175, Lot: 176. Estimate $100. Sold for $100. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

SYRIA, Seleucis and Pieria. Laodicea ad Mare. Septimius Severus, with Julia Domna. AD 193-211. Æ 31mm Appliqué (17.97 g). Conjoined, draped busts of Septimius Severus, radiate, and Julia Domna, resting on crescent, as Helios and Selene, right / [Zeus Nicephorus enthroned left, or Marsyas standing left]. Cf. E. Meyer, "Die Bronzeprägung von Laodikeia in Syrien 194-217," JNG 37/38 (1987/1988), 74 and 76 (V2/R? [uncertain reverse]) . VF, rough black surfaces, deposits and pitting, reverse filed off and solder on reverse from prior mounting.

This coin was reused to provide decorative enhancement to some everyday object, as evidenced by the traces of solder remaining on the blank reverse. One possibility is that it was used for one of the cased mirrors known to employ coin types as decoration. Another, though less certain, possibility is that it was incorporated into some military decoration, such as a phalera.