Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem). Lucius Verus. Æ Medallion 32 mm (34.01 g), AD 161-169. IMP CAES L AVREL VERVS AVG, laureate and cuirassed bust of Lucius Verus right.
Reverse: COL AELI CAPE (
sic), she-wolf standing right on low base, head left, suckling the twins Romulus and Remus. Cf. Kadman 72 (obv. legend and bust); Meshorer 61 corr. (bust); cf. Rosenberger 40 (obv. legend and bust); Sofaer -; RPC IV.3 3611 (temporary). Very rare - RPC documents just three specimens although there are undoubtedly a few more. Excellent hard olive-green patina. One of the most impressive coins we have handled from Aelia Capitolina! Certainly superior to the plate coin in Meshorer.
Choice Very Fine. Estimated Value $5,000 - UP
Aelia Capitolina was the Latin name given to the Roman colony that Hadrian maliciously decided to found on the ruins of Jerusalem during his tour of the Roman Near East in AD 129/30. The erection of a colony with a temple dedicated to Jupiter Capitolinus on the very site of the Temple destroyed by Titus in AD 70 was an unbearable affront to the local Jewish population and resulted in the outbreak of the bloody Bar-Kokhba War (AD 132-135). Nevertheless, following the repression of this rebellion, Aelia Capitolina became the administrative capital of the new province of Syria Palaestina that was created to replace the former province of Judaea. It also served as the primary base for soldiers of Legio X Fretensis—the same legion that had been involved in the conquest of Jerusalem under Titus. The total-Roman makeover of Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina is made explicit in the reverse type of this impressive coin, which features the infant Romulus and Remus suckled by the she-wolf. It celebrates the mythological founders of the city on the Tiber that would one day destroy the city of David.
This coin may have been struck in the context of Lucius Verus' war against the Parthian Empire in AD 161-166. During much of the conflict, Verus was physically present in the Roman Near East, but primarily in the environs of Antioch in Syria. Nevertheless, the war, which was fought by the generals rather than the luxury-loving Verus, involved the movement of troops from various regions and the production of civic bronze coinages to keep them supplied.
Ancient Coins
