Rare and Interesting Type

277, Lot: 117. Estimate $300. Sold for $1400. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

MYSIA, Pergamum. Gallienus. AD 253-268. Æ (36mm, 18.75 g, 6h). Sextus Claudius Silianus, Asiarch. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Pergamus standing facing, head right, receiving ram's head from Hermes(?); open capsa (scroll case) on ground between. SNG France 2294 var. (magistrate); BMC Mysia 347. VF, black patina, even roughness. Rare type.

As both male figures on this coin are nude, one may conclude that they are heroes. The individual on the left, who receives the ram's head, must be Pergamus, the grandson of Achilles and the eponymous re-founder of Pergamum. The figure on the right is less certain, since he lacks any specific adjunct. Wroth and Levante have suggested Hermes. The object on the ground between the two figures has been described, on the basis of imperfectly preserved specimens, as an altar. Better preserved examples clearly show it to be an open capsa, or scroll case. Pergamum was the inventor and chief supplier for parchment, a writing material made of sheep's skin, and much of the city's revenue came from the sale of this material. The presentation of the source of this wealth (the ram's head) by the god of business (Hermes) to the eponymous founder of the city (Pergamus) over the capsa, makes a noteworthy allusion to the city’s good fortune.