COELESYRIA, Heliopolis. Divus Septimius Severus. Died AD 211. Æ (26mm, 9.80 g, 12h). Struck under Caracalla, circa AD 211-212. Fine.

Electronic Auction 615
Lot: 543. Estimated: $ 100

Roman Provincial, Bronze

Sold For $ 170. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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COELESYRIA, Heliopolis. Divus Septimius Severus. Died AD 211. Æ (26mm, 9.80 g, 12h). Struck under Caracalla, circa AD 211-212. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from the front / Aerial perspective view of the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus Heliopolitanus. Sawaya 425 (D86/R167); RPC V.3 Online 84871; BMC 4. Earthen brown patina, trace deposits, scratches. Fine.

From the Elie Abd Alhay Collection.

The sanctuary of Heliopolis (modern Baalbek) was the most expansive religious sanctuary of the Greco-Roman world. It was actually a complex with four distinct temples and shrines, all dedicated to syncretistic Roman-Semitic deities: Hadad / Jupiter, Atargatis / Venus, Simios / Mercury and Adonis / Bacchus. Baalbek does not appear to have been a significant settlement before the time of Alexander, and the major construction period began under Augustus in the last decade BC. The Great Court surrounding the temple complex was probably completed under Trajan. The sixty foot tall columns of the Jupiter temple were the largest ever erected in a classical temple. Archaeologists have used the coinage of the city, which began under Septimius Severus, to guide the reconstruction of this massive structure.

Closing Date and Time: 12 August 2026 at 13:00:40 ET.

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