Legionary Token Currency
376, Lot: 363. Estimate $75. Sold for $140. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee. |
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JUDAEA, Caesarea Maritima. 2nd century CE. Æ “Minim” (11.5mm, 0.77 g, 12h). Copying a dichalkon of Trajan or Hadrian from Alexandria. Laureate head right / Elephant standing right. Hamburger,
Caesarea 76. Fine, dark gray-green patina, some roughness. Rare.
Quantities of these coins have been found in outlying regions, especially around the sites of the legionary encampments, rather than in the city proper, suggesting that they served as a token currency in the camps and their associated settlements. For further discussion, see H. Hamburger, “Minute Coins from Caesarea,” Atiqot I (1956)