Philip I, 244-249, Tetradrachm

Philip I (AD 244–249), Tetradrachm, AR, struck at Antioch, AD 248; 14.40 g; 26 mm. Obv. ΑΥΤΟΚ Κ Μ ΙΟΥΛΙ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟϹ ϹΕΒ; laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right. Rev. ΔΗΜΑΡΧ ΕΞΟΥϹΙΑϹ ΥΠΑ ΤΟ Γ; eagle standing facing, wings spread, wreath in beak; ΑΝΤΙΟΧΙΑ below; S C in exergue. Broad Antiochene provincial fabric, struck on a wide flan typical for the series. References: RPC Online VIII (unassigned), ID 29021.

This Antioch tetradrachm bears Philip’s Greek imperial titles and records his third consulship (ΥΠΑ ΤΟ Γ), permitting a precise attribution to AD 248, the millennium year of Rome. The eagle type with the city name ANTIOXIA and the S C (Senatus Consulto) reflects Antioch’s principal role in supplying silver provincial currency for Syria and the eastern frontier under senatorial authorization during Philip’s reign.