Delta–epsilon issues of Elagabalus and Severus Alexander

Abstract

The paper sums up the discoveries of delta–epsilon issues of the Roman emperors Elagabalus and Severus Alexander, altogether 102 coins representing small and medium change (a detailed tabular catalogue is attached), from excavations at various sites in Cyprus, as well as several dozen coins of unknown provenance in museum collections. There is sound reason to believe that this type was a local issue struck in Cyprus for use in the province and not for distribution outside it. However, it is equally possible that the coins were struck in Syria and coin flow between Cyprus and Syria and Palestine on both directions has been confirmed for the times of the Severan dynasty by finds belonging to different issues. The paper considers other possible reasons for the concentration of coin finds of this type in Cyprus, especially Kourion, as well as a similar large group found at Dura Europos in Syria. One possible reason was ensuring that enough small and medium change was in local supply to cover soldiers' pay, a requirement that was as much political as economic. The coins of Elagabalus could have been minted at Laodicea ad Mare, but they could also have been produced in Cyprus from Cypriot copper and sent out to Syria. With regard to the coins struck for Severus Alexander, they seem to have been made in Cyprus, but the variations in fabric, inscriptions, lettering and details of design indicate more than one workshop involved in this production, while the specimens of low weight and minuscule dimensions even suggest that this production not always took place in the official mints.