FORVM`s Classical Numismatics Discussion Board
Numismatic and History Discussion Forums => Greek Coins Discussion Forum => Topic started by: casata137ec on August 09, 2011, 10:22:11 pm
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Evening all. I need help! lol
What I have is a 3/4 facing, turreted (crowned?) female (Tyche?) with a plain border and no legend on the obverse.
The reverse is just as annoying...I do not know what to call it!!! A standard? A banner? A staff? As for a legend, it looks to be :Greek_Omega: :Greek_Lambda: :Greek_Lambda: ...possibly.
Any help would be appreciated greatly as I cannot figure out a search combo!
Chris
12mm 1.69g
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Though I could find no match, could it be from Plakia ( :Greek_Pi: :Greek_Lambda: :Greek_Alpha:)?
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I did a few searches (probably the same ones you did Jaimelai!) and also came up with nothing with a facing obverse, BUT I did find some bronzes with Cybele right and turreted of similar size [DEAD LINK REMOVED BY ADMIN]. I think you may be on the right track. I will try to find the relavant literature and start going line by line.
I am glad I am not the only one to find this one hard to ID. I always feel like an idiot when someone says: "Here is a link to 10 of them..." and it turns out I was simply spelling somthing wrong or similar! lol
Chris
PS Now that I look at it, my facing example has four turrets on her headgear same as the bust right's, I bet it is a facing Cybele! The plot thickens...
C.
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Well, I didn't have much luck searching for a 3/4 facing Kybele with a fish skeleton reverse, but the :Greek_Pi: :Greek_Lambda: :Greek_Alpha: reminded me of a coin I recently posted to my gallery (similar to your link).
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BMC Mysia has exactly 5 coins from Plakia (they spell it Placia)...none of them facing, but one of them with the :Greek_Pi: :Greek_Lambda: :Greek_Alpha: reverse legend... I am still betting that you are correct on Plakia...the search continues!
Chris
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Evening all. I am still stumped on this one and it bugged me enough to move it here after it made it to page 2 twice on the ID forum with only one response (which I am most grateful for).
Let me recap:
What I have here is a 3/4 facing female (who I believe may be Kybele).
The reverse is some sort of banner...or maybe a fish skeleton(!) lol per Jaimelai. The legend was suggested to probably be :Greek_Pi: :Greek_Lambda: :Greek_Alpha: , which would probably make it from Plakia, Mysia.
Now, I have looked everywhere I know to look, and can find no facing turreted females from Plakia (or anywhere for that matter). BMC Mysia only has five total coins from there, but one of them has the reverse legend of :Greek_Pi: :Greek_Lambda: :Greek_Alpha: which lends credense to Jaimelai's suggestion of Plakia. The obverses found on coins minted there also mostly feature Kybele (Cybele) and on all of the examples I can find there are four turrets on her headgear, same as mine, and her hair is described as "rolled", sort of like mine in the front.
So...here I sit. I really figured this one to be easy-ish to ID since there was a legible legend and designs, but I was wrong. Any id help or suggestions for where I might look (reference books on asia minor or Mysia proper) would be fantastic!
Chris
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Perhaps a later issue where the lion has finished its dinner and moved on, though on mine he appears to be feasting on a stag rather than fish:
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I think the ethnic PLA and the head of Kybele makes Plakia, for now, the most probable mint. It might be an unpublished coin, as it is not in the usual references (BMC, SNG Copenhagen, SNG Von Aulock, SNG France, SNG Tübingen). Isegrim does not list the coin either, but it leaves out SNG France so more relevant references might have been overlooked.
Gert
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Thanks Gert. I guess now I search for SNG France (vol 5) or someone who owns it. :)
Anyone have any idea of what the reverse may be?
Chris
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Sorry, forgot to tell you that I already consulted SNG France, which is in my library - that's why I noticed isegrim left the Placia coins in Paris out. They're the usual types, not yours.
Regards
Gert
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Sorry, forgot to tell you that I already consulted SNG France, which is in my library - that's why I noticed isegrim left the Placia coins in Paris out. They're the usual types, not yours.
Regards
Gert
Thanks again Gert, I'll scratch it off of the list then. :)
I don't know about you all, but coins like this drive me nuts! This cannot be the only coin of it's ilk that has survived the passage of time and I am sure, in time, I will run in to a reference to it is some obscure book or catalog. For the time being, however, I guess it will simply be:
Plakia, Mysia(?), 3rd - 1st century BC, AE, 12mm 1.69g, no reference found
O: 3/4 facing turreted female (Kybele?), l
R: ΠΛΑ, Standard(?)
Chris
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Chris,
I do think I have identified the object on the reverse of your coin, which turns out to be upside down. I am quite sure it is a thymiaterion, an incense burner. Compare the image on a coin of Tarentum. Still no hits in isegrim, but maybe it will help you find it somewhere.
Regards
Gert
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You are truly a fabulous person Gert! ;D That almost has to be it. At the very least it is a better interpretation than a fish skeleton. lol
I will re-photograph later today. I am still trying to get the feel for a new camera, maybe I can figure out the white balance eventually...
Chris
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All righty...here is my final attrib (until corrected by finding a match) and a new pic (I think I went too far the other way with the exposure settings, but it better than the crazy blowouts!):
Chris
Mysia, Plakia mint, 3rd - 1st century BC, AE, 12mm 1.69g, not listed in references examined
O: 3/4 facing turreted female (Kybele?), slightly l.
R: ΠΛΑ, thymiaterion (incense burner)
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Chris-
Take a look at the re-post of your reverse in Gert's post. I think I see the remnants of some letters on the very edge that don't show up in your re-photographed coin. They certainly COULD be KIA, which would Give you:
:Greek_Pi: :Greek_Lambda: :Greek_Alpha: - :Greek_Kappa: :Greek_Iota: :Greek_Alpha:
to complete the word Plakia. Take a look at it in-hand. Yes? No?
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Dino, under the proper light angle and if I squint at it I see what you mean. :D They are super faint...barely a raised/darker area in the impacted dirt, actually. I do not know if it is enough to say KIA though...maybe PLA-(KIA?) would be more appropriate. This is the reason I do not especially care for super obscure coins! Neat as they are, they sure are hard to attribute! lol
Chris