Decius, 249-251, Tetradrachm

Decius. Tetradrachm, BI. Reign AD 249–251. Antioch, Syria, AD 249–251. 10.71 g, 25 mm. Obverse: ΑΥΤ Κ Γ ΜΕ ΚΥ ΔΕΚΙΟϹ ΤΡΑΙΑΝΟϹ ϹΕΒ, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Decius right. Reverse: ΔΗΜΑΡΧ ΕΞΟΥϹΙΑϹ, eagle standing left on palm branch, head left; S C in the fields. Struck on a billon flan typical of the Antiochene tetradrachm series of the mid-3rd century; legends clear and devices distinct. RPC IX 1642.

Issued at Antioch during Decius’ short reign, this billon tetradrachm belongs to the late phase of the long-running Syrian provincial “tetradrachm” coinage, a principal monetary instrument for large transactions in the eastern provinces. The reverse invocation of tribunician power and the S C mark reflect the blending of Roman imperial titulature with established regional currency traditions at a major administrative and military center of the East during a period of intensified frontier pressure and internal instability.