Jotapian. Usurper, circa AD 248-249. Antoninianus (21mm, 3.66 g, 12h). Nicopolis in Seleucia mint.

Electronic Auction 516
Lot: 525. Estimated: $ 3 000

Roman Imperial, Silver

Sold For $ 6 500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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Jotapian. Usurper, circa AD 248-249. Antoninianus (21mm, 3.66 g, 12h). Nicopolis in Seleucia mint. IM C M F R IOTAPIANVS AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust right / VICT ORIA AVGV, Victory advancing left, holding wreath in right hand and palm frond in left. RIC V –; Bland (unlisted dies); RSC –; NAC 92, lot 650 (same dies; hammer CHF 28,000). Toned, typical rough surfaces. Near VF. Very rare.

Jotapian led a short-lived revolt in Syria in the autumn of AD 249 while Philip I was still emperor. Little is known of Jotapian’s background. It was said that he boasted of a relationship to Severus Alexander, and his unusual name, although otherwise unknown for a man, is attested in its feminine form "Jotape" in the royal houses of Commagene and Emesa. The extreme rarity of his coins indicates that the revolt was brief, and the crude style proves that the revolt was geographically confined, for Jotapian plainly did not control a major Roman mint. His head was brought to Rome and shown to Trajan Decius "as was customary, although Decius had not asked for it" (Aur. Vict., Caes. 29.4). In his corpus of Jotapian's coins, Bland knew of eighteen genuine antoniniani in total.

Closing Date and Time: 18 May 2022 at 12:54:40 ET.

All winning bids are subject to an 18% buyer’s fee.