CILICIA, Corycus. Valerian I. AD 253-260. Æ (33mm, 22.89 g, 4h). Themian Games issue. Good VF.

Triton XXVIII – Session 5
Lot: 5364. Estimated: $ 150

Roman Provincial, Bronze

Sold For $ 400. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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CILICIA, Corycus. Valerian I. AD 253-260. Æ (33mm, 22.89 g, 4h). Themian Games issue. Radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from the front / Prize table, legs decorated with lion’s heads and feet, holding agonistic prize crown containing caduceus, palm frond, and apluster, inscribed ΘЄΜΙΑ and decorated with six apples, single-handled vase below; to right, Dionysus standing left, holding bunch of grapes and filleted thyrsus; between, panther standing left, head right. RPC X Online 60499; BMC 23; SNG BN 1122-25 var. (without vase); SNG Levante 819-20 var. (same). Brown patina with spots of green. Good VF. One of the finest known of this very rare variety.

From the CLA Collection. Ex Pegasi III (14 April 1997), lot 179.

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.

Closing Date and Time: 22 January 2025 at 12:01:00 ET.



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