MOESIA INFERIOR. Tomis. Pertinax, 193. Tetrassarion (Bronze, 28 mm, 12.68 g, 8 h). ΑΥΤ•K•Π•ЄΛΒ•Π-ЄΡΤΙΝΑΖ Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Pertinax to right, seen from behind. Rev. ΜΗΤΡΟΠ•ΠΟΝΤΟΥ•ΤΟΜЄΩC Bearded man, raising his right hand, seated backwards on a cart pulled by an ox to left, which is led by a woman hurrying forward and holding a hammer (?) in her right hand; in field above, Δ (mark of value). AMNG I 2732. Varbanov 4791. Very rare. Very well struck, with a lovely dark green patina and in exceptional condition for the issue, by far the finest known example. Light deposits and with very minor weakness, otherwise, extremely fine.


Given Pertinax’s brief three-month reign and his precarious political situation, it is hardly surprising that only three provincial mints issued coins in his name: Tomis in Moesia, Prusa ad Olympum in Bithynia, and Alexandria in Egypt. Particularly striking is the case of Tomis - a remote city near the mouth of the Danube, which had already served as a place of exile for Ovid.

This specimen stands out not only for its exceptional state of preservation - being the finest known example and undoubtedly among the most impressive provincial coins of Pertinax - but also for its highly unusual reverse, whose meaning remains unresolved. Yet thanks to its extraordinary condition, a previously unnoticed detail can now be discerned: the female figure standing behind the ox appears to hold a hammer (?) in her right hand. She may be using it to yoke the animal to the cart. The enigmatic reverse may allude to a local legend - one that was once well known to the inhabitants of Tomis but will likely remain forever lost to us.