Germe, Elagabal, bronze coin — Nude Apollo standing (CN type 3608)
Record status
Individual type · research required
Period
AD 218/219
Issuing entity
MysiaCoin in bronze struck at Germe in Mysia under Elagabal, dated AD 218/219. Corpus Nummorum, the online type corpus of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, records it as CN type 3608 (period: Roman Imperial Period; issuing authority type: city).
Obverse: Laureate bust of Elagabalus, right, wearing cuirass and paludamentum. Legend: ΑVΤΟΚΡ Κ Μ ΑVΡ ΑΝΤΩΝΕΙΝΟϹ ϹΕΒ. Reverse: nude Apollo standing, r., crossing legs, holding right hand on over head, resting left arm on decorated pillar surmounted by lyre; to l., laurel-tree entwined by serpent (Python). Legend: ϹΤΡ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟV ΓΕΡΜΗΝΩΝ. Measured specimens give a mean weight of 12.1 g (mean of 2 recorded specimens) and a diameter of 28–29 mm (from 2 recorded specimens).
Published references cited by the corpus: Ehling, Die Münzprägung der mysischen Stadt Germe in der römischen Kaiserzeit, Bonn 2001, p. 143, nr. 179-180, annot. 218/219 n. Chr.; Calomino, RPC VI: Roman Provincial Coinage. Vol. VI: From Elagabalus to Maximinus Thrax (AD 218–238). online, nr. 3826; Linked type corpus, RPC VI, 3826.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 4
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 3
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
Germe, also recorded as Germa, was a town in the ancient region of Mysia situated in northwestern Asia Minor between the Rhyndacus and Macestus rivers. This civic bronze piece was struck in AD 218/219 under the Roman emperor Elagabalus, born Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. A member of the Severan dynasty from Emesa, Syria, who served as high priest of the sun god Elagabal, he was elevated to the Principate as a teenager in 218 and governed until his death in 222.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- bronze
- Recorded diameter
- 28–29 mm (from 2 recorded specimens)
- Recorded mean weight
- 12.1 g (mean of 2 recorded specimens)
Technical characteristics
- Mint
- Germe
- Region
- Mysia
- Authority type
- City
- Issuing authority
- Elagabal
Design
- Obverse type
- Laureate bust of Elagabalus, right, wearing cuirass and paludamentum.
- Reverse type
- nude Apollo standing, r., crossing legs, holding right hand on over head, resting left arm on decorated pillar surmounted by lyre; to l., laurel-tree entwined by serpent (Python).
- Obverse legend
- ΑVΤΟΚΡ Κ Μ ΑVΡ ΑΝΤΩΝΕΙΝΟϹ ϹΕΒ
- Reverse legend
- ϹΤΡ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟV ΓΕΡΜΗΝΩΝ
Identification
- Period
- Roman Imperial Period
- How to identify
- Check the mint name or ethnic, the reverse type and the legend together, then compare weight and module; types from the same mint often differ only in legend arrangement, magistrate names or control marks.
- Type corpus record
- https://www.corpus-nummorum.eu/types/3608
- Type corpus identifier
- CN type 3608
Documentation checklist
- Denomination
- Research required
- Issue or mint date
- Recorded
- Material
- Recorded
- Weight
- Recorded
- Mint or printer
- Recorded
- Mint or printer mark
- Research required
- Catalogue reference
- Recorded
- Attached photograph (check rights)
- Recorded
Recorded means a field is present, not independently verified. Read its wording, supporting source and the entry’s confidence level.
Catalogue references
- Corpus Nummorum bibliographyp. 143, nr. 179-180, annot. 218/219 n. Chr.
- Corpus Nummorum bibliographynr. 3826
- external concordanceRPC VI, 3826
Research required
- No rights-cleared photograph attached yet