Help with Alex the Great Price 266

[Virgil H]

Hi all,

I have this coin I got from a lot on the Forum Member's Auction. Nice little coin in hand. I think I have it identified as Price 266, but would appreciate some feedback as to my methods, conclusions and what I have tentatively concluded about this coin.

AE16-17
5.74 grams
0 degrees (12 h)

I found it on Wildwinds to arrive at Price 266 as a starting point, then also found a few examples on acsearch and coinarchives. The reference books I own were not helpful. I found a few at the ANS website, that was helpful. It seems that Price 266 is a coin that has no control or mint markings. A couple thoughts:

-The weight and size seem to fit into the range for these coins
-The bow and quiver combo vary from coin to coin, including on those referenced by ANS as Price 266. This bow/quiver fit in well.
-This appears to me to be a small flan and the single biggest issue I have and why I am writing this post is that the letters run off the flan, so I wonder if they were there in the first place. What is supposed to be there is: ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ. What I can see is: ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔ. It almost looks like this is intentional, but I am assuming that the entire name is there, but just didn't make it onto the coin.
-The coin is identified as a "Unit" in the references I have looked at. I have no access to Price itself. Is this correct or should it be a denomination based on the tetradrachm or something other than the shekel?
-Finally, is there any way to know where it was minted?

I think my pics are acceptable, so I have attached them.

Thank you are for your assistance.

Regards,
Virgil

[shanxi]

I found a few at the ANS website, that was helpful

Do you refer to this site?

http://numismatics.org/pella/id/price.266

I ask because it shows 42 examples and you write "a few".

[Altamura]

Probably you looked at the ANS collection and not at PELLA, where the link of shanxi is leading to.
PELLA is an online version of the Price (and meanwhile a bit more), but without the describing texts.

The "unit" is a workaround because we don't know how these coins have been named in antiquity. As far as I know this is how the different bronze denominations are still called today.

Price lists this type under "Macedonian Bronze Issues" without attributing it to a specific mint.

Regards

Altamura

[Virgil H]

Thank you Shanxi and Altamura,
No, I did not use the Pella site, will look at that one now. It looks to be a goldmine. I did a search on the ANS site where you could select various attributes to search for and I guess there were more than a few of this type, but not so many labeled Price 266. Thanks for the Pella link and explanation of what that database is. All the different ANS databases can get confusing at times, and I am pretty sure I have been there before. I love all the resources they have online. If I know where a coin is from or the ruler, I often start with Wildwoods and move on from there when I have some references. For Greek coins, I also find the Plant book super nice for getting me headed in the right direction.

Regards,
Virgil

[esnible]

I have never figured out how to attribute these!

If you search for the basic type there are 115 matches with various control marks and denominations.
http://numismatics.org/pella/results?q=fulltext%3Aherakles+quiver+AND+material_facet%3A%22Bronze%22

There are multiple types with the same denomination and lack of control mark:
- http://numismatics.org/pella/id/price.266
- http://numismatics.org/pella/id/price.268
- http://numismatics.org/pella/id/price.319A
- http://numismatics.org/pella/id/price.326
- etc.

I don't know how these are distinguished.

[Virgil H]

Thank you very much for the additional info, esnible. I have noticed that there are both differences between coins with the same references and similarities with some with different references. That makes it difficult for sure.

Regards,
Virgil

[Altamura]

... I don't know how these are distinguished. ...

At first: The pictures and the details of the descriptions in PELLA are sometimes not correct .

Then generally
- there is made a difference between "bow and quiver" and "bow in bowcase" (meaning a gorytos),
- there is made a difference whether the bow is above the legende or below (while turning the reverse in the way you can read the legend),
- there is made a difference whether the handle of the club (the thinner end) is on the right or on the left.

Price 319A has a monogram.

Regards

Altamura

[Virgil H]

I see the monogram on 319A. What I find fascinating about these coins is how much variation there is among coins under the same reference number, particularly 266 and 268. For example, examples of club on top and club on bottom. Variations on what the bow/quiver look like. Most clubs are right (business end of club), but some are left. I am no expert, obviously, but if I were classifying a big pile of these coins from scratch, I would have at least four separate numbers, maybe more, and I am talking only about the coins with no monograms, control marks, etc. I am perhaps way too anal about identifying my coins and I also recognize when I just have to say "unknown" for something, but this is the stuff that drives me crazy. I am going with Price 266, unknown mint.

Thank you all for the comments and discussion, this is just what I was hoping for.

Regards,
Virgil

[Altamura]

... how much variation there is among coins under the same reference number, particularly 266 and 268. ...

Again: The pictures and descriptions in PELLA are quite often not correct . You have to look into Price's book, and even there it is not always completely clear  .

But Price is as it is, you won't change that anymore .

Regards

Altamura

[djmacdo]

Virgil,

I like that you do your own research before asking for help.  There are some who do not.

Mac

[Virgil H]

Thank you Mac and Altamura,
One of the best parts about collecting coins for me is spending time with them and the research aspect of that is probably the best way for me to do that. It can also get frustrating at times. LOL.

Virgil

[djmacdo]

I got my first ancient coin over sixty years ago, and I still get frustrated and frequently ask for help.  Still, research keeps me off the streets, and the neighbors are grateful for that.

[Virgil H]

Ha ha, so true.

Virgil