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Home ▸ Catalog ▸ |Themes & Provenance| ▸ |Gods, Non-Olympian| ▸ |Dioscuri||View Options:  |  |  | 

Dioscuri

The Disocuri were Castor and Pollux (or Polydeuces), the twin sons of Leda and brothers of Helen of Troy. The twins shared the same mother but had different fathers. Pollux, the son of Zeus, was immortal but Castor was mortal. When Castor died, Pollux asked to let him share his own immortality with his twin to keep them together. They were transformed into the Gemini constellation and the two spend alternate days on Olympus (as gods) and in Hades (as deceased mortals). The pair were regarded as the patrons of sailors, to whom they appeared as St. Elmo's fire.

Seleucid Kingdom, Seleucus II Callinicus, 246 - 226 B.C.

|Seleucid| |Kingdom|, |Seleucid| |Kingdom,| |Seleucus| |II| |Callinicus,| |246| |-| |226| |B.C.||AE| |16|
The Seleukid Empire was under attack by Egypt when Kallinikos assumed the throne. He lost much of Thrace and coastal Anatolia to Ptolemy III. While he was fighting, his mother made his younger brother Antiochos Hierax joint ruler. Kallinikos agreed to partition the empire; however, Hierax wanted it all and Hierax and his Galatian mercenaries defeated him. Kallinikos managed to retain the lands east of the Tauros. The War of the Brothers weakened the empire, permitting regions such as Parthia to secede. Anatolia was soon lost. Kallinikos died after a fall from his horse.

Richard Ashton is reported in Seleucid Coins: A Comprehensive Catalog, Part 1 (2002) of having examined two specimens of this very rare coin type in the Afyon Museum in Turkey, but with weights of 3.06 and 4.51 grams, thus implying a larger denomination. The handsome example posted by Dane Kurth on the discussion boards of FORVM Ancient Coins in July 2010, with a diameter of 19mm, gives even more credence to the existence of "Denomination C." Although less clear cut, our coin might also fit more comfortably in the larger bronze category, since the "Denomination D" metrics given for SC 760 are "15 mm., 2.62-2.80 gm."
GY113943. Bronze AE 16, Houghton-Lorber I 760; Newell WSM 827 & pl. VIII, 11; SNG Spaer -; HGC 9 -, F, smooth black patina, contrasting sandy deposits, obverse off-centered, weight 3.872 g, maximum diameter 16.1 mm, die axis 0o, Mesopotamia, Nisibis (Nusaybin, Turkey) mint, c. 246 - 226 B.C.; obverse Draped, jugate busts of the Dioscuri right, wearing laureate pilei, both surmounted by a star; reverse BAΣIΛEΩΣ (above) ΣΕΛΕYKOY (below; obscured), Dioscuri on horseback, charging right with couched spears, AY monogram to right, beneath farthest horse; very rare; $160.00 (€150.40)
 


Tiberius, 19 August 14 - 16 March 37 A.D., Magydus, Pamphylia

|Other| |Pamphylia|, |Tiberius,| |19| |August| |14| |-| |16| |March| |37| |A.D.,| |Magydus,| |Pamphylia||AE| |18|
Magydus was a small town on the coast between Attaleia and Perga, occasionally mentioned by ancient geographers, and on numerous coins of the imperial era. Its site was probably at modern Lara in the Ottoman vilayet of Konia, where there are ruins of a small man-made harbor. RPC Online notes, Ahmet Tolga Tek wrote, the countermark was used in Pamphylia on coins of Phaselis, Perge and Side.
RP114037. Bronze AE 18, RPC I 3367B, c/m: Howgego 432, aVF, green patina, light earthen deposits, marks, weight 4.206 g, maximum diameter 17.6 mm, die axis 0o, Magydus (Lara, Turkey) mint, obverse TIBEPIOC KAICAP, laureate head right; countermark: eight pointed star in a round punch; reverse MAΓYDEWN - H (year 8?), Jugate helmeted busts (Dioscuri?) right; zero sales of this type recorded on Coin Archives in the last two decades; extremely rare; $150.00 (€141.00)
 


Seleukid Kingdom, Antiochus II Theos, 261 - 246 B.C.

|Seleucid| |Kingdom|, |Seleukid| |Kingdom,| |Antiochus| |II| |Theos,| |261| |-| |246| |B.C.||AE| |18|NEW
Antiochus II Theos was the son of Antiochus I and Princess Stratonice, the daughter of Demetrius Poliorcetes. He inherited a state of war with Egypt and while he was thus occupied, his satraps in Parthia and Bactria declared independence. To make peace with Egypt and to seal the treaty, Antiochus repudiated his wife Laodice I, exiled her to Ephesus, and married Ptolemy II's daughter Berenice. Antiochus later left Berenice and their infant son Antiochus, to live again with Laodice. Laodice poisoned him, had Berenice and her infant son murdered, and proclaimed her son Seleucus II as king.
GB113957. Bronze AE 18, Houghton-Lorber I 566.1 corr. (rev. leg. arr.), Newell WSM 1314α, HGC 9 264 (R2) var. (rev. monogram r.), BMC Seleucid -, aVF, dark green patina, with light earthen deposits, obv. slightly off-center, tiny edge crack, weight 3.786 g, maximum diameter 17.6 mm, die axis 0o, Cilicia, Tarsos (Tarsus, Mersin, Turkey) mint, 261 - 246 B.C.; obverse the Dioscuri galloping on horseback right, both wearing a pilos surmounted by a star (obscured), spears raised vertically in right hands; reverse Athena Promachos standing right, brandishing javelin in right hand, shield in left hand, BAΣIΛΕΩΣ upward on left, ANTIOXOY upward on right, anchor with flukes left under Athena in exergue; very rare; $80.00 (€75.20) ON RESERVE


Caligula, 16 March 37 - 24 January 41 A.D., Philadelphia, Lydia

|Philadelphia|, |Caligula,| |16| |March| |37| |-| |24| |January| |41| |A.D.,| |Philadelphia,| |Lydia||AE| |17|
Older references identify imperial family members on the reverse but RPC identifies them as Dioscuri. RPC notes, "That the jugate busts probably do not represent Germanicus and Agrippina I, Germanicus and Agrippina as Apollo and Artemis, or Apollo and Artemis (see BMC; Imhoof-Blumer, LS, pp. 116-117; Trillmich, W. Familienpropaganda der Kaiser Caligula und Claudius. Agrippina Maior und Antonia Augusta auf Münzen, pp. 130-131) since the further figure can sometimes be seen to be laureate (e.g. 2023/1 = BMC 53). It must therefore be male, and the two interpreted as the Dioscuri, who had previously appeared on the coinage of Philadelphia." The Dioscuri are also found on the imperial coinage of Caligula. In addition, since the magistrate named on the reverse is a priest, religious symbolism would be appropriate.

The facial features of the reverse busts do, however, resemble members of the family of Caligula. Perhaps the they are Nero and Drusus Caesars as the brothers Castor and Pollux.
RP16599. Bronze AE 17, RPC I 3018 (3 spec.), SGICV 415, VF, weight 4.344 g, maximum diameter 16.5 mm, die axis 0o, Lydia, Philadelphia (Alasehir, Turkey) mint, 16 Mar 37 - 24 Jan 41 A.D.; obverse ΓAIOΣ KAIΣAP, bare head right, star behind; reverse ΦIΛAΔEΛΦEΩN MEΛANΘOΣ IEPEYΣ ΓEPMANIKOY, laureate and jugate busts of the Dioscuri right; dark patina; very scarce; SOLD







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