Sestertius sized bronze from Apollonia Illyriae?

[djmacdo]

 
Dr. G. Petrányi on his website http://asklapiadas.ancients.info publishes a sestertius-sized bronze of Apollonia describing it as apparently authentic, unique, and otherwise unpublished.  I seldom have the temerity to disagree with Dr. Petrányi, but in this case I am very doubtful about this coin.  To me it looks like an early modern fantasy.  Can anyone throw any light on this piece?

[Mark Fox]

Dear Mac,

I had just seen a picture of one of these in a small group lot in a public auction, but after scanning through my browser history just now, I am unable to find where I saw it...  I am thinking the coin was mixed with some miscellaneous Roman imperials and was probably described as a fantasy issue or something to that effect.  It certainly looks like a Renaissance creation to me.     

Sorry I am not able to help more.  It bothers me that I can't remember which auction house had offered it.  I can even picture how the coin, obverse side up, was lying on top of the other coins, on the left side!

 
Best regards,

Mark Fox
Michigan

[shanxi]

somehow a combination of the

Apollo obverse, magistrate Lyson
https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/1/1500Cb

and the three charites from Commodus
https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/4/4575

[Mark Fox]

Hello again Mac,

I don't believe this was the group lot I was referring to (I remember seeing the obverse of the coin), but this other piece nevertheless makes it even more obvious as to the age of the coin type in question.

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=3288358

Oddly, this lot is not present in the CNG Archives for some reason.


Best regards,

Mark Fox
Michigan

[djmacdo]

Shanxi,

Actually, it copies a denarius-weight silver coin of Apollonia from the late first century B.C.  The image of the three nymphs dancing around the fire was used at Apollonia from the first century B.C. until the end of coinage in the early third century A.D.

Mac

[djmacdo]

Mark,

You have a remarkable memory, which I have relied on more than I am proud to admit.  I can not even remember where I parked my car.

Mac

[Akropolis]

Oddly, my previous post on this disappeared.
Shanxi wrote: "Apollo obverse, magistrate Lyson."
Magistrate? The obverse states "ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ."
is there a king/emperor named Lyson?

[djmacdo]

Lyson is just a regular magistrate at Apollonia.  Petrányi seems to take ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ as a patronymic, but to name someone Basileus would seem to me to have been actually dangerously presumptuous.  It is certainly a very rare name if a name at all.  The inscription Lyson Basileos seems to me one more indication of a fantasy piece.

[Joe Sermarini]

The photo is small, but it also appears to be a cast.

[djmacdo]

It looks like a cast to me also, but I was uncertain.

[Mark Fox]

Dear Mac and Board,

It is funny how one stumbles on "old friends."  Tonight, I am happy to finally present the fantasy issue of Illyrian Apollonia that I had originally alluded to in this thread.   

https://www.sixbid-coin-archive.com#/en/single/l33234561

It doesn't add a whole lot to the discussion, but it is nice to feel mentally vindicated, or at least partially.  Enjoy!
   

Best regards,

Mark Fox
Michigan

[djmacdo]

Bless you!  This makes my life much simpler and again indicates that these are all fantasies!

Mac