Classical Numismatics Discussion
  Welcome Guest. Please login or register. 10% Off Store-Wide Sale Until 2 April!!! Explore Our Website And Find Joy In The History, Numismatics, Art, Mythology, And Geography Of Coins!!! Expert Authentication - Accurate Descriptions - Reasonable Prices - Coins From Under $10 To Museum Quality Rarities Welcome Guest. Please login or register. 10% Off Store-Wide Sale Until 2 April!!! Explore Our Website And Find Joy In The History, Numismatics, Art, Mythology, And Geography Of Coins!!! Support Our Efforts To Serve The Classical Numismatics Community - Shop At Forum Ancient Coins

New & Reduced


Author Topic: Potamikon  (Read 18095 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Molinari

  • Tribunus Plebis Perpetuus
  • Procurator Monetae
  • Caesar
  • *****
  • Posts: 4550
  • My defeat, if understood, should be my glory
Potamikon
« on: June 11, 2015, 07:34:50 am »
As we near the publication of the manuscript, I decided I would start a thread to keep everyone posted on any developments, as I know you've all been dying in anticipation of the book's release.

Today I uploaded the title page and table of contents to Academia:

https://www.academia.edu/12178427/Nicholas_Molinari_and_Nicola_Sisci_POTAMIKON_I_Bronze_Coinage_of_the_Man-Faced_Bull._A_Comprehensive_Catalog_of_All_Known_Varieties_with_Essays_on_Origin_and_Identity_in_preparation_

As you can see, our solution to the identity of the man-faced bull on Greek coinage is a compatibilistic theory of locative epithets, in which Greek man-faced bulls are almost always a local embodiment of Achelous. Here we argue that it is not, e.g., Achelous or Sebethos on the coinage of Neapolis, but Achelous Sebethos.  This argument applies to other man-faced bulls: Achelous Chydas (Alontion); Achelous Gelas, Achelous Palagkaios (Agyrion), Achelous Traeis (Brettii), etc.

Thus far, the reviews have been overwhelmingly favorable and enthusiastic.  We now await Keith Rutter's opinion (he is our formal peer reviewer for Chapter 2), and Rabun Taylor is now in possession of the first two sections of Chapter 1 (he is our formal reviewer for Chapter 1).  Needless to say, we are quite anxious!

I will not present the main tenets of the theory at this time, and I ask that we do not start a conversation about the legitimacy of the theory just yet, as I won't have time to properly respond.  But I figured I would give folks a taste of what is to come: Ultimately, it boils down to Achelous as the god of all fresh water, and possibly the original god of all water, and the extensive use of locative epithets in the Greek world.

I will continue to post to this thread as I get updates from the publisher and I'll include some of the book's plates for you all to see.

Thanks to all those who have continuously expressed interest!

Offline Molinari

  • Tribunus Plebis Perpetuus
  • Procurator Monetae
  • Caesar
  • *****
  • Posts: 4550
  • My defeat, if understood, should be my glory
Re: Potamikon
« Reply #1 on: June 11, 2015, 07:52:43 am »
This plate depicts a balsamario of Achelous from the 6th century BC, stored at the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto.  Reproduced at about 2x2, it looks great. Such balsamari were found in graves throughout the entire Greek cultural world.

Offline Molinari

  • Tribunus Plebis Perpetuus
  • Procurator Monetae
  • Caesar
  • *****
  • Posts: 4550
  • My defeat, if understood, should be my glory
Re: Potamikon
« Reply #2 on: June 19, 2015, 09:52:04 am »
Here attached is a another plate from the book (reproduced in the text at roughly 2x2), this one depicting an Etruscan gold necklace of Achelous (notice the broken horn, which I tried to capture in the drawing but which is difficult to recognize in photographs, too).

In other news, the peer-reviewer for Chapter 1 has accepted our argument that mercenaries and seer-healers were the leading exponents of man-faced bull iconography from the Near East into the Greek world during the orientalizing period.  He gave us lots more homework to do, of course, but the work will be markedly better once we make his suggested changes.  

Hope you like my drawing  :)

Offline Carausius

  • Procurator Caesaris
  • Caesar
  • ****
  • Posts: 1432
    • My Forum Gallery:
Re: Potamikon
« Reply #3 on: June 19, 2015, 12:37:20 pm »
 +++  Excellent drawings, Nick. Congratulations to you and Nico on reaching this stage of development.

Offline Molinari

  • Tribunus Plebis Perpetuus
  • Procurator Monetae
  • Caesar
  • *****
  • Posts: 4550
  • My defeat, if understood, should be my glory
Re: Potamikon
« Reply #4 on: June 19, 2015, 01:57:46 pm »
Quote from: Carausius on June 19, 2015, 12:37:20 pm
+++  Excellent drawings, Nick. Congratulations to you and Nico on reaching this stage of development.

Thanks, Michael!  We are bursting at the seams with excitement and anxiety so posting to this thread is a nice little outlet.  I'm glad you like my drawing.  I'm keeping this last one but Nico has already requested the balsamario drawing.  Incidentally, when we first started communicating about the project three years ago, he sent me a post card with this exact artifact depicted, and I used that as the basis for the drawing!

Offline Molinari

  • Tribunus Plebis Perpetuus
  • Procurator Monetae
  • Caesar
  • *****
  • Posts: 4550
  • My defeat, if understood, should be my glory
Re: Potamikon
« Reply #5 on: April 12, 2016, 11:55:24 am »
The typescript will probably be submitted this week.

Here is the cover we chose.  The background is a segment of the Black Sea, courtesy of NASA.  It was on its shores that the man-faced bull emerged some 7,000 years ago.

Offline Carausius

  • Procurator Caesaris
  • Caesar
  • ****
  • Posts: 1432
    • My Forum Gallery:
Re: Potamikon
« Reply #6 on: April 12, 2016, 12:12:01 pm »
It looks fabulous!  Congratulations on reaching this point.

Offline Sam

  • Procurator Caesaris
  • Caesar
  • ****
  • Posts: 1934
  • Ego vici mundum
Re: Potamikon
« Reply #7 on: April 12, 2016, 01:15:30 pm »
Amazing book cover.
I bet on what in between covers is also amazing , helpful , and another candle on the road will light forever.
From the bottom of my heart Congratulations to both of you.
Sam
Sam Mansourati

Offline Arados

  • Comitia Curiata
  • Procurator Monetae
  • Caesar
  • *****
  • Posts: 1717
Re: Potamikon
« Reply #8 on: April 12, 2016, 02:37:04 pm »
Congratulations to both you and Nico, i look forward to getting my hands on a copy.

Offline Molinari

  • Tribunus Plebis Perpetuus
  • Procurator Monetae
  • Caesar
  • *****
  • Posts: 4550
  • My defeat, if understood, should be my glory
Re: Potamikon
« Reply #9 on: April 12, 2016, 04:24:07 pm »
Thanks, guys.  I appreciate the comments.  Hopefully formatting it to house style is quick and painless and I'll have copies to distribute soon.

Offline Meepzorp

  • Procurator Caesaris
  • Caesar
  • ****
  • Posts: 5129
    • Meepzorp's Ancient Coins
Re: Potamikon
« Reply #10 on: April 13, 2016, 09:04:12 am »
Hi Nick,

Congratulations!!!

I can't wait to get my copy. :)

Meepzorp

Offline Molinari

  • Tribunus Plebis Perpetuus
  • Procurator Monetae
  • Caesar
  • *****
  • Posts: 4550
  • My defeat, if understood, should be my glory
Re: Potamikon
« Reply #11 on: April 13, 2016, 11:54:51 am »
Thanks, Meep.  I'm excited for you to read it.  I can't wait to sit down and add the reference numbers to my own collection, which should be fun.

Offline Molinari

  • Tribunus Plebis Perpetuus
  • Procurator Monetae
  • Caesar
  • *****
  • Posts: 4550
  • My defeat, if understood, should be my glory
Re: Potamikon
« Reply #12 on: June 01, 2016, 11:57:36 am »
Unfortunately, I was outbid on the attached coin.  I didn't want it so much for its rarity (although it is only the 3rd known), but because it is the first time our work has been cited by a major firm!

Congrats to the infamous "Clio".  I certainly hope he buys the book!




Offline Carausius

  • Procurator Caesaris
  • Caesar
  • ****
  • Posts: 1432
    • My Forum Gallery:
Re: Potamikon
« Reply #13 on: June 01, 2016, 12:24:22 pm »
That'll be the first of many citations, I'm sure. How did they get the book before us?  ???

Offline Molinari

  • Tribunus Plebis Perpetuus
  • Procurator Monetae
  • Caesar
  • *****
  • Posts: 4550
  • My defeat, if understood, should be my glory
Re: Potamikon
« Reply #14 on: June 01, 2016, 12:49:54 pm »
This variety was previously unpublished and an associate put us in contact when he was asked about the coin (so they don't have the actual book). The last few examples were described as "uncertain Sicilian" in sale catalogs but I'm sure they are from Thyrreion.  In fact, many Thyrreion coins are found in Sicily which was probably the original source of confusion, since the iconography would naturally point to Akarnania. We  date them to c. 250 BC, coinciding with other anepigraphic bronzes from the mint.  In my opinion, these lack an ethnic and the federal monogram because the Federation was formally dissolved in the mid 3rd century.

Incidentally, I should receive the proofs this month!

Offline Molinari

  • Tribunus Plebis Perpetuus
  • Procurator Monetae
  • Caesar
  • *****
  • Posts: 4550
  • My defeat, if understood, should be my glory
Re: Potamikon
« Reply #15 on: June 18, 2016, 08:12:44 pm »
The proofs are here and I just finished a three day marathon session of indexing  :o

All that's left is to produce a document of the fonts that didn't transfer properly to Indesign and a few other glitches  I caught, then it is off to the printer  +++

I just received my four year anniversary notification from Wordpress so it has been exactly 4 years since the work began.  Thank god I had a co-author, there's no way I could have done this alone.

Offline Carausius

  • Procurator Caesaris
  • Caesar
  • ****
  • Posts: 1432
    • My Forum Gallery:
Re: Potamikon
« Reply #16 on: June 18, 2016, 09:19:20 pm »
So, how much longer before I can buy a copy?


Offline Molinari

  • Tribunus Plebis Perpetuus
  • Procurator Monetae
  • Caesar
  • *****
  • Posts: 4550
  • My defeat, if understood, should be my glory
Re: Potamikon
« Reply #17 on: June 18, 2016, 09:27:51 pm »
Thanks for asking. I'm thinking a couple months tops.  They shouldn't be too expensive (under $100 for about 370 pages, hard cover,  print case, sewn binding). We're having 100 hard cover copies printed for collectors (I'll have about 25 for sale),  the regular library soft back are much cheaper but I'll only have the 10 free that they send me (those will mostly be sent to libraries). I'll surely save one of the collector ones for you! 

Offline Meepzorp

  • Procurator Caesaris
  • Caesar
  • ****
  • Posts: 5129
    • Meepzorp's Ancient Coins
Re: Potamikon
« Reply #18 on: June 19, 2016, 05:50:06 am »
Hi Nick,

I am pleasantly surprised at the cost. Most hard cover ancient numismatic reference books of that size typically cost in the $200 to $300 range. That's what I was expecting yours to cost. As you may know, I have a self-imposed monthly budget for coins and books. The lower than expected cost for your book will free up some more money for me to spend on coins. :)

Meepzorp

Offline Molinari

  • Tribunus Plebis Perpetuus
  • Procurator Monetae
  • Caesar
  • *****
  • Posts: 4550
  • My defeat, if understood, should be my glory
Re: Potamikon
« Reply #19 on: June 19, 2016, 11:07:19 am »
The goal is just to cover costs, so we won't see any monetary profit from these. 

Offline Molinari

  • Tribunus Plebis Perpetuus
  • Procurator Monetae
  • Caesar
  • *****
  • Posts: 4550
  • My defeat, if understood, should be my glory
Re: Potamikon
« Reply #20 on: July 01, 2016, 04:50:19 pm »
It is nearly here:

http://www.archaeopress.com/ArchaeopressShop/Public/displayProductDetail.asp?id={630D98AF-05CE-4C17-B530-6CD7DF4DA048}

If you live in the UK and do not care about the soft cover, order directly from Archaeopress.  Contact me first for a discount coupon.  There will also be an e-book available.  Shipping to Italy and the U.S. should be reasonable for the hard cover editions but for the other countries it is about $65 to ship a three pound book.  We'll make it as affordable as possible, selling the hard covers at cost plus shipping with a limit of one per customer.

If anyone knows a cheap way to ship these I'm all ears, but USPS, DHL and FedEx are all around the same.

Offline Molinari

  • Tribunus Plebis Perpetuus
  • Procurator Monetae
  • Caesar
  • *****
  • Posts: 4550
  • My defeat, if understood, should be my glory
Re: Potamikon
« Reply #21 on: July 07, 2016, 10:21:18 am »

Offline Molinari

  • Tribunus Plebis Perpetuus
  • Procurator Monetae
  • Caesar
  • *****
  • Posts: 4550
  • My defeat, if understood, should be my glory
Re: Potamikon
« Reply #22 on: July 28, 2016, 01:40:40 pm »
The books shipped from the publisher today!

Apparently, Archaeopress will have 20 hardcover copies available for sale, in addition to the soft back and eBooks.  If you live in the UK, you might prefer to buy from them to save on shipping, but I do not know what the retail price will be yet.

Nick

Offline Andrew McCabe

  • Tribunus Plebis Perpetuus
  • Procurator Monetae
  • Caesar
  • *****
  • Posts: 4651
    • My website on Roman Republican Coins and Books, with 2000 coins arranged per Crawford
Re: Potamikon
« Reply #23 on: July 28, 2016, 07:26:15 pm »
The books shipped from the publisher today!

Apparently, Archaeopress will have 20 hardcover copies available for sale, in addition to the soft back and eBooks.  If you live in the UK, you might prefer to buy from them to save on shipping, but I do not know what the retail price will be yet.

Nick

Paperback £45. Ebook £19. No mention of a hardback. I'd like to buy a hardback. Any idea how I do so?

Offline Molinari

  • Tribunus Plebis Perpetuus
  • Procurator Monetae
  • Caesar
  • *****
  • Posts: 4550
  • My defeat, if understood, should be my glory
Re: Potamikon
« Reply #24 on: July 28, 2016, 08:26:02 pm »
Yes.  Email dan@archaeopress.com but specify that you want one of the twenty hardbacks David has and he'll give you a revised price.  I'm calculating about $100 US including shipping.  So if it is around that price I would buy from them because it will be cheaper than me or Nico shipping one.

You might receive yours before me!  I hope you like it!


 

All coins are guaranteed for eternity