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Roman Emp., Philip I, Medallion 244-249

Currency:CHF Category:Coins & Paper Money / Coins: Ancient Start Price:2,400.00 CHF Estimated At:3,000.00 - 3,750.00 CHF
Roman Emp., Philip I, Medallion 244-249
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The Roman Empire, Philip I, 244 – 249, Medallion, Bizya Thraciae 244-249, Æ 29.65 g. AVTMIOVL - FILIPPOC AVG Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r. Rev. Asclepius reclining l. on couch and placing his r. hand on the shoulder of Hygieia seated on the edge of the couch; beneath Asclepius, tripod and beneath Hygieia a staff with a serpent twined around it. In the l. background, a tree upon which hangs a cuirass and beneath which stands a man clad in short chiton, placing his r. hand in amphora. On the r. background, forepart of horse advancing l. In upper central field, shield and in exergue, BIZVHN / WN. BMC 10. Very rare. A very interesting reverse representation, green patina and very fine Though in Classical and Hellenistic times Bizye was a regional capital of the Thracian Astae, coinage may not have been issued there until early in the reign of Hadrian (A.D. 117-138). From that point onward, striking continued through the reign of Philip I, after which it ceased. Except for a few interesting types, the city’s coinage is comparatively standard until we reach the final issues, when Philip introduced some extraordinary reverse types rendered in fine style, some of them struck on medallic planchets. During the first 128 years of coinage at Bizye, only 71 portrait issues are recorded in Yourokova’s study, whereas 93 are recorded for Philip and his family – all seemingly produced within a three-year period. The likely explanation for this great imbalance is a special occasion, almost certainly an imperial presence at Bizye. Indeed, the coinage was produced from late 245 to sometime in 247, precisely when Philip was in the Balkans to help his in-law Severianus battle the Dacian Carpi (and perhaps the Quadi), who had breached the Danube to invade Moesia. Bizye was located in the Thracian interior about midway between Byzantium and the besieged cities of Moesia, and it would have been a useful supply depot for Philip’s defence efforts to the north. It is possible that on some occasions this walled city served as a regional headquarters or a strategic retreat for the emperor. The three main themes of Philip’s coins at Bizye were mythological episodes, defence and the medical arts. Though the full import of the mythological types is not clear, the security of Bizye is underscored by Tyche, the protectress of cities, and images of stout city walls shown from the front and from a bird’s eye view. The medical triad of Aesculapius, Telesphorus and Hygeia, and Apollo in his guise as healer, are a favourite topic, perhaps because of the frail health of Philip or the everpresent danger of plague and other ailments that occur during times of war. The most intriguing of all these coin types shows what appears to be a banquet scene. Since this design had also been used by at least two emperors before Philip, its meaning must have been locally familiar, and it probably was derived from a larger, public work. Traditionally, the main figures are identified as Aesculapius and Hygeia, though it may present the local myth of the King Tereus who raped his sister-in-law and cut out her tongue in an effort to conceal his crime. When his wife learned of this, she conspired with her sister to kill his son, and then to cook the corpse and serve it to Tereus at a banquet. The presence of a horse is curious, and the smaller figure to the left perhaps dips his hand into a vessel to cure with oil the cuirass and shield that hang above in the tree to dry.