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Author Topic: Commodus, Bostra: Tyche Legend - Goddess or Dating?  (Read 405 times)

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Offline Prieure de Sion

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Commodus, Bostra: Tyche Legend - Goddess or Dating?
« on: April 12, 2023, 08:39:04 pm »
Hello...

It is about my coin in the attachment (picture file). The type is said to be from the time of Commodus, mint Bostra (Arabia) with the goddess Tyche on the obverse and a camel on the reverse. Under RPC the type can be found as follows: https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/4/3532

My question is about the front with Tyche, explicitly my question is about the legend here.
The legend is given as: Ο ΤVΧΗ

What confuses me a bit now is that most (or almost all) auction references / texts state as translation: in year 76 and Tyche.

O = Omikron = 70
ϛ = Stigma = 6

In this quotation, CNG writes the year 76 for OϚ in the left field, although I cannot see the dating at all on this specimen:
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=9127630

Also with these specimens:
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=4752307
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=4585625
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=526322

Either I'm missing something late at night. But on the left side of the field I can only see an "O" in all the specimens I have found. And that, if dated, would only be a 70. I can't see a stigma mark anywhere on the left of the field. Not on any of the specimens.

The RPC and other references also speak of "Ο ΤVΧΗ" as a legend - and the "O" stands alone. Where do all the auctions and dealers get the stigma and thus the dating from?


Is it not the dating at all in the field on the left? It is the following translation (?):

Ο ΤVΧΗ = Θεά Τύχη = Theá Týchi = Goddess Tyche


What do you think about it? Thanks...
Yothr Collection: https://yothr.me

Offline v-drome

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Re: Commodus, Bostra: Tyche Legend - Goddess or Dating?
« Reply #1 on: April 13, 2023, 01:04:08 am »
The way I read it on the first two acsearch examples is O in the left field, "S" in the right field in front of the nose, and L. below the "S", signifying "year".  This would be similar to the Alexandrian dates like L IZ (year 17).  I am not a complete expert on these coins, however, so this is only a suggestion! 

Regards, Jimi

Offline Altamura

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Re: Commodus, Bostra: Tyche Legend - Goddess or Dating?
« Reply #2 on: April 13, 2023, 03:13:44 am »
In the BMC the obverse legend is described as "E OϚ", standing for year 76 (where the E stands for ETOYΣ):
https://archive.org/details/cataloguegreekco00brit/page/16/mode/2up

Here is the corresponding coin from the BM: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1908-0110-1409

Regards

Altamura


Offline Altamura

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Re: Commodus, Bostra: Tyche Legend - Goddess or Dating?
« Reply #4 on: April 13, 2023, 03:45:44 am »
Here you can see specimens where the legend is very clearly that described in BMC:
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=4752307
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1187038

Regards

Altamura

Offline Prieure de Sion

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Re: Commodus, Bostra: Tyche Legend - Goddess or Dating?
« Reply #5 on: April 13, 2023, 04:33:02 am »
Here you can see specimens where the legend is very clearly that described in BMC:
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=4752307
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1187038

Regards

Altamura

First. Thanks!

Second. Recognising the "O" is absolutely no problem. But to the right of it (see pictures and my red circles) - that is supposed to be the ϛ stigma? Ok, I wouldn't have recognised that - I'm honest.

Is then the legend "Ο ΤVΧΗ" as stated by RPC (and others) even there like that? Or is there only the date on the front alone? As I said - I'm sorry - I still can't quite place the individual letters on this coin.

Yothr Collection: https://yothr.me

Offline Altamura

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Re: Commodus, Bostra: Tyche Legend - Goddess or Dating?
« Reply #6 on: April 13, 2023, 04:50:10 am »
... Recognising the "O" is absolutely no problem. But to the right of it (see pictures and my red circles) - that is supposed to be the ϛ stigma? ...
The position of the letters is exactly as indicated in the BMC: O to the left, Ϛ to the upper right and E to the lower right.

... Is then the legend "Ο ΤVΧΗ" as stated by RPC (and others) even there like that? ...
Yor last picture shows very clearly that there are no additional letters. Or do you see some more?

Regards

Altamura

Offline Prieure de Sion

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Re: Commodus, Bostra: Tyche Legend - Goddess or Dating?
« Reply #7 on: April 13, 2023, 05:29:15 am »
Ahhhhh! No, but you know what the problem is - the human brain sees what it wants to see! I set out from the beginning to see an "N" as an "N" as in a circulating legend! And once you have that in your head - you don't see the letter or the word any differently.

That's the way it is now?!

Yothr Collection: https://yothr.me

 

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