Some Enigmatic Coin Types from Roman Tyre

Abstract

During the second and third centuries CE the mint of Tyre in Phoenicia was one of the most
prodigious in the southern Levant — and most outstanding in terms of its iconographical diversity.
This study deals with a number of coin types that for several reasons including their rarity,
lack of publications — and the difficulty in identifying their reverse types — remain enigmatic
to this day. In most cases, beyond the iconographic analysis, these coins attest to competition
between cities, expressed in the granting of titles and highlighting Tyre’s relationship to Rome.