CAPPADOCIA. Caesaraea-Eusebia. Septimius Severus, 193-211. Drachm (Silver, 18 mm, 3.23 g, 12 h), RY 16 = 207/8. AY K Λ CЄΠT CЄOYHPOC Laureate head of Septimius Severus to right. Rev. MHTPO KAICAP NЄΩK / ЄT Iς Four-tier conical stone building with central rectangular entrance and semicircular window above; to left and right, standards or columns surmounted by globes. Ganschow 436.1 (this coin). Sydenham -. Of the highest rarity, one of just three known examples. Minor area of weakness on the reverse, otherwise, good very fine.



Ganschow describes the monument on the reverse of this highly unusual issue as a 'Konisches Gebäude (Baitylos)'. This is somewhat contradictory, as baetyls are sacred stones, not buildings such as the complex four-tier stone construction with an entrance and a window depicted on our coin. Unfortunately, the exact purpose of the structure eludes us, however, the flanking globes on standards or columns point toward a cultic building. In any case, the issue is one of the great rarities in the coinage from Caesaraea-Eusebia, with all three known examples having been issued in Septimius' regnal year 16 from a single pair of dies.