Dear Shawn, Steve, Pete, Altamura, and Board,
An excellent close-up, Shawn! However, are we certain that the
countermark is of the
head of
Helios? Attached are my two
countermarked examples of the large
denomination (I
had a third, but it was supposedly lost in the mail). Inside the mark that closest resembles Shawn's, I am wondering if at least some of the "rays" are in fact a hat. I could be off about that though. The
head in the other
countermark looks very much like
Hermes to me, although I am also hesitant to be definite on that point.
Not all the borders on these coins (as a group) are filleted. Some are also apparently beaded. Again, I am attaching two more specimens from my
collection.
I am not too familiar about the details of temple coins in the current context, but the fact that some are
countermarked with different marks seems to imply that they were being treated more or less as normal coins.
I am not certain if anything
Le Rider wrote could be of assistance here on the
countermark, Shawn. Were you possibly thinking of a specific
work?
Best regards,
Mark Fox
Michigan