Germanikopolis (AD 198-217) AE 27 - Caracalla

Caracalla, 198-217 AD. AE27 (14.32g, 6h). Laureate and cuirassed bust right / Cityscape: two civic buildings between two towers. VF, glossy green patina. Extremely rare and highly interesting type.

Richmond (“The Town of Germanicopolis-Gangra in Paphlagonia” NC 1929, pp. 310-2) describes the central structures on the reverse as two distinct buildings, perhaps the city’s forum and basilica, with a narrow alley running between. Robertson, however, suggests that they may represent a single gatehouse, an idea initially dismissed by Richardson due to the uncharacteristically pitched roofs. The current specimen lacks what seems to be a curved wall seen on the latter two specimens referenced above, but exhibits an even more pronounced break between the central structures. They cannot form a gate, and must therefore represent two civic buildings, the smaller of which is shown in perspective. The type can thus be interpreted as a cross-section of the city; the two side towers represent two opposite entrances, with a circular wall around (on at least some specimens), and depicting in the center what must have been among the most important civic buildings.