ELAGABALUS. 218-222 AD. AR Denarius (1,92 gm, ). Antioch mint. Struck circa 218-219 AD. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind / Slow quadriga right bearing conical stone of Emesa before which is an eagle; four parasols around. RIC IV 195; BMCRE 284; RSC 268. VF. Rare type.
At the age of fourteen, Varius Avitus Bassianus (Elagabalus) inherited the office of high priest of the sun-god Elagabalus at Emesa in Syria. The cult of his sun god was represented by a sacred stone, and in 219 when he moved from Emesa to Rome, he took the stone, probably a meteorite, with him. During his reign, Elagabalus devoted his efforts to the promotion of his cult god, building a lavish temple to house the stone. The reverse of this coin shows the stone on its annual procession through the streets of Rome.