Identification of Portraits on Early Roman Coins of Nysa-Skythopolis

Abstract

This paper examines the early Roman portrait coins struck at Nysa-Skythopolis. The earliest coin series has been generally associated with the Roman governor of Syria and protégé of Pompey, Aulus Gabinius. In this study, the era used on those coins with dates is re-evaluated and the portraits are compared with those found on coins struck elsewhere in the Levant during the period of the late Roman Republic. It is argued that these early coins from Nysa-Skythopolis employ a Caesarean rather than a Pompeian era and the heads depicted are those of the Imperators Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian Caesar.