THRACE, Philippopolis. Caracalla. AD 198-217. Æ (35mm, 22.31 g, 1h). Thracian Alexandrian and Pythian Games issue. Struck AD 215. Good VF.

Keystone 17 – The W. Toliver Besson Collection
Lot: 74. Estimated: $ 500

Roman Provincial, Bronze

Sold For $ 1 300. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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THRACE, Philippopolis. Caracalla. AD 198-217. Æ (35mm, 22.31 g, 1h). Thracian Alexandrian and Pythian Games issue. Struck AD 215. Radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind / Agonistic prize crown containing two palm fronds, inscribed [ΠYΘIA], set on table with lion’s feet seen in perspective; below, amphora and five voting balls to right. Varbanov, Philippopolis XV.9.7.4.1 (O2/R2, this coin cited and illustrated); Peter, Koinon 24 var. (V4/ R–, rev. die unrecorded); Mouchmov, Philippopolis 373-81 var. (rev. arrangement); Varbanov 1485-88 (same). Green surfaces with earthen highlights, smoothing. Good VF.

From the W. Toliver Besson Collection. Ex Patrick C. Tan Collection (Heritage 3032, 10 April 2014), lot 23806; Classical Numismatic Group 94 (18 September 2013), lot 871.

The reverse of this medallion is one of many similar types struck by Philippopolis to commemorate the Pythian Games (τὰ Πύθια), one of the four Greek Panhellenic Games that occurred in the second year of each four-year Olympic cycle. Held in honor of Apollo, the god of arts and “civilization,” these games featured competitions for athletics, music, and poetry, and were meant to evoke the best of Greco-Roman culture. This particular event in AD 215, coming as it did in during Caracalla’s march east to fight the Persians, must have invested the event with further significance: by situating the occurrence of the games at such a crucial moment, the gods had signaled their approval for Caracalla’s enterprise against the “barbarians.”

Closing Date and Time: 22 July 2026 at 10:24:20 ET.



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