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Home ▸ Catalog ▸ |Greek Coins| ▸ |Geographic - All Periods| ▸ |Anatolia||View Options:   | | | Anatolia is the region comprising most of modern Turkey, bounded by the Black (North), Aegean (West) and Mediterranean (South) seas; to the East it is bounded by the Taurus Mountains and main Asia. The name comes from Ionian Greek meaning "the land of the sunrise" or simply "the East." It was named Asia Minor by the Romans. The land is first mentioned by Akkadian records, and played a very important role for all subsequent Mesopotamian civilizations. We should not forget to add that Anatolia is the birthplace of coinage in the late 7th Century B.C.! |
Temnos (Temnus) on the western coast of Anatolia near the Hermus River, was a small Greek city-state of Aeolis, later incorporated in the Roman province of Asia. Under Augustus it was already on the decline, under Tiberius it was destroyed by an earthquake, and in the time of Pliny (23 - 79 A.D.) it was no longer inhabited. It was, however, rebuilt later. One of the city's more noteworthy figures was the rhetorician Hermagoras.GS114605. Silver tetradrachm, Price 1662, Müller Alexander 935, SNG München -, SNG Alpha Bank -, SNG Saroglos -, SNG Cop -, VF, light tone, attractive style, light silvery encrustations, a few light marks/scratches, weight 16.654 g, maximum diameter 36.0 mm, die axis 0o, Aiolis, Myrina (near Aliaga, Turkey) mint, c. 188 - 170 B.C.; obverse head of Herakles right, wearing Nemean Lion skin, scalp over head, forepaws tied at neck; reverse Zeus Aëtophoros seated left on high-backed throne, bare to the waist, himation around hips and legs, eagle in extended right hand, long scepter vertical behind in left hand, right leg drawn back, AΛEΞANΔPOY downward on right, amphora in left field, palm branch left in exergue; huge 36 mm flan!, ex Aegean Numismatics; $400.00 (€376.00)
Laodicea ad Lycum, Phrygia, c. 189 - 133 B.C.
The affectionate dove, the bird of love, was sacred to the goddess Venus (Aphrodite). Doves were said to draw her heavenly chariot, and the Syrian Aphrodite Ashtarte was said to have been hatched from an egg nursed by doves. The phrase attributed to Jesus, "Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10.16), was no random metaphor but a traditional Syrian invocation.GB114988. Bronze AE 13, BMC Phrygia, p. 284, 30; SNG Cop 497; SNGvA -, aVF, green patina, weight 2.967 g, maximum diameter 12.8 mm, die axis 0o, Laodicea ad Lycum (near Denizli, Turkey) mint, c. 189 - 133 B.C.; obverse draped bust of Aphrodite right, wearing stephane, hair tied in bunch behind; reverse Aphrodite standing left, wearing long chiton, dove in extended right hand, rose on stem in left field, ΛAOΔIKEΩN downward on right; scarce; $60.00 (€56.40)
Augustus(?), 16 January 27 B.C. - 19 August 14 A.D.
This type has traditionally been attributed to Pergamum, c. 27 - 20 B.C. More recently, it has been suggested that it was struck at Samos, c. 21 - 20 B.C., when the city was Augustus' headquarters during his visit to the East. That all being said, David Sear has voiced skepticism to an Eastern origin in SRCV I (2000) where he writes, "the usual attribution of this issue to an 'eastern' mint is not supported either by the style of the engraving or by the evidence of provenance." In BMCRE I (1923), Harold Mattingly notes that specimens of the aureii of the same exact type (RIC I2 539) have been found at Ambenay (in France) and Xanten (in Germany).
The identity of the imperial portrait has been a matter of debate for many generations, a scholarly tug of war between an idealized depiction of Augustus and his adopted grandson, Gaius Caesar. While many nowadays prefer the former identification (note, for instance, the oak wreath), David Sear favors Gaius in SRCV I, seeing in the coin designs the "well established" connection to the Ludi Saeculares celebrations of 17 B.C., during which "year saw the birth of Gaius' younger brother, Lucius, and the adoption of both by Augustus." In 2012, a Canadian auction house sold a fascinating specimen overstruck on an earlier denarius bearing remnants of a "T R POT" legend and the suggestion of a head on the overtype's obverse. The cataloger(s) tentatively suggested the host coin was a Licinius Stolo denarius from the Rome mint (RIC I2 343), another coin with ties to the Ludi Saeculares in 17 B.C. However, in the present cataloger's view, traces of the undertype's thick edge beading may suggest a different denarius issue.
Lastly, the old description of the candelabrum being "surmounted by a crescent," noted as early as 1910 (in BMCRR II) and which is still widely cited today, was likely an incorrect interpretation of a partially visible patera.RS114560. Silver denarius, RIC I2 540, BMCRE I 684-685, BnF I3 1013-1016, RSC I 2 (Caius Caesar), SRCV I 1749 (same, $1,440 VF), Cohen I 2 (same, 30 Fr.), aVF, retoned, light scratches, banker's marks on obv., slightly off-centered, weight 3.448 g, maximum diameter 18.8 mm, die axis 180o, possibly eastern (Pergamum or Samos?) mint, c. 17 B.C.; obverse bare head of youthful Augustus(?) right, CA-ES-AR counterclockwise below, all within an oak wreath; reverse candelabrum, ornamented with rams' heads, all within a floral wreath entwined with two bucrania and three paterae, AVG-VST• across field; ex CNG e-auction 540 (15 Jun 2023), lot 397; ex Kalevala Collection; ex Baldwin's auction 48, (24 Sep 2020), lot 594; ex T. Hardaker Collection; ex CNG e-auction 277 (11 Apr 2012), lot 210; $500.00 (€470.00)
Trajan, 25 January 98 - 8 or 9 August 117 A.D., Koinon of Lycia
| Lycia, on the southern coast of Anatolia, was first recorded in the Late Bronze Age records of ancient Egypt and the Hittite Empire. Lycia was totally Hellenized under the Macedonians. The Lycian language disappeared from inscriptions and coinage. On defeating Antiochus III in 188 the Romans gave Lycia to Rhodes for 20 years, taking it back in 168 B.C. The Romans allowed home rule under the Lycian League, a federation with republican principles, which later influenced the framers of the United States Constitution. In 43 A.D. Claudius dissolved the league and made Lycia a Roman province. It was an eparchy of Byzantine Empire. A substantial Christian Greek community lived in Lycia until the 1920s when they were forced to migrate to Greece following the Greco-Turkish War. |  |
Gordian III, 29 July 238 - 25 February 244 A.D., Irenopolis, Cilicia
Irenopolis or Eirenopolis or Eirenoupolis, known briefly as Neronias in honor of the Roman emperor Nero, was in northeastern Cilicia, not far from the Calycadnus river, on the site of modern Düzici, Osmaniye province, Turkey, at the mouth of the Darb al-'Ain pass. It was probably founded by Antiochus IV of Commagene. Coins of the city show that Asclepius and Hygeia were worshiped there, probably connected with the natural spring of the area. The city is mentioned by Hierocles, Nicephore, and Calliste. Christianity first came to the area in the 1st century; the mountain pass location made it an early candidate for missionaries. The city came under Muslim rule following the Battle of Manzikert in 1071.RP114912. Bronze AE 31, RPC VII.2 Online 3221A (2 spec.; #1 = this coin), Isegrim -, Karbach Eirenopolis -, aF, green patina, highlighting light earthen deposits, both sides off-centered, weight 9.683 g, maximum diameter 30.8 mm, die axis 180o, Irenopolis (Düzici, Turkey) mint, 242/243 A.D.; obverse AY K M ANTW ΓOPΔIANOC, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind; reverse EIPHNOΠO-ΛEITWN, Dionysos standing mostly left, wreathed in ivy(?), otherwise nude, cantharus in right hand, upright thyrsus in left, panther standing left at feet with head turned back and upwards in anticipation, ET (Greek abbreviation: ETOYC - "of year") in left field, BϘP (192, obscured) in exergue; zero sales of this type listed on Coin Archives in the last two decade; one of two known, listed on RPC Online; ex Pandora Numismatics auction 2 (27 Aug 2023), lot 415 (sold unattributed); extremely rare; $160.00 (€150.40)
Rhodos, Carian Islands, 190 - 85 B.C.
In 190 B.C. a fleet from Rhodes defeated the Seleucid fleet under command of the fugitive Carthaginian general Hannibal. Rhodes was rewarded with territory and enhanced status, but clearly Rome now ruled the world and autonomy was dependent upon good relations. Those good graces evaporated in the wake of the Third Macedonian War. Rhodes had remained scrupulously neutral, but some Senators felt she had been too friendly with the defeated King Perseus. Some even proposed declaring war. In 164, Rhodes became a permanent ally of Rome, ending an independence that no longer had meaning. It was said that the Romans ultimately turned against the Rhodians because the islanders were the only people they had encountered who were more arrogant than themselves.
Although the exergue area on our coin is not clear, the obverse is identical to a specimen in the BnF (Fonds général 1605 = HN Online T546.10). The style of the latter's reverse is also very similar. GB114979. Bronze AE 16, HN Online T546.10 (same obv. die); SNG Keckman I 727 & 729-730; SNG Ashmolean XI 690-692; SNG Cop 797; BMC Caria p. 250, 225; HGC 6 1475 (S), F, some striking weakness, good centering on slightly irregular flan with brushing of reddish sediments, weight 1.600 g, maximum diameter 16.0 mm, die axis 0o, Rhodos (Rhodes, Greece) mint, 190 - 85 B.C.; obverse laureate head of Zeus right; reverse rose surmounted by radiate solar disk, bud and/or branch on either side and the abbreviated ethnic P-O (obscured); scarce; $65.00 (€61.10)
Pompey the Great, Soli-Pompeiopolis, Cilicia, 66 B.C. - 1st Century A.D.
Soli, a Rhodian colony, was founded, c. 700 B.C. The word solecism (a grammatical blunder) is derived from Soli; Athenians considered the Soli dialect to be corrupted Attic Greek. Pompey the Great destroyed Soli and refounded the site as Pompeiopolis, c. 66 B.C. Realizing they were driven to crime by desperation, Pompey spared and resettled numerous captured Cilician pirates at Pompeiopolis.RR114981. Bronze AE 19, SNG Levante 880; BMC Lycaonia p. 153, 54; cf. RPC Online I 4002A var. (diff. monograms); SNG BnF 1213 ff. (same); SNGvA 5887 f. (same), F, dark patina, scratches, weight 4.562 g, maximum diameter 18.8 mm, die axis 0o, Cilicia, Soli-Pompeiopolis (near Mersin, Turkey) mint, probably struck 66 - 48 B.C.; obverse head of Pompey right, A(?) behind; reverse ΠOMΠHIOΠOΛEITΩN, Nike advancing right, wreath in right hand, palm over shoulder in left, ΠA over ΩZ magistrate monograms in right field; rare; $100.00 (€94.00)
Poppaea Sabina, Wife of Nero, Augusta 63 - 65 A.D., Akmoneia, Phrygia
Poppaea was renowned for her beauty and voluptuous extravagance. In 62 A.D., Nero divorced his wife Octavia to marry Poppaea. According to Tacitus, Poppaea married Otho only to get close to Nero and then, in turn, became Nero's favorite mistress, and then wife. She bore Nero one daughter, Claudia Augusta, born 21 January 63, who died at only four months of age. At the birth of Claudia, Nero honored mother and child with the title of Augusta. According to Suetonius, one day in the summer of 65, Poppaea quarreled fiercely with Nero over his spending too much time at the races. She was pregnant with her second child. In a fit of rage, Nero kicked her in the abdomen, killing her.
Unusually long legend for such a small coin. The reverse fields are completely filled with letters.
RP114986. Bronze AE 17, RPC I 3175; SNG Cop 24; SNG Fitz 4914; BMC Phrygia p. 11, 48; Waddington 5495, aF, dark blue-green enhanced (paint?) patina, areas of bare brass, porous, off center, weight 2.672 g, maximum diameter 16.5 mm, die axis 0o, Akmoneia (Ahat Koyu, Turkey) mint, 2nd issue, c. 62 A.D.; obverse ΠOΠΠAIA ΣEBAΣTH, draped bust of Poppaea right, wearing wreath of grain, lion on shoulder; reverse ΣEPOYHNIOY KAΠITΩNOΣ KAI IOYΛIAΣ ΣEOYHPAΣ AKMONEΩN ([magistrates] Servenius Capito and Iulia Severa), Artemis advancing right, drawing arrow and holding bow; a small figure of Nike holding palm and wreath before her; $100.00 (€94.00)
Augustus, 16 January 27 B.C. - 19 August 14 A.D., Akmoneia, Phrygia
Akmoneia (Acmonea) was an important city of central Phrygia, located on a tributary of the river Senaros.RP114987. Brass AE 20, RPC I 3168; BMC Phrygia p. 9, 33; SNG Cop 23; AMC I 1372; Waddington 5482, aVF, blue-green enhanced (paint?) patina, areas of bare brass, porous, part of edge ragged, weight 4.913 g, maximum diameter 19.9 mm, die axis 0o, Akmoneia (Ahat Koyu, Turkey) mint, 16 Jan 27 B.C. - 19 Aug 14 A.D.; obverse ΣEBAΣTOΣ (clockwise behind), laureate head of Augustus right, lituus before lower right; reverse Nike advancing right, raising wreath in right hand, palm frond in left hand; AKMONE/ΩN KPATHΣ / MHNOKPITOY (Akmoneia, [magistrate] Krates, son of Menokritos) starting in two upward lines on the left, ending counterclockwise on the left; $90.00 (€84.60)
Macedonian Kingdom, Philip III Arrhidaeus and Alexander IV, 323 - 317 B.C.
Struck shortly after Alexander the Great's death during the joint reign of Philip III, Alexander's brother, and the infant king Alexander IV, Alexander's son with the Bactrian princess Roxana. The two were made joint kings by Alexander's generals who only intended to use them as pawns. Philip III was imprisoned upon his return to Macedonia, and in 317 B.C. he was executed under orders from Olympias. Alexander IV and his mother Roxana were executed by the boy's regent, Kassander, in 311 B.C. Sardes also struck coins during this period in the name of Philip. Traditionally coins naming Alexander have been attributed to Alexander III the Great, but the Alexander named on this coin was more likely the infant son of Roxana, Alexander IV.GS112924. Silver drachm, ADM I, series XIV, 288; Price 2626; Müller Alexander 521; SNG Cop 961; SNG Munchen 635; SNG Berry 262; SNG Alpha Bank -, aVF, weight 4.188 g, maximum diameter 16.0 mm, die axis 0o, Lydia, Sardes (Sart, Turkey) mint, c. 320 - 319 B.C.; obverse head of Herakles right, wearing Nemean Lion skin, scalp over head, forepaws tied at neck; reverse AΛEΞANΔPOY, Zeus Aëtophoros seated left on throne without back, nude to the waist, himation around hips and legs, right leg drawn back, feet on footstool, eagle in extended right hand, long scepter vertical behind in left hand, bee head upward above TI left; $130.00 (€122.20)
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