Ikesios, father of Diogenes the Cynic on Sinope's drachms?

[rover1.3]

Diogenes the Cynic was the son of Ikesios, a local magistrate in Sinope.
Ikesios was exiled from Sinope because he was responsible for the forgery of the local coin.
It is said that he took the Delphian oracle "Παραχαραξαι το νομισμα" which means "fake the coin", but he didn't understood
the metaphorical meaning of the oracle which was "change your way of life", and he actually became a forger!

Searching various magistrate names on Sinope's drachms, I have noticed the following two examples, bearing the magistrate name ΙΚΕΣΙ.
What about the evidence on the dating of these coins? It must be quite a long series, I found many magistrates.
Dates on various databases are given for middle 4th century BC but some examples are more precisely dated, between 420- 410 BC.
It is believed that Diogenes was born in Sinope near 412 BC. Forum gives a date for these drachms (with an incuse square reverse, these must be earlier) at 425-410 BC.
The second coin is a variety with an aplustre at nymph's left, believed to be a later issue. Any thoughts?

[rover1.3]

According to another account, his father and himself were charged with this offense, the father was thrown into prison while the son escaped and went to Athens.

A coin under ΙΚΕΣΙΟ magistrate in Forum's Shop!

[rover1.3]

Searching further, I found the following extract from the book The Cynics: the cynic movement in antiquity and its legacy. Robert Bracht Branham,Marie-Odile Goulet-Cazé
It seems that there is a numismatic study about these coins under ΙΚΕΣΙΟ magistrate's name by C. T. Seltman, Diogenes of Sinope, Son of the Banker Hikesias, in Transactions of the International Numismatic Congress 1936 (London 1938) and H.Bannert "Numismatisches zu Biographie und Lehre des Hundes Diogenes"Litterae Numismaticae Vindobonenses I 1979 (49-63).

Does anyone have these books to throw some light?

[xintaris75]

I haven't noone of these books, nor never heard about this. It's very interesting.
Really, are these coins was struck by Diogen's father? 
The dates are very close.

[JBF]

Michael Moratta (spelling) had an article years ago in the Celator on Diogenes and the counterfeiting the currency.  Unfortunately, I don't know where the article is.  I got a sense from that, that it was debasing, not defacing that was meant.  But, I'm not sure of that now, especially since I don't have access to the original source that created that understanding.  I do have the Diogenes Laertius source for the story.

JBF

[Altamura]

In this article: https://tinyurl.com/vp2emwx (second half of the first page) François de Callataÿ states that at Sinope there have been at least five magistrates with the name of Ikesio (which can be distinguished by different patronyms), so that there is no real evidence that one of them (which one?) has been the father of Diogenes   .

Already Ernest Babelon mentioned the case of Diogenes and Ikesio 1933 in his article "Diogène et la Numismatique" https://tinyurl.com/twgk6up (beginning on page 23) , so the idea of identifying one of the magistrates on Sinope's coins with the father of Diogenes has already been discussed for some years   .

Regards

Altamura

[JBF]

"Diogenes [the Cynic] was a native of Sinope, son of Hicesius, a banker.  Diocles relates that he went into exile because his father was entrusted with the money of the state and adulterated the coinage.  But Eubulides in his book on Diogenes says that Diogenes himself did this and was forced to leave home along with his father.  Moreover Diogenes himself actually confesses in his 'Pordalus' that he adulterated the coinage.  Some say that having been appointed to superintend the workman he was persuaded by them, and that he went to Delphi or to the Delian oracle in his own city and inquired of Apollo whether he should do what he was urged to do.  When the god gave him permission to alter the political currency, not understanding what this meant, he adulterated the state coinage, and when he was detected, according to some he was banished, while according to others he voluntarily quoted the city for fear of consequences.  One version is that his father entrusted him with the money and that he debased it, in consequence of which his father was imprisoned and died, while the son fled, came to Delphi, and inquired, not whether he should falsify the coinage, but what he should do to gain the greatest reputation; and that then it was that he received the oracle."  Book VI. 20-21 from Diogenes Laertius "On the Lives, Opinions, and Sayings of Famous Philosophers" or "History of Philosophy" tr. by R. D. Hicks Loeb Library, 1965.
Diogenes Laertius (earlier half of 3rd c. BC) is the author of the only History of Philosophy to have survived from antiquity, Diogenes Laertius is _not_ the same person as Diogenes the Cynic, of Sinope.

I believe Michael Marotta (sp?) wrote about a coin he had that was slightly debased, and had the inscription Dio or Diog, not Hikesios.  Again, I can't find the article, but I believe that he made his case very well that there was something to the legend, (or should we say, legend_s_ because obviously, there are multiple versions).  I tried looking up the article by Callatay, but I must confess that like many Americans, my foreign language background is very spotty (in other words, inadequate).  I don't know if Diogenes Laertius is the only source from antiquity on Diogenes the Cynic counterfeiting (defacing or debasing) the currency, but here (above) is the translation of the most relevant passage that I know.

Kind Regards,

John

[JBF]

Michael E. Marotta's article, "the Crime of Diogenes" appeared in the May 1999 article of _the Celator_ (Vol. 13 No. 5) pp. 20-21.  He discusses the possible interpretations (Diogenes or Diogenes' father, debasing versus defacing, etc.), but he doesn't come down on either side of the fence for these issues.  One thing that brings up which I think is particularly interesting, is a Sinope drachm signed  with a test cut, weight 5.5818 g.  This drachm is certified as having a specific gravity of 10.32 which Marotta says is an alloy of 90% silver and 10% copper.  He asks, "Was this coin purposely debased by Diogenes the Cynic when he served as the town moneyer?  It is tempting to give in to the desire to believe.  It is also just as tempting to remain cynical."

Regarding whether it was a matter of defacing or debasing that was at issue, I think that the way to look at Diogenes was as a hippy.  Not the modern hippies with their clean composures, but the dirty, stinking hippies of the sixties.

One probably should look at Diogenes the same way one looks at hippies.  If you consider hippies to be scraggly, dirty, but superficial in their critique of society.  In other words, (lovable) pranksters, thumbing their noses at society but not really threatening it, then you probably would view Diogenes' crime as being _defacing_ the currency.  Marring the surface hypocracies of society, but not getting down to the core.  This is the view of the French postmodernist Jacque Derrida.  If you look upon the hippies as fundamentally corrupting the standards of society, dealing with society in its core, then on the model of the hippies debasing the currency is more the philosophical style of Diogenes.  If Marotta's debased drachm with a testcut is any indication, it looks like both models, the superficial defacing and the fundamental debasing models are true.  Furthermore, since Diogenes is following the oracle, "Counterfeit the currency!"  his whole philosophical way of living is this way, both defacing and debasing.