Duyrat SÉRIE 6 “The short lived series”This fascinating series has motivated me into doing a more in-depth study that will hopefully
help clear up a few earlier mistakes made by well known scholars and bring together all the known specimens of this
type from the various
collections around the world.
To
help understand the coins of this period the list below explains the various Aradian coinage that would have been in circulation during the minting of SÉRIE 6.
SÉRIE 3; No coins produced between the years 73-83 (187-176 B.C) and discontinued year 84 (or no other specimens found to prove otherwise).
SÉRIE 4; If we disregard year 79 & 80 due to uncertain dating then no coins were produced between 76-83 (184-176 B.C), this series was discontinued in the year 85 (or no other specimens found to prove otherwise).
SÉRIE 5; No coins produced between the years 77-85 (183-174 B.C), minting restarted in the year 86 (These coins were mass produced and ended in the year 208 or 52-51 B.C).
SÉRIE 6; Only produced during years 73-74 (187-185 B.C).
SÉRIE 7; Production started in the year 84 (176-175 B.C).
SÉRIE V & 8; Production started in the year 86 (174-173 B.C).
Using the list above we can with great accuracy
work out that the Aradian
mint ceased all coin production in the year 75 (185-184 B.C) and restarted it in year 84 (176-175 B.C).
What ultimately piqued my curiosity was SÉRIE 6 and the apparent discontinuing of this particular
type ?
Why go through the trouble and cost of having your engraver design a new coin only to end production the year after it started. Were the dies destroyed in a fire or some other unforeseeable accident, did the goddess
Tyche fall out of favour. Maybe the engraver died suddenly or
met an untimely end, leaving then an opening for a new engraver to design the next generation of Aradian coins (possibly SÉRIE 7 which went into production year 84).
I meticulously went through all of my available literature on Aradian
history but found nothing to explain why minting ceased. The probability of finding out the true reason for the abrupt end of SÉRIE 6 will most likely remain a mystery and will for me leave an air of intrigue surrounding it´s early demise.
Babelon in his 1893 publication “Catalogue Des Monnaies Grecques - Cypre & Phénicia” describes this type as follows;Au droite - Buste tourelé de Tyché, les cheveux nattés, et portant une palme sur l'épaule gauche. Grénetis au pourtour.
Crowned
bust of
Tyche with pleated hair, with
palm over shoulder. Beading around circumference.
Au
revers - Proue de navire, à droite, ornée de l'aplustre que soutient une longue
stylis ; en haut, dans le champ, le
monogram. AP entre les lettres ; à l'exerque, la date.
Ship's
prow (bow) right, adorned with
aplustre that supports long
stylized rudder, in
field above
monogram AP between letters, in exerque date.
956. an 75 (year 75),
AE16 - Phoenician letters ? & ?, Hémi-Chalque, 4gr. 52.
957. an 75 (year 75) ?,
AE18 - Phoenician letters Taw & Ayin, Hémi-Chalque, 3gr. 90.
PL. XXIII Fig.11.958. an 75 (year 75),
AE17 - Phoenician letters Qoph, Aleph & Mem, Hémi-Chalque, 3gr. 98.
Notes;Babelon strangely dated this series to year 75 (185-184 B.C), one can clearly make out on No.957 the year -NNNhV before the date runs of
flan or ends, if this coin was era date 75 it would appear as such II III-NNNhV. However for
Babelon 956 i think we need to be more open minded, the coin is really worn. Even at maximum image magnification i can´t make out whether the coin is of era date 73,74 or 75.
He also states that No.958 was minted with Phoenician letters Qoph, Aleph & Mem, i believe this to be a misinterpretation on
his part. If you look closely at my coin titled
HM (2228b) and concentrate purely on the AP
monogram, it does appear to resemble the letter Aleph.
Babelon made a slight error when describing this
types reverse, he wrote the following, “Ship's prow right, adorned with the
aplustre”.
The
aplustre or
aphlaston was the upward curving
part of an ancient warship found at the stern (rear) of the ship.
Rouvier in his 1900 publication “Numismatique des villes de la Phenicie” describes this type as follows;Au droite - Tête de Tyché tourelée, à droite, les cheveux relevés en
chignon, avec une épaisse natte descendant sur la nuque, et portant une palme sur l'épaule gauche. Grènetis au pourtour.
Crowned
head of
Tyche right, hair in a
chignon (bun) with a thick braiding down the neck,
palm over her left shoulder. Beading around the circumference.
Au
revers - Poupe de navire, à droite, pourvue de l'aplustre suporté
par la
stylis, et du gouvernail. En haut, dans le champ, le
monogram. AP entre les lettres taw et ayin. Au dessous de cette derniére se voit le manche de gouvernail. A l'exerque, la date. Grénetis au pourtour.
Stern of ship right,
aplustre with
stylized rudder, in
field above
monogram AP between letters taw and ayin. On the deck rudder.
handle, date in exerque, beading around the circumference.
141. an 73 (year 73), AE 17 - Phoenician letters Taw & Ayin, Hémi-chalque, 4,10 gr. Ma
collection.
142. an 73 (year 73), AE 17 - Phoenician letters Nun & Ayin, Hémi-chalque, 3,90 gr. Ma
collection.
an 73 (year 73), AE 18 - Phoenician letters Nun & Ayin, Hémi-chalque, ? gr.
Collection de
Lischine, á Beyrouth.
(Image in catalogue - planche Z`, 18)143. an 75 (year 75), AE 16 - Phoenician letters Taw & Ayin, Hémi-chalque, 4,52 gr.
Babelon: Perses Achéménides,
(Babelon No.956) an 75 (year 75), AE 18 - Phoenician letters Taw & Ayin, Hémi-chalque, 3,90 gr.
Babelon:
Collection du Dr P.
Schroeder, á Beyrouth.
(Babelon 957)Notes;Rouvier wrote that No.142
AE17 &
AE18
had Phoenician letters Nun & Ayin on them, an honest mistake. When studying the
AE18 coin closely i could clearly make out the letter Taw there
Rouvier would have the letter Nun.
For arguments sake i have placed No.142
AE18 under era date 73 and given it a new number based on
Duyrat´s
catalogue list
(2233d).
In regards to both
Rouvier coins numbered 143 and dated year 75, these were later studied by
Duyrat in her publication Arados Hellénistique and placed rightly as year 73.
Duyrat in her 2005 publication “ Arados Hellénistique - Étude historique et monétaire describes this type as follows;Cette petite série portant le monogramme AP est incontestablement aradian. Les dates que je lis sont différentes de celles répertoriées
par E.
Babelon ( an 75 pour tous les exemplaires ) et J.
Rouvier (an 75 sur l`exemplaire Babylon no 957 du cabinet de
Paris.
This small series with AP
monogram is undoubtedly Aradian. My interperatation of the dates is different from those listed by E.
Babelon (year 75 for all examples) and J.
Rouvier (year 75 for
Babelon No. 957 of the
Paris office).
Au droite - Tête de Tyché à droite, palme dans le champ droit. Grènetis.
Head of
Tyche right,
palm in the right
field, beading.
Au
revers - Poupe de navire à gauche, monogramme d encadré de lettres phéniciennes dans le champ en haut, date en phénicien à l’
exergue.
Stern of ship left,
Monogram with Phoenician letters on both sides in the top
field, Phoenician date in exerque.
Below is an updated list of SÉRIE 6 coins totalling 22 specimens.
An 73 (187/6), ‘, D 2221 *D1-R1,
Collection W.
Moore,
New York.
2222 *D2-R2,
Paris,
BNF, Vogüé no 270. 4,00 g, 16,7 mm, 12 h.
2223 *D3-R3,
Collection A. Ronde,
Paris. 22,1 mm, 12 h.
2223b Stockholm,
collection Martin Rowe,
No.KO. 3,51 g, 16,38 mm, 12 h.
M, Y ? 2224 *D4-R4,
Paris,
BNF,
Babelon no 956. 4,50 g, 15,7 mm, 12 h.
(Babelon No.956)2225 D4?-R5,
Paris,
BNF,
Babelon no 958. 3,98 g, 17,0 mm, 12 h.
(Babelon No.958)2226 *D5-R4,
New York,
ANS 1944 100 70561
Newell. 3,98 g, 16,5 mm, 12 h.
2227 D5-R6,
Berlin, SM, Löbbecke (1906). 4,79 g, 17,5 mm, 12 h.
2228 *D6-R7,
New York,
ANS 1944 100 70562
Newell. 3,78 g, 16,0 mm, 12 h.
2228b Stockholm,
collection Martin Rowe,
No.HM. 4,27 g, 16,53 mm, 12 h.
2228c Ma
collection,
Rouvier 141. 3,90 g, 17mm, ? h.
‘, T
2229 *D7-R8,
New York,
ANS 1944 100 70564
Newell. 3,95 g, 17,0 mm, 12 h.
2230 *D8-R8,
New York,
ANS 1944 100 70565
Newell. 3,41 g, 16,1 mm, 12 h.
2231 D8?-R9,
Berlin, SM, Löbbecke (1906). 5,05 g, 16,2 mm, 12 h.
2232 *D9-R10, NewYork,
ANS1944 100 70563
Newell. 4,11g, 15,9 mm, 12 h.
2233 *D10-R11,
Paris,
BNF,
Babelon no 957. 3,86 g, 12,8 mm, 12 h.
(Babelon No.957)2233b Stockholm,
collection Martin Rowe,
No.GC. 3,45 g, 17,59 mm, 12 h.
2233c Ma
collection,
Rouvier 141. 4,10 g, 17mm, ? h.
2233d D14-R15,
Collection de
Lischine, á Beyrouth. 18mm, ? g.
(Rouvier 142)An 74 (186/5), ‘, T 2234 *D11?-R12, Londres, BM,
BMC 103. 4,23 g, 16,1 mm, 12 h.
2235 *D12-R13, Beyrouth,
AUB Museum, no 36. 3,90g, 16mm, 12 h.
2236 D13-R14,
Collection Lindgren, no 1340, date hors champ. 4,10 g.
My thanks and gratitude to
BNF & Frédérique
Duyrat.