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Nikopolis AE28 Moushmov 1436 of Elagabalus

Elagabalus AE28 of Nikopolis ad Istrum. Magistrate Novius Rufus. AV K M AVPE ANTWNINOC, laureate, draped & cuirassed bust right / VP NOBIOV POVFOU NIKOPOLITWN PROC ICTRW, Pan standing left, head right, lagobalon on shoulder, holding pipes, foot on panther lying supine on the ground.

Lot No.2560. VF/gVF and rare, green and brown patina, with a very unusual image of Pan with his rabbit killer. 14.6 grams.

$ 1000.

Pan was frequently imaged on the coins of Antigonas Gonatas as the savior who scared off an overwhelming force of Greeks with the weapon of PANIC. He is represented with his lagobalon, or rabbit stick, a kind of boomerang used to bring down small game, and with his flute, known today as Pan Pipes.

It is interesting to speculate on a connection between Pan and the word Panther, which comes down to us unchanged from ancient Greek.

Varius Avitus Bassianus (218-222 AD), better known as Elagabalus after the name of his god, was renamed Marcus Aurelius Antoninus to more closely be associated with his cousin Caracalla. (Rumors of Caracalla being his father were fostered in order to strengthen his claim to the throne.) As a boy he was consecrated a priest of the sun god in the great temple in Emesa. When he rose to power, he had the Stone of Emesa transported to Rome, and insisted that it be an object of public worship. His unpopularity grew as his cruelty, extravagance, and depravity alienated all segments of Roman society. The Praetorian guards assassinated Elagabalus -- only 18 years old -- and his mother Julia Soaemias in 222, and he was replaced by his cousin Severus Alexander, while the Stone of Emesa was returned to its temple in Syria.