COELESYRIA, Heliopolis. Gallienus. AD 253-268. Æ (26mm, 12.22 g, 6h). Certamina Sacra Capitolia Oecumenica Iselastica Heliopolitana Games Issue. Struck under Valerian I and Gallienus, co-emperors. 8th emission, AD 256/7. Near VF.

Electronic Auction 613
Lot: 614. Estimated: $ 100

Roman Provincial, Bronze

Sold For $ 425. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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COELESYRIA, Heliopolis. Gallienus. AD 253-268. Æ (26mm, 12.22 g, 6h). Certamina Sacra Capitolia Oecumenica Iselastica Heliopolitana Games Issue. Struck under Valerian I and Gallienus, co-emperors. 8th emission, AD 256/7. Laureate and cuirassed bust right, seen from the front / Three prize crowns, center containing two palm fronds, outer crowns containing one; CERT • SACR •/CAP • OEC •/ISE • HEL • in three lines in exergue. Sawaya 743 (D107/R233); RPC X Online 63810; BMC 31. Earthen brown patina, obverse off center. Near VF.

Ex Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 547 (4 October 2023), lot 631; Freeman & Sear 8 (5 February 2003), lot 333.

Many cities throughout the eastern portion of the Roman Empire periodically held smaller versions of the four Iselastic Games of Greece (so called because victors in the ceremonies were granted iselasticum, the right to reenter their native cities in triumph following the games) – the Pythian, Olympian, Isthmian, and Nemean. Like the Greek originals, these smaller versions included a number of athletic contests, as well as music and poetry competitions. Often such events were associated with important civic cults of each city. At Heliopolis (modern Baalbek), the site of a massive temple complex dedicated to Jupiter-Zeus-Baal-Hadad, Venus-Aphrodite-Astarte, and Bacchus-Dionysus, these games were known as the Certamina Sacra Capitolia Oecumenica Iselastica Heliopolitana (the “Sacred Capitoline Ecumenical Iselastic Games of Heliopolis”). Here, celebrations were held in honor of Jupiter-Zeus-Baal-Hadad, not only associating this god with his counterpart at Rome, but also the city with the Empire as a whole.

Closing Date and Time: 15 July 2026 at 13:24:20 ET.

All winning bids are subject to a 20% buyer’s fee.