Philadelphia (AD 37-41) AE 16 - Caligula

Gaius (Caligula), 37-41 AD. AE16 (3.96g, 12h). Hermogenes, victor in the Olympic Games. ΓAIOΣ KAIΣAP, bare head of Caligula right / ΦIΛAΔEΛΦE[ΩN EPMOΓ]ENHΣ OΛVM/[ΠIO]NIKHΣ, jugate, laureat busts of the Dioscuri right; palm branch behind. VF, green and brown patina. Rare.

RPC (p. 492) notes: “A very large number of ‘magistrates’ sign the coins (of Philadelphia) under Caligula: fifteen are certainly attested for his four-year reign. They give themselves various different descriptions and titles: priest of Germanicus, Olympic victor, philopatris, grammateus, and in a number of cases philokaisar. The impression created by this variety is that the persons are mentioned just as individuals rather than as holders of any specific magistracy; alternatively, one might think in terms of a board of some kind, as at Hierapolis.”