Since about April I have been trying to research these very important & beautiful spread
flan stephanophoric coins.
Why are they important?
Well most of these coins have magistrates names, albeit either in
monogram form, abbreviated form or full form.
Better
still they are often found in combinations of 2 magistrates or 3 magistrates so there must be a link between the magistrates.
Also the majority of coins have a symbol and this surely has some signiicance to the chief or first named magistrate.
If you can from other prosopographic means link these names then
stemma of family relationships can be made and tested.
Die links can be made to support the closeness of
types & issues.
Amphora monthly date marks can indicate with a N an intercalery year.
If a coin can be definitely ascribed a date, the relationships above can be used with stylistic relationships then the sequences can be worked out with some certainty and more dates can then be ascribed.
Now if these can be linked with other datable elements such as
Seleucid datable coins and regal ephipet changes then dating can be made more certain.
Just one certain coin in the
New style range has the initial criterion: A
New Style coin with the first name of Bas Mith, supported by Aristion with a symbol of a
star surrounded by 2 crescents.
This is certainly
King Mithradates V1
Eupator, Aristion is a well known
Archon who was a supporter of the Pontic
king and the
star and crescents is a well attested Pontic royal symbol.
This must be dated 87/6 BC when Mithradates was supported by Aristion in subourning
Athens against
Rome.
By assuming yearly issues and adding all the issues that can ascertained to be minted before the Mithradatic issue then a start date can be roughly computed.
Andrew
Meadows , once of the BM, now of the
ANS, confidently asserted to me that 164/3 is "rock solid" and there are 78 differing issues before Mithradares and the exact sequencing is getting more and more refined due to die linking.
By similer means the rarer and more sporadic post Sullan issues can be tentatively sequnced until the coins die out in 42BC.
It actually quite difficult to chart the steps of the "
New Style" dating story and I am trying to compile a definitive sequenced list, but sources are themselves sporadic and
rare and hard to access and obtain.
If you use ,say dealers info, then you will see all sorts of date ranges for the
New style and it was this that first disturbed and yet intrigued me. Even if they use say c165-50BC the actual striking date of the coin quoted is not often upto date, so a trawl of the latest published sources is required.
In my unfinished list I have dates garnered from Andrew
Meadows ( with
Houghton), The Gaziantiep Hoard 1994, The Thasos/New
style hoard 1996,
Mattingly 1993, Morkholm 1984,
Lewis 1962 and
Thompson 1961.
I constantly look for new sources.
Today I have found that my latest
New Style which I originally said was issue 14 and 151/0 is now according to
Meadows 1996 issue 13 and 152/1.
Everyday's a schoolday
Cicerokid
