Elagabalus, 218-222. Denarius (Silver, 18 mm, 3.03 g, 12 h), uncertain mint in the East, 218-219. ANTONINVS PIVS FEL AVG Laureate head of Elagabalus to right. Rev. SANCT DEO SOLI / ELAGABAL Slow quadriga to right, carrying the sacred Stone of Emesa decorated with an eagle and surrounded by four parasols. BMC -, cf. 287 (differing obverse legend). Cohen -. Gorny & Mosch 200 (2011), 2690 (same dies). RIC -, cf. 196 (differing obverse legend). Thirion -. Triton XXIV (2021), 1127 (same dies). An extremely rare variety of a very rare type. Small deposit on the obverse and with a minor die break on the reverse, otherwise, extremely fine.



This coin depicts the famed Black Stone of Emesa - likely a meteorite - which played a central role in the worship of Elagabal, a Syrian solar deity. The emperor Elagabalus, who served as the high priest of this cult (from which he took his nickname), had the stone brought to Rome upon his accession. It was enshrined in the Elagabalium, a magnificent temple on the Palatine Hill. Each year, a grand procession was held in which the stone was placed on a chariot and paraded through the city. Elagabalus’s exotic rituals shocked many Romans, and after his assassination in 222, the sacred stone was ceremonially returned to Emesa.