MESOPOTAMIA. Edessa. Caracalla, 198-217. Pentassarion (Orichalcum, 30 mm, 25.29 g, 1 h), CY 528 = 216/7. AYT K M AYP ANTΩNЄINOC Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Caracalla to right, seen from behind. Rev. ЄMICΩN KOΛΩN / HKΦ The baitylos of El-Gabal, decorated with eagle standing right and flanked by parasols, on a podium within hexastyle temple set on a platform. BMC 16. SNG Copenhagen -. Rare. A bold and unusually attractive example of this historically important issue. Repatinated, otherwise, very fine.
This is a most attractive rendering of the baitylos of El-Gabal, the holy stone of Emesa, which Elagabalus - whose nickname derives from the very cult he was the high-priest of - would later move to Rome