CAPPADOCIA, Caesarea-Eusebia. Divus Augustus, with Divus Julius Caesar. Died AD 14. AR Didrachm (24.6mm, 6.97 g, 1h). Struck circa AD 32-65 (Tiberius to Nero). DIVVS AVG, radiate head of Divus Augustus right / [...] CAES, laureate head of Divus Julius Caesar right; below left, star. Ganschow, Münzen –; RPC I –; Sydenham, Caesarea –. Unpublished. Lightly toned, some porosity, minor marks and scratches, edge filing, banker’s mark. Near VF. Overstruck, undertype not visible but most likely on the Artaxias/Germanicus type.
This unique didrachm combines two divus types not previously known; not just unrecorded for Caesarea, but unrecorded in the entire Roman provincial series. It is unique for a number of reasons: the Divus Augustus types at Caesarea are all left facing, are only known as drachms, and they all use the longer AVGVSTVS form of his name. A coin, of any denomination, is not known for Divus Julius Caesar from Caesarea struck by any emperor. We can date this coin with certainty from the reign of Tiberius to Nero; all of the Divus Augustus coins were struck by Tiberius in the name of Germanicus but in the smaller drachm denomination. The first didrachms struck in Caesarea are dated by Ganschow as early as Tiberius’ Germanicus issues (AD 32-34) whereas the last divus types were Nero’s Divus Claudius didrachms (AD 63-65).
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