Very Rare Representation of Semasia
EGYPT, Alexandria. Faustina Junior. Augusta, AD 147-175. Æ Drachm (32mm, 26.67 g, 12h). Dated RY 6 of Marcus Aurelius (AD 165/6). ΦAVCTINA CЄB[ACTH], draped bust right / Semasia on horseback riding left, wearing elephant skin headdress and holding palm frond and reins; [L] ς (date) across field, CHMACIA below. Köln -; Dattari (Savio) 3633; K&G 38.28. Fine, tan-brown surfaces. Very rare.
Σημείον means ‘signal,’ as σημεία is a military standard which signals the location of an army. Semasia, therefore, is the herald that brings news of a military triumph – in this case the news that the Parthians had been routed by the Roman army, losing Seleukeia and Ctesiphon in the wake of the Armenian War. This very rare and interesting depiction of Semasia also occurs on an Alexandrian drachm of Lucius Verus, further recanting the military exploits during the reign of Marcus Aurelius.
