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Insects on Ancient Coins

Elaios, Thracian Chersonesos, c. 350 - 281 B.C.

The city of Elaios in Thracian Chersonesos occupied a strategic position on what is now called the Gallipoli peninsula. In the ancient world, it was know for its sanctuary of the Trojan hero Protesilaos. Philostratos, writing of this sanctuary in the early third century A.D., speaks of a temple statue of Protesilaos standing on a base which was shaped like the prow of a boat. Of all the references listed in this coin's attribution, SNG Copenhagen is the only to list any coins of this rare city.GB85370. Bronze AE 13, SNG Cop 898 (also same countermark); BMC Thrace -, Corpus Nummorum Thracorum -, SNG Tub -, SNG BM -, SNG Stancomb -, SNG Pushkin -, VF, well centered, highlighting earthen deposits, some marks, some corrosion, reverse slightly flattened by counter marking, weight 2.392 g, maximum diameter 13.3 mm, die axis 0^o, Elaios mint, c. 350 - 281 B.C.; obverse veiled female head (Demeter?) right (wreathed in grain?); countermark: lion forepart right in an round punch; reverse bee upward, seen from above, EΛAIOY/ΣIΩN flanking in two upward lines first on left, ΠA monogram below; extremely rare; $250.00 (�222.50)

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Metapontion, Lucania, Italy, c. 300 - 250 B.C.

Metapontum or Metapontion was an important city of Magna Graecia, on a plain of extraordinary fertility on the Gulf of Tarentum, between the river Bradanus and the Casuentus (modern Basento). It was distant about 20 km from Heraclea and 40 from Tarentum. The ruins of Metapontum are located in the frazione of Metaponto, in the comune of Bernalda, in the Province of Matera, Basilicata region, Italy.SH70576. Bronze AE 14, Johnston Bronze 62, SNG ANS 574, SNG Cop 1261, SNG Fitzwilliam 534, SNG Forbat 55, SNG Lloyd 420, SNG Evelpidis 232, HN Italy 1698, BMC Italy -, gVF, nice style, well centered, weight 3.426 g, maximum diameter 14.3 mm, die axis 270^o, Metapontion mint, c. 300 - 250 B.C.; obverse head of Demeter right, hair rolled and wreathed with barley, wearing pendant earring; reverse META (upwards on left), head of barley with leaf right, fly (bee?) on right flying right above leaf; $240.00 (�213.60)

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Macedonian Kingdom, Philip III Arrhidaeus and Alexander IV, 323 - 317 B.C.

Struck after Alexander the Great's death during the joint reign of Philip III, Alexander's brother, and the infant king Alexander IV, Alexander's son with the Bactrian princess Roxana. The two were made joint kings by Alexander's generals who only intended to use them as pawns. Philip III was imprisoned upon his return to Macedonia, and in 317 B.C. he was executed under orders from Olympias. Alexander IV and his mother Roxana were executed by the boy's regent, Kassander, in 311 B.C. Magnesia also struck nearly identical drachms during this period in the name of Philip. Traditionally coins naming Alexander have been attributed to Alexander III the Great, but the Alexander named on this coin was more likely the infant son of Roxana, Alexander IV.

GS76141. Silver drachm, Price 1936, SNG Cop 953, SNG Munchen 547, SNG Saroglos 762, Thompson-Bellinger Magnesia 9, SNG Alpha Bank -, M�ller Alexander -, VF, toned, centered, nice style, die wear, reverse die cracks, some light marks, weight 4.187 g, maximum diameter 18.2 mm, die axis 45^o, Magnesia ad Maeandrum (near Tekin, Turkey) mint, struck under Menander or Kleito, c. 323 - 319 B.C.; obverse head of Herakles right, clad in Nemean Lion scalp headdress tied at neck; reverse AΛEΞAN∆POY, Zeus A�tophoros seated left on throne without back, nude to waist, himation around waist and legs, feet on footstool, right leg drawn back, eagle in extended right hand, long scepter vertical behind in left hand, bee with head right on left, spear head pointed upward outer right; $180.00 (�160.20)

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Erythrai, Ionia, c. 133 - 30 B.C.

In 334 B.C. Alexander the Great made Erithrae a free city. According to Pliny (HN 5.116) and Pausanias (2.1.5), Alexander planned to cut a canal through the peninsula of Erythrae to connect Teos bay with the gulf of Smyrna. When Alexander returned to Memphis in April 331 B.C., envoys from Greece were waiting for him, saying that the oracles at Didyma and Erythrae, which had been silent for a long time, had suddenly spoken and confirmed that Alexander was the son of Zeus. Alexander was already thinking that he was of a more than human nature when he entered Greece, after all, the people of Didyma and Erythrae could not have known that Alexander was recognized as the son of Ra and wanted to be called "son of Zeus." Erythrae was later associated with Pergamum and with Rome, and after the death of Attalos III in 133 BC, when the Pergamene kingdom was bequeathed to the Romans, it flourished as a "civitas libera" attached to the Roman province of Asia.

GB75487. Bronze trichalkon, BMC Ionia p. 140, 212; SNG Cop 721; SNG Tub 2873; SNGvA -; SNG Munchen -, VF, green patina, weight 2.524 g, maximum diameter 15.9 mm, die axis 90^o, Ionia, Erythrai (north of Ildiri, Turkey) mint, magistrate Herakleos, c. 133 - 30 B.C.; obverse head of Herakles right, clad in Nemean Lion scalp headdress tied at neck; reverse Bow-in-bow case above, HPAKΛEOΣ / EΠIKOYPOY (magistrate's name and patronymic) in two lines across center, bee left lower left, club over EPY lower right; scarce; $60.00 (�53.40)

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"Kainon," Sicily, c. 367 - 340 B.C.

This issue, assigned to Alaisa in many references, was perhaps produced by Thracian mercenaries operating in Sicily in the 4th century B.C.GI75648. Bronze tetras, Calciati I, p. 252, 10; SNG Cop 134 (Alaesa); SNG Munchen 218 (Alaisa); SNG ANS 1178 (Alaesa); BMC Sicily p. 29, 8 (Alaesa); HGC 2 509, F, scrapes, weight 9.108 g, maximum diameter 21.9 mm, die axis 45^o, uncertain mint, c. 367 - 340 B.C.; obverse griffin springing left, wings open, grasshopper left below; reverse horse prancing left, loose reigns flying behind, KAINON in exergue, star with eight rays around a central pellet above; $50.00 (�44.50)

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Catalog current as of Monday, August 21, 2017.
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