350, Lot: 373. Estimate $150. Sold for $220. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

CILICIA, Corycus. Valerian I. AD 253-260. Æ Octassarion (30mm, 22.37 g, 5h). Radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Agonistic crown, containing caduceus, palm frond, and aplustre, inscribed ΘЄΜΙΑ and set upon table; to right, Dionysus standing left, holding cantharus and filleted thyrsus; between, panther standing left. SNG France 1122-5; SNG Levante 819. Near VF, thick earthen green patina.

The presiding deity of the Themian games was the goddess Themis (Θέμις), personification of Justice and Order, who had been the patron of the oracle of Delphi before Apollo. Thema (θέμα) also means a deposit, usually of money, and the Themian games were unusual in having cash prizes for the winners, unlike the more typical awards of wreaths, wine, oil, or celery