Herennius Etruscus, as Caesar, AD 249-251, Tetradrachm

Herennius Etruscus, tetradrachm, AR, as Caesar AD 249–251, 10.30 g, 26 mm, Antioch. Obverse: ΕΡΕΝΝ ΕΤΡΟΥ ΜΕ ΚΥ ΔΕΚΙΟϹ ΚΕϹΑΡ; bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust right. Reverse: ΔΗΜΑΡΧ ΕΞΟΥϹΙΑϹ; eagle standing facing, head left, wreath in beak; S C in field. Struck at Antioch on the standard provincial tetradrachm module of the mid-third century. RPC IX 1699.

Herennius Etruscus was the elder son of Trajan Decius and served as Caesar from 249/250 until his elevation to Augustus shortly before both were killed at the Battle of Abrittus in AD 251. The Antiochene tetradrachm was the principal silver coinage of Roman Syria, bearing Greek legends and the eagle type with S C, reflecting the local provincial monetary system under Roman authority. The reverse legend ΔΗΜΑΡΧ ΕΞΟΥϹΙΑϹ echoes the Roman tribunician power formula, a standard feature on these eastern issues during Decius’s reign.