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Coin ID

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Pep:
Hello all, is this a Philip II coin?

Note from Pep:  This post was made before this current board was launched.  To clean up and conserve space on my own webspace, the photo originally in this spot is now posted below on January 3/4, 2004.

If so, how unique is an Apollo obverse with a single galloping horse w/ rider reverse in identifying a particular coin as a Philip II?  Wildwinds sure shows a great number of them for him.

P.S.:  What is the best resource book(s) for Greek coins?

Pep  8)

esnible:
"head r" / "horse r" is perhaps the most common Greek coin type.

Plant's book Greek Coin Types and Their Identification shows examples of this type from many cities.  Many claim to find his book useful.  I've never been able to find my own unidentified coins there.  I suspect it would be more useful with silver coins.

Go to [DEAD LINK REMOVED BY ADMIN] and do a coin search on "head r", "horse r", "Bronze" and "Greek".

Pep:
Thanks for the recommendations.  I'll look for that book and check it out.  The link is pretty impressive.  However, the extraordinary length of the search results and the lack of pictures really hampers me in IDing this coin.  After looking closer, that obverse may not be Apollo, I'm not sure.  Anyways, who was the big cheese when this coin was minted? (and who is on the obverse?)

Thanks,

Pep  8)

esnible:
You asked what the best resource book is for Greek coins.

You need a lot of books.  For coins with readable legend Icard's book will often get you a city name.  For coins without legend Plant's book will give ideas if the coin is common but the subject is uncommon.

For this coin you can use either.  You have a VG or F condition coin.  Unless you can discover more about the head you may never figure out the coin.  Does it have a beard?  What sort of headgear do you see?

The ANS database is useful.  They had about 200 bronze coins with head r / horse.  Write down what cities are suggested, then look them up in your reference books.  Ideally you have SNG Copenhagen but that costs $900.  (Your local university library may have a set.)  I couldn't afford Cop so I use Lindgren's books.  He pictures about 5000 bronze coins.  You have Sear?  Sear describes 9000 types, all metals, and pictures about half of them.

Many Greek coins are rare.  When Lindgren wrote his books he had access to dozens of coin catalogs.  About 5% of his coins lack cross-referencing, saying only "Not In Sources Consulted."  Welcome to collecting Greek.

In the introduction to Lindgren's third volume he says it took 2000 hours of work to catalog the 1500 coins.  Expect that it will take you more than an hour on average to propery attribute this coin.

Pep:
Yea, these coins are sure harder to ID than Romans.  ;)  I'll have to put this one aside until I can get my hands on some books like Sear.

Thanks,

Pep  8)

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