Athena/Aphrodite on Corinth staters

[LordBest]

I'm familiar with the theory that the helmeted goddess on staters of Corinth is actually Aphrodite rather than the previously assumed Athena, but recently I've seen a reputable auction house list a series of Corinth staters with the portraits on roughly half of the coins as Aphrodite and half as Athena.
Has there been some more recent scholarship that has enabled some kind of more precise ID? Because they seem virtually identical to my eyes and there doesn't seem to be any other symbols or markings that could imply one identification vs the other.

I've attached two examples. Aside from a faint smile on the portrait IDd as Aphrodite they seem identical, and that smile is not consistent across "Aphrodite" portraits.

[Altamura]

... recently I've seen a reputable auction house list a series of Corinth staters with the portraits on roughly half of the coins as Aphrodite and half as Athena. ...

So they couldn't decide  .
Either you believe in Athena or in Aphrodite, but a mixture of both on the staters is highly improbable .

But some are undecided even with one and a single coin : https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=9491103

Regards

Altamura

[Kevin D]

I didn't know these reverses were sometimes thought to be Aphrodite.

The helmet being worn seems appropriate for Athena, and apparently it could be considered so for Aphrodite as well.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Aphrodite-Greek-mythology
"Aphrodite was, in fact, widely worshipped as a goddess of the sea and of seafaring; she was also honoured as a goddess of war, especially at Sparta, Thebes, Cyprus, and other places. However, she was known primarily as a goddess of love and fertility and even occasionally presided over marriage."

[Altamura]

... I didn't know these reverses were sometimes thought to be Aphrodite. ...

In 1996 P. Blomberg in his thesis "On Corinthian Iconography" brought up this idea. See also Stefan Ritter, "Athena in Archaic Corinth: the Creation of an Iconography":
https://books.google.de/books?id=cMxKEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA143&lpg=PA143&dq=Stefan+Ritter,+%22Athena+in+Archaic+Corinth:+the+Creation+of+an+Iconography%22&source=bl&ots=IkkbakbEf4&sig=ACfU3U3vYiDG-kYHn1FXscdSMz6HwkS3bw&hl=de&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjp3djCp4b7AhUEOewKHTPwBp0Q6AF6BAgjEAM#v=onepage&q=Stefan%20Ritter%2C%20%22Athena%20in%20Archaic%20Corinth%3A%20the%20Creation%20of%20an%20Iconography%22&f=false

But obviously this idea was not so widely adopted.

regards

Altamura

[djmacdo]

Armed Aphrodite is more appropriate for Corinth than Athena, chief deity of her rival, Athens.  It generally takes a change of generation to change ideas, sometimes more.

[LordBest]

There is also this:
https://www.academia.edu/5352963/New_Evidence_for_the_Identification_of_Aphrodite_on_Staters_of_Corinth

I think the argument is quite compelling myself. It makes more sense for the prime deity of Corinth to be on Corinthian coins, wearing a Corinthian helmet. The idea it is a localised Athena in a Corinthian helmet rather than an Attic helmet isn't implausible on the coins of Athens dependencies or minor states trying to curry favour (Sigeion for example) but it seems very unlikely on a rival to Athens like Corinth. If the Athena ID is to believed then Corinth was minting coins with its enemies patron goddess on the front during the Corinthian War when they were at with with Athens.

So I can understand an auction house deciding to label them as Aphrodite, I'm just curious why an auction house would label some as Aphrodite and some as Athena.

[Altamura]

... I'm just curious why an auction house would label some as Aphrodite and some as Athena. ...

Gain of insight from one auction to the next? Cataloging done by different people? Just sloppiness (as in my example above with the two deities at one coin)? 

Regards

Altamura

[Kevin D]

Athena at Corinth: Revisiting the Identification of the Temple of Apollo
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/807913/pdf


The above linked article also discusses the coins of Corinth.

The author makes a case for Athena being represented on the silver staters of Corinth (at least the early issues), and also cites the differing opinions.