Lot 161: Syria, Coele-Syria. Heliopolis. Philip I. A.D. 244-249. Æ.

Syria, Coele-Syria. Heliopolis. Philip I. A.D. 244-249. Æ (27 mm, 9.89 g, 6 h). IMP CAES M IVL PHILIPPVS OVBOVS, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Philip I right / I O M H above, COL HEL in exergue. front and side view of the temple of Jupiter Heliopolitanus; to right, cypress tree. Cf. Sawaya 429-30 (D88/R-; rev. die not recorded); BMC 15 (same obv die).

Brown patina with light porosity, obverse legend tooled seemingly in the die. Nearly very fine / very fine.

An unusual aspect of this coin is the ending of the obverse legend. The type comes with both Latin and Greek obverse legends, the former the more more common, but here the ending is neither. It makes no sense at all! The die, however, is published by Sawaya as D88, and the specimen he illustrates clearly shows the ending PIVS FEL AVG. Thus the legend on this coin has clearly been altered, but close scrutiny indicates that the alteration occurred to the die itself as there is no indication of metal movement on the surface of the coin whatsoever.

• Offered By: Barry P. Murphy
• Lot #: 161
• Listing #: 191862
• Closed: Thursday, November 20, 2014 4:53:20 PM CT
• Estimate: $200