PISIDIA (?). Colonia Iulia Gene... Pseudo-autonomous issue. Time of Julius Caesar, circa 49-40 BC. AE (Bronze, 18 mm, 4.28 g, 12 h), M. Sempronius Rutilus, proconsul, and M. Feridius, duovir. [M·RVTILVS]·PRO·COS·COL·IVL·[GE] Bare head of M. Sempronius Rutilus to right. Rev. M•FERIDIV[S] / [II•VIR•EX•D•D] Colonist ploughing with two hump-backed bulls to left. RPC I 3517. Very rare and of great interest. Somewhat rough and with light deposits, otherwise, good fine.



The attribution of these very rare issues has long been a matter of debate. Based on the presence of 'hump-backed' bulls and the discovery of a specimen at Elmali in northern Lycia, RPC tentatively assigns the mint to southern Asia Minor, possibly in Pisidia. The legends name the proconsul Sempronius Rutilus and the duovir M. Feridius, along with a Roman colony whose full name, unfortunately, cannot be fully reconstructed on any surviving example - due to off-center strikes and undersized flans. What can be read is COL(onia) IVL(ia) GE[…].

Intriguingly, a corresponding small denomination coin (RPC I 3517A) has been known for some time, where RPC reads the inscription as CO IVL CIN. However, a closer examination of RPC I 3517A.3 reveals that the legend actually ends in CENE (or more likely, GENE), with the final NE ligatured. This suggests the city’s name was Colonia Iulia Gene..., though we do not know of any settlement by that name. These coins may therefore originate from an otherwise undocumented city, or perhaps from a colonia that was later re-founded under a different name in Augustean time.