DOI article:
Paunov, Evgeni Ivanov: The start of the coinage of Philippopolis under Domitian
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49247#0099
THE START OF THE COINAGE OF PHILIPPOPOLIS UNDER DOMITIAN
The second denomination, the one in the middle (equal to a dupondius, RPC II
352; RPC Suppl. 2, p. 78;11 RPC Suppl. 3, p. 70; RPC Suppl. 4, p. 60), features the
naked figure of Apollo radiate, standing left, leaning on a column, holding a patera
in his right hand and a bow and two arrows in his left (Pl. 1, Fig. 2).
The third denomination (equal to an as, 77PCTI353) shows the god Ares standing
to the left wearing a helmet and armor. His right hand is resting upon a shield and
his left holds an inverted spear (Pl. 1, Fig. 3).
The fourth, the smallest denomination (equal to a semis(?), RPC II354), shows
Artemis in short chiton and boots advancing right, holding a bow and drawing an
arrow from a quiver with her right hand (Pl. 1, Fig. 4). The same iconographic type
with Artemis was later reused in the city under Trajan in c. AD 103-1 ll.12
More recently, a new type - hitherto unpublished - of the largest denomination
of the same Philippopolitan series has become known. This unique specimen
(16.57 g, 30 x 32 mm) (Pl. 1, Fig. 5) was sold in 2015 at an H.J. Berk auction13 and
is presently in the Hazelton collection {RPC Suppl. 4, no. 351 A). The reverse features
Herakles and the Nemean lion: Herakles is standing right, holding the Nemean lion
with both hands by its neck and jaws and raising it up into the air; the lion’s body is
at a diagonal angle. The obverse die seems identical to RPC II 351. This new coin
emphasizes the importance of Herakles’ cult in Philippopolis.
Curiously, while the whole series is inscribed with a Latin legend on the obverse
(where the imperial titulature is located), it is in Greek on the reverse, where the
following ethnikon appears: (FIAIHHO - HOAEITDN. Such bilingual legends
are characteristic for provincial coinages in the eastern provinces of the Empire,
including Crete and the Balkans.14 In the case of Philippopolis, this fashion was
only employed during the reigns of Domitian and Trajan {RPC III 744-745); it was
abandoned under Hadrian (cf. RPC III 746-753).
CIRCULATION PATTERN
Six Domitianic coins of Philippopolis are listed in the inventory books of the
Regional Archaeological Museum of Plovdiv in Bulgaria.15
11 [https://www.uv.es/~ripolles/rpc_s2]
12 MOUCHMOV 1924: no. 10; VARBANOV 2007: nos. 624 625 = RPC Ill: 745.
13 Harlan J. Berk, Buy or Bid Sale 193 (April 30, 2015), lot no. 450.
14 Sec: HOWGEGO 2005: 13; WOYTEK 2011: 417-419, 451.
15 Author’s own research, October 2010.
95
The second denomination, the one in the middle (equal to a dupondius, RPC II
352; RPC Suppl. 2, p. 78;11 RPC Suppl. 3, p. 70; RPC Suppl. 4, p. 60), features the
naked figure of Apollo radiate, standing left, leaning on a column, holding a patera
in his right hand and a bow and two arrows in his left (Pl. 1, Fig. 2).
The third denomination (equal to an as, 77PCTI353) shows the god Ares standing
to the left wearing a helmet and armor. His right hand is resting upon a shield and
his left holds an inverted spear (Pl. 1, Fig. 3).
The fourth, the smallest denomination (equal to a semis(?), RPC II354), shows
Artemis in short chiton and boots advancing right, holding a bow and drawing an
arrow from a quiver with her right hand (Pl. 1, Fig. 4). The same iconographic type
with Artemis was later reused in the city under Trajan in c. AD 103-1 ll.12
More recently, a new type - hitherto unpublished - of the largest denomination
of the same Philippopolitan series has become known. This unique specimen
(16.57 g, 30 x 32 mm) (Pl. 1, Fig. 5) was sold in 2015 at an H.J. Berk auction13 and
is presently in the Hazelton collection {RPC Suppl. 4, no. 351 A). The reverse features
Herakles and the Nemean lion: Herakles is standing right, holding the Nemean lion
with both hands by its neck and jaws and raising it up into the air; the lion’s body is
at a diagonal angle. The obverse die seems identical to RPC II 351. This new coin
emphasizes the importance of Herakles’ cult in Philippopolis.
Curiously, while the whole series is inscribed with a Latin legend on the obverse
(where the imperial titulature is located), it is in Greek on the reverse, where the
following ethnikon appears: (FIAIHHO - HOAEITDN. Such bilingual legends
are characteristic for provincial coinages in the eastern provinces of the Empire,
including Crete and the Balkans.14 In the case of Philippopolis, this fashion was
only employed during the reigns of Domitian and Trajan {RPC III 744-745); it was
abandoned under Hadrian (cf. RPC III 746-753).
CIRCULATION PATTERN
Six Domitianic coins of Philippopolis are listed in the inventory books of the
Regional Archaeological Museum of Plovdiv in Bulgaria.15
11 [https://www.uv.es/~ripolles/rpc_s2]
12 MOUCHMOV 1924: no. 10; VARBANOV 2007: nos. 624 625 = RPC Ill: 745.
13 Harlan J. Berk, Buy or Bid Sale 193 (April 30, 2015), lot no. 450.
14 Sec: HOWGEGO 2005: 13; WOYTEK 2011: 417-419, 451.
15 Author’s own research, October 2010.
95