Fine Coins Showcase
Antiquities Showcase
Show Empty Categories
Shop Search
Shopping Cart
My FORVM
Contact Us
About Forum
Shopping at Forum
Our Guarantee
Payment Options
Shipping Options & Fees
Privacy & Security
Forum Staff
Selling Your Coins
Identifying Your Coin
FAQs
zoom.asp
Home ▸ Catalog ▸ |Themes & Provenance| ▸ |Gods, Olympians| ▸ |Athena or Minerva||View Options:   | | | Athena was the virgin goddess of wisdom, crafts, and battle strategy. Her symbols are the olive tree and the owl. She is the daughter of Zeus, according to some traditions by Metis. |
In "An intriguing new coin from Mallus, Cilicia" (2008), Jyrki Muona, based on a high grade specimen with an excellent portrait, identified the head on this type as Otho. He noted the portrait is influenced by the style of the Antioch mint. Indeed the portrait on that specimen looks very much like the portraits of Otho from Antioch. RPC I attributes the type to Nero but notes, "The portrait does not look much like Nero, but the date seems clear. Could it possibly be a coin of Galba?" We are following RPC I, listing it as Nero, but noting the other possibilities.RP112383. Bronze AE 25, RPC Online I 4024 (3 spec.), SNG Levante 1269, aVF, dark green patina with traces of red, cleaning scratches, minor flan flaws on rev. edge, weight 9.678 g, maximum diameter 25.4 mm, die axis 0o, Mallus (near Karatas, Turkey) mint, 67 - 68 A.D.; obverse ...CEBACTOC..., laureate head right; reverse MAΛΛΩTΩN, Athena Magarsis standing facing, spear vertical in right hand, star above each arm, EΛP (year 135) outer left; ex CNG e-auction 538 (10 May 2023), lot 413; very rare; $580.00 (€545.20)
Thessaly, Greece, Thessalian League, Late 2nd - Mid 1st Century B.C.
The Thessalian League was a loose confederacy of city-states and tribes in the Thessalian valley in N. Greece. Philip II of Macedon took control of Thessaly in 344 B.C and it remained under Macedonia until the Roman victory in 197 B.C. The league was reestablished in 196 B.C. but had little autonomy after Thessaly became part of the province of Macedonia in 146 B.C.GS114603. Silver stater, BCD Thessaly II 843; HGC 4 210, VF, centered, toned, small edge splits/cracks, die wear, weight 5.984 g, maximum diameter 22.7 mm, die axis 0o, Larissa(?) mint, mid - late 1st century B.C.; obverse head of Zeus right, bearded, wearing oak wreath, ITAΛOY (Italos [magistrate]); reverse Athena Itonia striding right, hurling spear with right hand, shield on left arm; ΘEΣΣA/ΛΩN in two lines, starting upward on left, ending downward on right; N inner right below shield, ΔIO-KΛHΣ (Diokles [magistrate]) divided across upper field, ITAΛOΣ (Italos [magistrate]) in exergue; ex Sphinx Coins, ex BCD Collection (with his tag noting S.+Co., ex Thessaly, Nov. 97, SFr. 150.-); $350.00 (€329.00)
Seleukid Kingdom, Antiochus VII Euergetes Sidetes, 138 - 129 B.C.
After his brother Demetrius was captured by the Parthians, Antiochus VII was made king. He married Demetrius' wife Cleopatra Thea. He defeated the usurper Tryphon at Dora and laid siege to Jerusalem in 134. According to Josephus, the Hasmonean king John Hyrcanus opened King David's sepulcher and removed three thousand talents, which he then paid Antiochus to spare the city. Sidetes then attacked the Parthians, supported by a body of Jews under Hyrcanus, and briefly took back Mesopotamia, Babylonia and Media before being ambushed and killed by Phraates II. His brother Demetrius II had by then been released, but the Seleucid realm was now restricted to Syria. Antiochus VII was the last Seleucid king of any stature.GY114602. Silver tetradrachm, Houghton-Lorber II 2061(1)s, Newell SMA 280, SNG Spaer 1852, HGC 9 1067d, VF, attractive style, bumps and scratches, uneven tone, rev. a little off center, weight 16.618 g, maximum diameter 31.2 mm, die axis 0o, Antioch (Antakya, Turkey) mint, 138 - 129 B.C.; obverse diademed head right, fillet border; reverse Athena standing slightly left, head left, right hand extended through inscription to border holding Nike, grounded shield in left hand, spear leaning on left arm, BAΣIΛEΩΣ / ANTIOXOY in two downward lines on right, EYEPΓETOY downward on left, ligate ΔI over Λ outer left, laurel wreath border; ex Aegean Numismatics (Mentor, OH); $300.00 (€282.00)
Thessalian League, Greece, Mid - Late 1st Century B.C.
The Thessalian League was a loose confederacy of city-states and tribes in the Thessalian valley in N. Greece. Philip II of Macedon took control of Thessaly in 344 B.C and it remained under Macedonia until the Roman victory in 197 B.C. The league was reestablished in 196 B.C. but had little autonomy after Thessaly became part of the province of Macedonia in 146 B.C.GS114604. Silver stater, BCD Thessaly II 846; SNG Cop 291; SNG Alpha Bank 288; De Luynes 1873; BMC Thessaly p. 2, 21, VF, toned, tight flan (as typical for the type), flow lines, struck with worn dies, weight 6.055 g, maximum diameter 22.3 mm, die axis 0o, Larissa(?) mint, mid - late 1st century B.C.; obverse head of Zeus right, wreathed in oak; reverse ΘEΣΣA/ΛΩN, Athena Itonia striding right, hurling spear with right hand, shield on left arm; ΘEΣΣA/ΛΩN in two lines, starting upward on left, ending downward on right; ΠOΛV-ΞENOY (Polyxenos [magistrate]) divided across upper field, EVKOΛOΣ (Eukolos [magistrate]) below; ex Sphinx Coins, ex BCD Collection (with his tag noting, ex Spring 97 hd. 4 kms SE of ancient Phalanna, cost SFr. 125.-); $220.00 (€206.80)
Persian Empire, Gaza, Philistia, c. 353 - 331 B.C., Imitative of Athens Pi-Style
The Aramaic letter Mem is the symbol of Marnas, deity of Gaza. This type and other similar silver types struck under Persian rule are often described as drachms but we follow Hendin who refers to the local coinage of Philistia, Samaria and Yehud with the names that might have been used at the time they circulated. This type can be dated to about a 20 year period. It imitates the "Pi-Style" tetradrachms first struck at Athens in 353 B.C. and would not have been struck after Alexander the Great's conquest of Gaza in 331 B.C.GS114664. Silver quarter shekel, cf. Gitler & Tal V.25D, Hendin 6010 (RR), HGC 10 542 (R2), F, rough, toned, oval flan, weight 3.590 g, maximum diameter 15.8 mm, die axis 270o, Gaza mint, c. 353 - 331 B.C.; obverse helmeted head of Athena right, with profile eye, olive leaves and pi-style floral ornament on crested helmet, large round earring, mem on cheek; reverse owl standing right, head facing, olive spray and crescent upper left, AΘE downward on right, all within incuse square; ex CNG mail bid auction 84 (5 May 2010), lot 737 (part of); ex Dr. Patrick H.C. Tan Collection; very rare; $220.00 (€206.80)
CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE FROM THIS CATEGORY - FORVM's PRIOR SALES
REFERENCES|
Page created in 1.187 seconds.
