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Research Coins: Electronic Auction

 

Extremely Rare Tyrian Hemichalkous

336, Lot: 205. Estimate $150.
Sold for $850. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

PHOENICIA, Tyre. Severus Alexander. AD 222-235. Æ (16mm, 2.89 g, 12h). Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Dido, holding scepter or banner, on deck of galley; murex shell to upper left. Seemingly unpublished, but see CNG E-301, lot 212 (hammer of $900) for another specimen. VF, dark green patina under a layer of earthen deposits, slightly off center. Unusually small denomination for period.


A similar reverse appears on larger module bronzes, known to Rouvier from Diadumenian through Gordian III. These feature two sailors on deck, which had to be omitted due to the small size of the reverse die used for the current piece. Based on Rouvier’s breakdown of the denominations for Tyre, this piece would be a hemichalkous.