Caracalla billon tetradrachm, Tripolis Phoenicia, AD 213, eagle with wreath

Caracalla, AE27, debased silver, reign 211–217, Tripolis, 211–217; 12.80 g; 27 mm. Obverse: ΑΥΤ Κ Μ Α ΑΝΤΩΝΕΙΝΩ CΕΒ, laureate bust right. Reverse: ΔΗΜΑΡΧ ΕΞ ΥΠΑΤΟΥ ΤΟ Δ, eagle standing facing, wings spread, head left, wreath in beak; between the eagle’s legs, pilei of the Dioscuri. Struck on a broad flan with centrally aligned dies; peripheral weakness and light porosity typical of the billon fabric. References: RPC V.3, — (temporary, ID 87459). This issue belongs to the Syrian provincial series struck for eastern circulation under Caracalla, with Tripolis in Phoenicia producing debased-silver coinage used for military and commercial payments. The reverse legend records tribunician power and the emperor’s fourth consulship (attained in AD 213), while the eagle with wreath is the standard imperial symbol on Syrian tetradrachms; the pilei reference the Dioscuri, deities associated with protection of sailors and cities along the Phoenician coast.