JUDAEA. Caesaraea Panias. Julia Maesa, Augusta, 218-224/5. Tetrassarion (Bronze, 27 mm, 14.33 g, 1 h), CY 223 = 221 AD. ΙΟΥΛΙΑ ΜЄϹΑ ΑΥΓ Diademed and draped bust of Julia Maesa to right. Rev. ΚΑΙϹ ΠΑ ϹЄ•Ι• ΑϹΥΛ / ϹΚΓ Pan standing facing with crossed legs, playing flute and leaning on tree trunk; two signa flanking to left and right. Meshorer, Caesarea Panias, 46-47. RPC VI online 9205. Very rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. Slightly rough, otherwise, good very fine.

The Panias region and its eponymous capital obtained its name from the local Paneion, a sacred grotto devoted to the worship of Pan. From this grotto, the Panias (modern Banias) river emerges, which forms one of the three tributaries of the Jordan. Following the passing of the local dynast Zenodoros in 20 BCE, Augustus transferred the Panias to Herod I 'the Great', who erected a grandiose temple in honor of the emperor near the cave. Herod's son Herod IV Philip (4 BCE-34 CE) refounded the city of Panias as Caesaraea Panias in 3/2 BCE, a monumental event to which the local city era subsequently referred to. Today, Banias is also the name of a natural reserve encompassing the cave of Pan, the excavation sites, and half of the Banias river course