Wanted:
Svoronos 1387 - A mystery 'ghost' coin
type - And a challenge to all who are interested in
Ptolemaic bronze coins...
The photo here is
Svoronos 1238, a little 2nd C. BC
Ptolemaic bronze coin
type with
Isis on the
obverse and the 'head-reverted'
eagle on the
reverse (with a fileted
cornucopiae at the eagle's right shoulder). It's a pretty common
type, about 18mm
diameter and about 4.25 grams
weight.
Svoronos also catalogued a nearly identical
type (Sv 1387) with a PI-A
monogram to the left of the
eagle (letter 'A' inscribed inside/under a letter 'PI', as seen on very common Sv 1384 and some others). If anyone can verify that there actually is such a coin
type it will be gratefully acknowledged in an upcoming publication. No verifiable specimens have been found and
Svoronos, alas, did not illustrate any. Several that
Svoronos listed have been checked and found to *not* have the
monogram. So far Sv 1387 is a 'ghost' - so let us know if you can verify that one even really exists. We haven't been able to check the two specimens that
Svoronos listed as being in
Munich. If you have access to the Staatsmuseum Munchen
collection maybe you can check if there really are two specimens of Sv 1387 there.
Svoronos also listed one (the appendix
part of
Svoronos) in
Athens, 'Roostovic 142'. If someone following this topic has access there or can visit the
Athens museum maybe that coin can be seen. Two more are listed in Svoronos's appendix as 'without monogram' - a telling detail.
Svoronos was even confused enough to include specimens that don't match
his own description of the
type.
The idea here is to 'crowd-source' the
search for a mysterious coin
type that has fooled scholars for a century and might not even really exist... Thanks for your
help. What you're looking for is a coin like the one seen here, but with a little PI-A
monogram in the
field to the eagle's left.
So.... Here's the challenge ... Public congratulations and acknowlegment in an upcoming paper to anyone who can unequivocally demonstrate and verify that Sv 1387 is actually a real coin
type.
Maybe this is the first 'crowd-sourced'
search for a mystery coin
type that may be a 'ghost' (or a snark
hunt, if you prefer
Lewis Carroll
.
Thanks!
PtolemAE
