Zenobia. Usurper, AD 268-272. Antoninianus (21mm, 2.88 g, 6h). Antioch mint, 8th officina. 2nd emission, March-May AD 272. Good VF.

Triton XXVI
Lot: 823. Estimated: $ 10 000

Roman Imperial, Coin-in-Hand Video, Silver

Sold For $ 11 000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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Zenobia. Usurper, AD 268-272. Antoninianus (21mm, 2.88 g, 6h). Antioch mint, 8th officina. 2nd emission, March-May AD 272. S ZЄNOBIA AVG, draped bust right, wearing stephane, set on crescent / IVNO RЄGINA, Juno standing left, holding patera in right hand and scepter in left; at feet to left, peacock standing left, head right; *|–//H. RIC V Online 3129; RIC V 2; Bland, Coinage 30e (dies 50/Jun v); BN 288-9. Dark brown patina. Good VF.

From the S & S Collection.

Septimia Zenobia was the second wife of Odenathus, the hereditary nas (lord) of Palmyra, a wealthy caravan city in eastern Syria. As the Roman Empire crumbled under a torrent of calamities after AD 260, Odenathus undertook to defend Syria against the Sasanian Persians, ostensibly as viceroy of the Roman emperor Gallienus. Odenathus and his eldest son were assassinated in AD 267, after which Zenobia seized power as queen regent for their younger son, the 10-year-old Vabalathus. In late AD 270, Zenobia sent the Palmyran army to secure control of greater Syria and Egypt, bringing the mints of Antioch and Alexandria under her control. Coins were struck depicting Vabalathus, with the titles Vir Clarissimus, Rex, Imperator, Dux Romanorum, paired with the current Emperor Aurelian, who was styled Imperator Caesar Augustus. It is uncertain whether Aurelian ever granted the tacit recognition this coinage implies, but by AD 272 he had clearly decided to suppress the Palmyran regime. Zenobia reacted by having Vabalathus proclaimed Augustus and herself took the title of Augusta, or empress. Zenobia appears on this antoninianus of Antioch with the same trappings as previous Roman empresses, a helmet-like coif of hair adorned with a simple headpiece called a stephane. The reverse depicts a Roman goddess, Juno Regina (”Queen Juno”), perhaps as an avatar for her own claimed authority. As it happened, Aurelian’s forces rapidly reclaimed Zenobia’s conquests, defeated her army outside of Palmyra, and captured her as she attempted flight to Persia. Her coinage in Antioch only lasted two or three months at most, accounting for its rarity today.

The final winners of all Triton XXVI lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 10-11 January 2023.

Triton XXVI – Session Three – Lots 674-990 will be held Wednesday morning, 11 January 2023 beginning at 9:00 AM ET.

Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.

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