151, Lot: 156. Estimate $75. Sold for $67. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

SYRIA, Seleucis and Pieria. Laodicea ad Mare. Elagabalus. AD 218-222. BI Tetradrachm (25mm, 12.68 g). Laureate bust right, slight drapery on far shoulder / Eagle standing facing, wings spread, head turned to left, holding wreath in beak; D E above, star below. Prieur 257. VF, a little porous.

From the Richard Winokur Collection.

Prieur tentatively places this issue under Antioch, but he emphasizes the ambiguity surrounding the complex issues of Elagabalus and states that further study will be necessary to determine with any more certainty the mints that were in operation during Elagabalus’ short reign. The problem is that there are distinct styles of engraving, and it has been noted that the hands of engravers active during the reigns of Caracalla and Macrinus at mints other than Antioch have been discerned engraving Antioch-type dies for Elagabalus. So, for example, the reverse die used to strike the present specimen was made by the same hand that engraved numerous final issues of Caracalla at Laodicea, thus leaving us with the question of whether this coin was struck at Laodicea or if the die engraver began working at Antioch, or even if the die engraver remained at Laodicea but engraved dies for Antioch. It’s a conundrum that presently defies classification.