346, Lot: 253. Estimate $150. Sold for $130. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

CILICIA, Tarsus. Elagabalus. AD 218-222. Æ (30mm, 14.61 g, 6h). Laureate and cuirassed bust right, slight drapery / On left, demiourgic crown above garlanded altar; on right, ciliarch crown decorated with imperial portraits and the letters Γ and B; A M K • in exergue. SNG France –; SNG Levante 1078 (same dies). VF, green patina. Rare.

Ex Kelly J. Krizan, M.D. Collection.

An interesting type celebrating two of the highest offices in Cilicia. The crown on the left is that of the demiourgos, the official who oversaw the operation of regional festivals and games. Emperors from Commodus to Severus Alexander are sometimes depicted on coins of Tarsus wearing this crown. The crown on the right is that of the Ciliarch or Cilicarch, the High Priest of Cilicia who presided over provincial temples dedicated to certain emperors. The different busts which decorate this crown represent the various emperors who were honored at each respective temple.

The letters found in the exergue refer to the honorary titles of Tarsus:

A (= Greek numeral 1 for πρώτης – “first”)
M (= μεγίστης – “greatest”)
K (= καλλίστης – “best”)

The Γ Β found on the right crown appears on coins from Septimius Severus through Valerian and Gallienus, at which time it is changed to Γ Γ. The interpretation of these letters is a bit more problematic. While they could stand for honorary titles of the city, of which various possibilities have been suggested, their absence on silver issues, which always carry the A M K, would seem to suggest otherwise (BMC p. xci). Alternatively, they could be numerals referring to Tarsus’ third and second neocorate, but the peculiar arrangement of the ordering, with the Γ always preceding the B, is not found elsewhere.