Herennius Etruscus, 249-251, Tetradrachm

Herennius Etruscus, tetradrachm, billon, Caesar under Trajan Decius, AD 249–251, Antioch; 11.01 g, 27 mm. Obverse with laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right; Greek legend ΕΡΕΝΝ ΕΤΡΟΥ ΜΕ ΚΥ ΔΕΚΙΟϹ ΚΕϹΑΡ. Reverse with eagle standing facing with wings spread; Greek legend ΔΗΜΑΡΧ ΕΞΟΥϹΙΑϹ, with S C in the fields. Struck on a broad flan with the principal types and legends clear. Reference: RPC IX 1678.

Herennius Etruscus was the elder son of Emperor Trajan Decius and was elevated to the rank of Caesar during his father’s reign, before being briefly promoted to Augustus in AD 251. Tetradrachms of Antioch formed a major provincial silver-denominated currency for Roman Syria, combining Greek legends with Roman political formulas such as tribunician power and the senatorial S C, and were produced for imperial family members to support their recognition and legitimacy across the eastern provinces.