Phrygia, Palaeobeudus
Hadrian, 117-138 CE
AE 4.92g 21.04mm
Obv: AV ΚΑΙ ΤΡΑ ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟС. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
Rev: ΠΑΛΑΙΟΒЄVΔΗΝΩΝ. Mên standing left, holding pine cone and spear.
RPC III 2621; BMC 2
Palaeobeudos means “old Beudos”. I have no idea whether “new Beudus” is still around or what happened to it, but it appears there were two Beuduses. It was a Hellenistic city, about which we know as much as the coins tell us. It was located at modern day Yarışlı, Turkey.
Mên, who is depicted on the reverse, was a lunar Anatolian deity widely worshipped in Phrygia. The pine cone in his hand symbolized fertility and renewal, while the spear was a sign of celestial power, cosmic order, and divine enforcement. Clearly he was no cheesehead.