CAPPADOCIA, Caesarea: Septimius Severus (193-211), AR drachm. 3.39g, 18mm.
Obv: Laureate head right.
Rev: Mt. Argaeus surmounted by star; ЄT IS (year 16 = 208) in exergue.
Sydenham 401.
In the year this coin was issued, Severus’s British expedition began, the intention being to conquer Caledonia (Scotland).
The massive stratovolcano Mt. Argaeus/Argaios (now Erciyes) was sacred since at least the time of the Hittites (second millennium BC); it dominates the view south of Caesarea (now Kayseri, in Turkey). Caesarea was one of the few provincial cities having the right to mint silver, and the mountain is a standard feature on its coins. Depictions show a sacred cave or grotto, still found near the summit, as well as a strange object surrounded by dots - possibly a sacred stone. There is much still be learned about the Argaeus cult, with coins being an important source of information.