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Obverse. (©Archaeological Exploration of Sardis/President and Fellows of Harvard College) -
Reverse. (©Archaeological Exploration of Sardis/President and Fellows of Harvard College)
Roman Bronze/Copper Alloy 1 Assarion of Sardis
- Date
- 70 - 80 AD?, Roman
- Sardis or Museum Inv. No.
- 2011.0034
- Material
- Bronze/Copper Alloy
- Object Type
- Coin
- Coin Denomination
- 1 Assarion
- Coin Mint
- Sardis
- Issuers
- Officina
- Has Mint Mark
- no
- Has Control Mark
- no
- Has Monogram
- no
- Has Countermark
- no
- Hoard
- Monograph 13 Catalog No.
- 166
- Site
- Sardis
- Sector
- F49
- Trench
- F49 11.1
- Locus
- F49 11.1 Locus 92
- B-Grid Coordinates
- E846 / S398.7 *185.38
- Description
- This coin type: Obverse: Bust of young Senate r. IЄPA CYNΚΛΗΤΟC; Reverse: Tetrastyle temple CAPΔΙΑΝΩΝ.
- Condition
- Obv good, reverse corroded
- Dimensions
- Weight: 3.92g; Diameter: 18mm.
- Comments
- RPC II suggested a Vespasianic date, while Johnston (in M7, p. 82) favored 100–120, in part due to the style of the coin and in part to the direction of the legend, which runs clockwise. Coins minted under Vespasian have obverses with counterclockwise legends. Johnston also noted a broken-crossbar A, which is found on coins of Marciana and Plotina; thus, she thought the temple on the reverse was Sardis’s first neokorate temple, probably to Hadrian. The authors of RPC noted uncertainty about the coin. They thought the style fitted better in the Vespasianic period, while the legend was more typical of second century issues. Denomination suggested in RPC II, p. 199. Found on a packed earth floor beneath fall from a roof collapse; the pottery associated with the fall cannot distinguish between the termini of 80 and 120. .
- See Also
- Bibliography
- RPC II: 1309
- Author
- JDE