the Roman Emperor Trajan Decius facing right, rendered in a schematic provincial style, enclosed within a beaded border. The imperial effigy is shown with a radiate or laureate crown, consistent with the Bosporan practice of depicting the reigning Roman emperor on the reverse of royal staters as a mark of political deference. The date letters ZMΦ, corresponding to the Bosporan Pontic era year 547 (equivalent to 251 AD), appear in the field. The reverse demonstrates the characteristic fusion of Roman imperial iconography and local Bosporan minting conventions. |
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| Additional information |
Rhescuporis IV ruled the Bosporan Kingdom as a client of Rome, and this stater was struck in the year corresponding to 251 AD — the same year Trajan Decius died at the Battle of Abritus, the first reigning Roman emperor killed in combat against a foreign enemy. The Bosporan dating system, counting from the kingdom's foundation era, places this issue in year 548 of their local reckoning.
By this period the billon content had degraded substantially from earlier Bosporan electrum issues, a slide that had been accelerating since the third century's broader monetary debasement across the Roman world. MacDonald 609/2 distinguishes this among a closely sequenced group of dies from the same regnal year.