Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Electronic Auction 350 6 May 2015
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Elagabalus. AD 218-222. AR Denarius (17mm, 2.06 g, 7h). Antioch mint. Struck AD 218-219. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Quadriga right bearing stone of Emesa upon which is an eagle; four parasols around. RIC IV 195; Thirion 360; RSC 268. Near VF, porous. Rare.
At the age of fourteen, Varius Avitus Bassianus (Elagabalus) inherited the office of high priest of the sun-god El-Gabal at Emesa in Syria. The cult of his sun god was represented by a sacred stone (or baetyl), and in AD 219 when he moved from Emesa to Rome, he took this stone, probably a meteorite, with him. This coin type commemorates the event.
At the age of fourteen, Varius Avitus Bassianus (Elagabalus) inherited the office of high priest of the sun-god El-Gabal at Emesa in Syria. The cult of his sun god was represented by a sacred stone (or baetyl), and in AD 219 when he moved from Emesa to Rome, he took this stone, probably a meteorite, with him. This coin type commemorates the event.