BITHYNIA. Nicomedia. Maximinus I, 235-238. AE (Bronze, 23 mm, 6.67 g, 12 h). Γ ΙΟΥ ΟΥΗ ΜΑΞΙΜЄΙΝΟϹ ΑΥΓ Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Maximinus I to right, seen from behind; on neck, countermark: Δ within round incuse. Rev. ΝΙΚΟΜΗΔЄΩΝ ΔΙϹ ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ Kybele seated to left on throne, head to right, placing her right hand on scepter set on ground and leaning left on lion skin draped over the back of the throne; in upper left field, facing head of Attis wearing Phrygian cap. RPC VI online 30472 corr. (reverse description). For countermark, Howgego 788. Of the highest rarity, apparently the second known example. Good fine.


In RPC Online, the reverse is left unidentified ('female figure …; in field, mask or small bust (?)'). However, the iconographic combination of a seated goddess with leonine attributes and a youthful head in the upper left field wearing a Phrygian cap strongly supports an identification as Kybele, with her lover Attis represented by the head in the field. In myth, Attis is the beautiful youth, beloved (and in some traditions priest) of the Mother Goddess Kybele. When he turns to another woman, Kybele drives him mad; Attis castrates himself and dies (or falls into a deathlike state). Kybele then ensures that he does not pass away entirely - a story that underlies the cult’s rites of mourning and renewal.