| Click on the image to see more about the coin. |
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Silver hemidrachm from Apollonia Pontika,
450-400 BCE.
15mm x 13mm,
2.89 grammes. |
This interesting coin is of a type which has seen a flood of fakes in recent years. In fact it's
unwise to buy one unless you are an expert or are buying from a trusted expert source. BUT .. a coin in this
condition is most unlikely to be a fake. The hole reduces the price ($15.50 for a 2,400-year-old silver
artifact!) and the wear and grime seem to be authentic.
The gorgon mask on the reverse was regarded as lucky or protective, scaring away evil and enemies,
so this was likely worn as a lucky charm or token.
There are more gorgons on my "Story of Medusa" page. |
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Silver trihemiobol from Eion in Thrace,
5th century BCE.
11mm across,
0.9 grammes. |
This is a tiny coin with a design only on one side; on the reverse is a square punch mark. The
obverse design shows a goose with neck bent back,
and above it, a lizard or salamander. The hole has been carefully bored, from front to back, so as not to
interfere with the design. There is some wear around the area of the lizard, so
it could have been worn round the neck and fingered by the right hand. Intriguing, and
I was able to get this very old and pretty coin relatively cheaply. |
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Silver trihemiobol from Thasos in Thrace,
411-350 BCE.
11.9mm,
0.8 grammes.
| Another small and light coin, attractive and old. It can be compared with the trihemiobol from Eion above. These aren't by any means the smallest Greek coins available – there are some really tiny fractions – and that's probably a good thing, because these are large enough to have interesting
and attractive designs.
A lot of these Thasos trihemiobols turn up holed. I do not think the reason for this is known. |
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Silver trihemiobol from Thasos in Thrace,
411-350 BCE.
12mm,
0.70 grammes.
| Here's a second satyr from Thasos, this time facing to the left and showing just how nude he is. These satyrs have tails waving behind them, and carry a kantharos, which is a wine cup. On the reverse of the coins is a volute krater, a large container for mixing wine with water, ready to drink. Definitely in the Dionysian tradition.
I would conjecture that this coin was made earlier than the last one. The stye is finer, and you can clearly see an incuse square on the reverse, which is an older style. |
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Silver hemidrachm from Neapolis in Macedonia,
411-348 BCE.
13.5mm,
1.6 grammes. |
Twice as heavy as the Eion or Thasos coins, this is still a little jewel. It has
pleasant golden toning, and a pattern of embrittlement that enhances the design. It was bored from the
side with the gorgoneion, so was probably worn as a protective charm, like the coin from Apollonia Pontika
above. It must have been a popular charm, as holed coins of this type are not hard to find. |
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Fourrée hemidrachm of Parion in Mysia,
350-300 BCE.
12 x 13mm,
1.65 grammes. |
This gorgoneion comes from Parion. Unlike the last one, it has snakes around Medusa's head, but they are not attached to it.
You can see from the bull's hind leg on the reverse that this coin is a fourrée, with a base metal core under a silver shell. It is not unusual to find holes in fourrée coins, and they usually have clear indications of their nature other than the holes, so maybe it was a way to make use of a dud that could no longer be passed as currency.
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Bronze AE16 from Carthage,
late 4th century BCE.
16mm,
1.6 grammes. |
The reverse of this coin is not very nice, but the obverse is quite fetching. The hole completely misses the head of the fertility goddess Tanit, and you can clearly see her hair plaited or rolled around her brow. A curved leaf from one of the grain stalks woven into this braid stands out nicely. There's another Tanit on my "hairstyles" page. |
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Bronze AE12 from Corinth in Sicily,
4th to 3rd century BCE.
12mm,
1.5 grammes. |
This little bronze coin is rather nicer to look at, even though the surface is
rather irregular. Pegasos is very clear, and the ornate decorations on the trident are still quite visible.
Many more Pegasos coins, including another one of these, can be seen here.
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Silver drachm of Chalkis in Euboia,
340-294 BCE.
14mmx17mm,
3.36 grammes. |
This coin is not as well executed as the older silver coins shown above, but is an interesting type, showing an eagle grappling a snake with beak and talon, while the snake is wrapping a coil around the eagle's tail. |
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Silver double victoriatus of the Thessalian League,
396-346 BCE.
21mmx23mm,
5.88 grammes. |
A larger coin which was probably struck in Larissa, the capital city of the Thessalian League. This one has had its hole plugged at some time. Plugs like this are quite possibly modern. Some collectors can't resist having a go with some solder, and they often make a good job of it, though I would prefer to leave the coin as it was, hole and all. In this case, it looks as though the plug was hammered flat, which has caused some damage to both the flan and the edge of the coin. |
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Silver drachm of Antiochos VI,
143-142 BCE.
17mm,
3.35 grammes. |
This later coin of the Seleucid empire is a bit rough-textured. Maybe
it has been over-cleaned. But it is still a nice coin, showing the head of Antichos VI as the sun-god Helios,
radiating light like the sun, and complete with kiss-curls. |
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