MESSENIA. Thuria. Caracalla, 198-217. Assarion (Bronze, 22 mm, 3.28 g, 6 h), 202-205. [...] ΑΝΤΩΝΙΝΟ Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Caracalla to right, seen from behind.
Rev. ΘΟΥΡΙΑΤΩΝ / Λ-Α Asklepios standing front, head to right, leaning right on serpent-entwined staff. BMC -. NCP -. Unpublished and unique. Somewhat rough and with a minor flan fault on the reverse
, otherwise, very fine.
From a European collection, formed before 2005.
In the first years of the 3rd century, a whole series of Peloponnesian towns issued their own bronze in the name of Septimius Severus, Domna, Caracalla, Plautilla, and Geta, forming, for some of the lesser-known settlements, the only coinage ever issued by these communities. As noted by Seyrig, such coins often ended up in the Near East. The most likely explanation for this remarkable cross-regional movement of local bronze coins is that they were carried there as pocket money by Peloponnesian soldiers.
