JUDAEA. Neapolis. Philip II, 247-249. Tetrassarion (Bronze, 29 mm, 18.09 g, 6 h). IMP C M IVL PHILIPPO F D N Laureate and cuirassed bust of Philip II to right, cuirass decorated with gorgoneion. Rev. COL SERG / NEAPOL She-wolf standing left, head turned to right, suckling the twins Romulus and Remus; above, Mount Gerizim surmounted by temple complex; in field to left, star. BMC -. Harl, Neapolis -. Rosenberger -. RPC VIII online 3065.1 (this coin). Samel -. Shoshana -. Sofaer -. Apparently unique. Repatinated and with faint cleaning scratches, otherwise, very fine.



Philip I raised Neapolis to colonial status sometime between 247 and 249, as the Roman Colonia Flavia Iulia Sergia Neapolis. From this point onward, the city’s coins bear Latin legends, although the die engravers proved remarkably inventive – and at times rather erratic – in their rendering of imperial names and titulature. Both nominative and dative forms occur, alongside orthographic variants: we find PHILIPPVS, PHILIPPO, and even PHELIPPO or PFILIPPIS (see lot 434 above).

Our specimen bears a very rare and unusual titulature, with the obverse legend ending F D N. This is to be expanded as F(ilio) D(omini) N(ostri), explicitly identifying Philip II as the 'son of our lord,' i.e. Philip I. The reverse is equally striking: Mount Gerizim, the city’s traditional sacred landmark, now appears only in miniature above the Lupa Romana suckling the twins Romulus and Remus, which dominates the composition – a quintessentially Roman motif particularly appropriate to the city’s new colonial status.