Strange detail on Nike

[Jochen]

Dear friends of antique coins!

Today I have to bother you again with a question about a detail.

Nike is standing on a straight line as always. But here, to the right of her feet, a worm-like object bends, the meaning of which escapes me. Since I am convinced that the stamp cutter did not do anything by chance, it should have a purpose. But which one.

I don't think it's for decoration or that it's part of their clothing.

Has anyone seen anything like this before and can give me a clue?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions
Jochen

[shanxi]

It's always interesting to look for die matches. Here are two:

The upper one from fresh dies shows a fairly sharp line with spikes at both ends, and a thick "something" close to Nike.

In the lower one, the baseline is thicker on the left side. Just the other way round, like on your coin. The thick "something" near Nike is also there, and is IMHO a real structure.

So what is the thick "something"? A rather large foot of Nike?

[Lech Stępniewski]

What about die crack possibility? Like in the case of these "dolphins".

[shanxi]

What about die crack possibility?

I thought of this too, but I found no die match without the "foot" structure. If it is a crack it must have happened very early.

[Jochen]

On my coin it looks like this object has a structure.
If it is a die break, is it possible that the die cutter worked it to give it a more aesthetic appearance?

Jochen

[Dominic T]

Dear friends of antique coins!

Today I have to bother you again with a question about a detail.

You’re not bothering anyone with those kind of questions. If you can find only one member who is, I promise I’ll eat a coin…
DT

[Virgil H]

I suppose that the object could be anything, but the first thing that comes to mind is a fish. But, it could also be a part of her garment or robe on the ground. Whatever it is, these "detail" things that Jochen brings up are very interesting.

Virgil

[Jochen]

"Fish" was the first suggestion of m wife too! But there is no connection to Nike.

I'm sorry, the detail on this Nike coin gives me no peace. The last suggestion from shanxi was that it could be a die break. Picture (1) from acsearch would show this. Picture (2) on my coin would then be an extension or a reworking of the die break.

Now I have found the picture of this coin at Varbanov. Picture (3) shows this coin. And here suddenly the left side of the base line is no longer a simple straight line, but just as bulging as the right side in picture (2). And in particular, it also bends upwards towards the Nike's garment.

I confess, I'm confused!

Kind regards
Jochen

[Joe Sermarini]

I think it is more die wear than anything else. Metal flowed from the foot down the exergue line expanding it. Perhaps the exergue line was engraved all the way into the legend, facilitating flow in the opposite direction as well.

[Serendipity]

Jochen, your educational posts enlightening us about the details on ancient coins are no bother at all! From a purely aesthetic point of view, I'm more inclined to see the structure to the right on the exergue line as just Nike's other foot rather than as a fish or anything else.

I've seen so many mundane exergue lines on both ancient and modern coins that I actually love the way the die cutter has thickened the exergue line at both ends lending it the same aesthetic appeal as Nike's intricately rendered clothing. I also love incidentally the way the die cutter has furrowed the laureate bust's brow on the obverse complemented by the downcast eye lending it a look of concern.

I'm inclined to agree with Joe's observation that the reason the right side of the exergue line appears different from the left side is down to die wear. You can see the same granulated die wear on Nike's wing to the right. True, it does veer away from a straightforward ground-line but it's a nice artistic effect all the same.

I don't know if Nike has any maritime connections but I can't but help notice the wavelike formation on the laureate bust's cuirass and the ground-line's resemblance to a ship's curved prow. Perhaps I'm reading too much into that and giving the die cutter unwarranted artistic licence.

[Jochen]

Thank you very much for your inspiring contributions!

Kind regards
Jochen

[antoninus1]

I agree with serendipity. When I saw Jochen´s picture and shanxi´s examples I instantly thought "foot" plus a fault in the die.