Ancient Greece and Asia Minor
|
|
|
Aegina (Circa 480-457 BC)AR Stater
20mm, 12.26g
Obverse: Sea turtle, (the ridge of its shell ornamented with a row of dots and two smaller additional dots at the front)
Reverse: Incuse square divided into five compartments.
Milbank pl. I, 13; Sear 2594
Aegina is a rocky and mountainous island in the Saronic Gulf located about 25 miles southeast of Athens. Because of its limited availability of cultivable land, the inhabitants needed to leverage the sea for their livelihood. They became expert merchants and tradesmen, dominating the shipping industry early in the sixth century BC. Their success and near-monopoly brought the island great wealth and power.
During their travels, the merchants encountered the developing early electrum ancient coins in Ionia and Lydia. They recognized the potential to not only store their considerable wealth in the form of portable ancient coins, but also to optimize trade through a global currency. Aegina therefore became the first of the Greek city-states to issue coined money, starting in the mid-sixth century BC.
Their status as the first international trade currency was aided by the consistency of their designs, and their coins spread far throughout the known world. Throughout Peloponnesus the coinage of Aegina was, down to the time of the Peloponnesian war, the only universally recognized medium of exchange.
The earliest ancient coins types, like this coin, depict a sea turtle engraved in high relief with an incuse pattern on the reverse. The coin above is a Type II (of IV total), a period from 480-456 BC (based on hoard finds) when Aegina’s power was lessening and Athens was on the rise. Type II coins show a greater consistency and broadness of flan shape, the carapaces of the turtles’ shell decorated with pellets arranged in the form of a T, and a skew pattern on the reverse, which had become current in about 500BC but in a much more spacious form with thick bands separating the incuse elements of the design.
In 456 BC Aegina was made tributary to Athens; and in 431 BC the inhabitants were expelled en masse, and the island occupied by Athenian colonists.
Nathan P
|
|
Aiolis, Kyme. (Circa 2nd century B.C.) AE 16, 3.74 g
Obverse: Artemis standing right, holding long torch, clasping hands with the Amazon Kyme, standing left, holding short transverse scepter
Reverse: Two figures, Apollo and Kyme, in crested helmets and military garb, Apollo holding lance or long spear, standing in slow quadriga right.
Grose:7908; SNG von Aulock 7698; SNG München 512; SNG Copenhagen 113.
Kyme was an Aeolian city in Aeolis (Asia Minor) close to the kingdom of Lydia. The Aeolians regarded Kyme as the largest and most important of their twelve cities, which were located on the coastline of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Little is known about the foundation of the city to supplement the traditional founding legend. According to legend, it was founded by the Amazon Kyme. Nathan P
|
|
Argolis. Argos (Circa 480-430 BC)Triobol AR
14 mm, 2.95 g
Obverse: Forepart of wolf at bay left
Reverse: Large A, two small incuse squares above, pellet below, all within shallow incuse square.
BCD Peloponnesos 1022-4; HGC 5, 663Nathan P
|
|
Attica, Athens. (Circa 454-404 BC)AR Tetradrachm
24mm, 16.57g
Obv: Head of Athena right, wearing earring, necklace with pendants, and crested Attic helmet decorated with three olive leaves over visor and a spiral palmette on the bowl
Rev: Owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig and crescent behind; all within incuse square.
Test cuts on both sides.
Kroll 8; HGC 4, 1597
Nathan P
|
|
Attica, Athens. (Circa 454-449 BC)AR Tetradrachm
25 mm, 17.20 g
This is a transitional Owl tetradrachm that bridges the early classical owls (minted from 478-454) with the subsequent mass classical (standardized) coinage, which really got going in the early 440s BC to finance Pericles' building projects like the Parthenon and then later the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) vs. Sparta. The 454 date is critical in that it was the year that Athens moved the treasury of the Delian league (confederation of Greek states led by Athens to defend against the Persian threat) from Delos to Athens.
This coin shares many attributes of Starr V early classical coinage (465-454 BC). On the obverse, the olive leaves on Athena's helmet connect to her diadem with small stems (which disappear in the mass coinage). In addition, the palmette leaves on Athena's helmet are smaller, less decorative, and more realistic. Finally, Athena is smiling (she starts to frown as the war with Sparta goes badly) and is more beautifully depicted than in the more hastily produced mass coinage.
On the reverse, like with the Starr V coins, the incuse is quite noticeable and the AOE (short for AOENAION, or "Of the Athenians") is written in smaller letters (they are much bigger in the mass coinage). Also, the owl is stouter, has smaller eyes, and his head is at an angle rather than parallel to the ground like all later issues.
The only difference between the Starr V owls and this example is in the owl's tail - in Starr V it ends with three small feathers. On this coin and all subsequent coinage the owl's tail ends in a single prong. Given all the other similarities to Starr V it is likely this coin was minted soon after the Treasury's move from Delos to Athens - perhaps 454/453.Nathan P
|
|
Attica, Athens. (Circa 475-465 BC)AR Tetradrachm
24 mm, 17.19 g
Obverse: Helmeted head of Athena right
Reverse: Owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig to left; all within incuse square.
Starr Group IV, HGC 4, 1595. Test cut on reverse.
Chester Starr arranged Athens' coinage from ca. 480 until the mid 5th century into five groups, and his chronology is still widely accepted today (although the dating of the final groups is now considered too late). The style of the "transitional" Athenian tetradrachms from the late 470s through the early 450s B.C. – Starr's groups II through V – is considered the high mark of Athenian coinage. By the time of Starr's Group IV, production of tetradrachms had steadily increased and the uptick in the number of required dies (and engravers) necessitated a greater standardization of style. On the obverse, the head of Athena changes little from Starr's Group III – the goddess has a bold profile and retains her "archaic smile"; the hair on her forehead is arranged in two waves, with a small bend above the eye; and on her helmet, her leaves float above the visor (sometimes referred to as a "laurel wreath," these leaves were first introduced after the victory over the Persians in 480/79 BC). One difference from Group III is the helmet's palmette, which goes from pointing to the adjacent olive leaf to more parallel. On the reverse, the back leg of the Group IV's owl often stretches further back and the tail feather no longer touches the rear claw. Nathan P
|
|
Boeotia, Thebes (Circa 379-368 BC)AR Stater
22 mm, 11.44 g
Obverse: Boeotian shield
Reverse: Amphora; ΠO-ΘI (Pothi - magistrate) across field.
Hepworth 81; BCD Boiotia 515; HGC 4, 1331
Thebes was the largest city of the ancient region of Boeotia. It was a major rival of ancient Athens, and sided with the Persians during the 480 BC invasion under Xerxes and Sparta during the Peloponnesian war (431-404 BC). In 404 BC, they had urged the complete destruction of Athens; yet, in 403 BC, they secretly supported the restoration of its democracy in order to find in it a counterpoise against Sparta. A few years later, influenced perhaps in part by Persian gold, they formed the nucleus of the league against Sparta. The result of the war was disastrous to Thebes, and by 382 BC a Spartan force was occupying its citadel. Three years later, the Spartan garrison was expelled and a democratic constitution was set up in place of the traditional oligarchy. In the consequent wars with Sparta, the Theban army, trained and led by Epaminondas and Pelopidas, proved itself formidable. Years of desultory fighting, in which Thebes established its control over all Boeotia, culminated in 371 BC in a remarkable victory over the Spartans at Leuctra. Nathan P
|
|
Boeotia, Thebes. (Circa 425-400 BC.)AR Stater
23mm, 12.32 g
Obverse: Boeotian shield
Reverse: Amphora, ivy leaf hanging from right handle; Θ-E across lower field (short for ΘEBAIΩN or "Belonging to the People of Thebes"); all within concave circle.
BCD Boiotia 391; HGC 4, 1325. Nathan P
|
|
Celtic Britain, Durotriges (Circa 58 BC-45 AD)Stater, Abstract (Cranborne Chase) type
5.26g
Obverse: Devolved head of Apollo right
Reverse: Disjointed horse left; pellets above, [pellet below], pellet in lozenge above tail, [zigzag and pellet pattern between two parallel exergue lines].
Van Arsdell 1235-1; BMC 2525-54.
The Durotriges ("dwellers by the water" or, perhaps, "water-rat kings") were well known for their continental trade and hill forts. They were the only tribe who did not add inscriptions to their coins, perhaps indicative of decentralized rule among multiple hill-fort based tribes using a common currency, and the only tribe to strike a stater in silver.
The history of the Durotriges can be divided into two broad phases, an early phase, roughly 100-60 B.C. and a late phase from 60 B.C. until the Roman conquest. The early phase was a time of rapid development brought about by overseas trade, while the late phase was a time of retraction, isolation and economic impoverishment. The economic decline is dramatically portrayed by the progressive debasement of their coinage, particularly when you compare the magnificent white-gold Craborne Chase staters of ca. 50-40 B.C. with the crude cast bronze Hengistbury coins of ca. A.D. 10-43.
The Durotriges resisted Roman invasion in AD 43, and the historian Suetonius records some fights between the tribe and the second legion Augusta, then commanded by Vespasian. By 70 AD, the tribe was already Romanised and securely included in the Roman province of Britannia.
Nathan P
|
|
Celtic, Eastern Europe (lower Danube region), Imitations of Philip III of Macedon. (3rd-2nd centuries BC)Tetradrachm
25mm, 16.56g
Obverse: Head of Heracles right, wearing lion's skin headdress.
Reverse: Zeus seated left; monograms before and below. ΦIΛIΠΠOY (of Philip) to right.
CCCBM I 185ff. Göbl OTA 579.Nathan P
|
|
Cilicia, Tarsos. Tarkumuwa (Datames), Satrap of Cilicia and Cappadocia. (Circa 378-372 BC)AR Stater
23 mm, 10.28 g
Obverse: Diademed female head facing slightly to left, wearing pendant earrings and necklace.
Reverse: 𐡕𐡓𐡃𐡌𐡅 ('trkmw' in Aramaic) Bearded head of Ares (?) to left, wearing crested Attic helmet.
Casabonne type 1. SNG Levante 80. SNG Paris 276-277.
Datames (407-362 BC) served as a member of the Persian king's (Artaxerxes II - 405-359 BC) bodyguard before he became satrap of Cilicia and Cappadocia upon his father's death in battle in 384 BC. After many successes, the Persian king placed him in charge of the second war against Egypt, along with Pharnabazos and Tithraustes, satrap of Caria.
To pay their armies for these expeditions, both satraps minted near-identical coins, distinguished only by their inscriptions. The reverse of these coins may show a representation of Ares, the Greek god of war. The facing head of an unidentifiable female deity (Aphrodite, the wife of Ares?) on the obverse is clearly influenced by the famous representations of the nymph Arethusa created by the artist Kimon for the coins of Syracuse. Both designs were probably meant to appeal to the thousands of Greek mercenaries that each Persian satrap hired for their Egyptian campaigns.
Datames was first, however, detained by a local revolt in Kataonia, a territory within his satrapy. This time, his success incurred the king's jealousy, and he was removed both from his command of the Egyptian expedition as well as the rule of his satrapy. Refusing to relinquish his authority, Datames himself revolted and became a virtually independent ruler. His initial success in this endeavor prompted the revolt of other satraps across the empire. Datames' success, however, was short-lived. Distrust among the satraps rendered them unable to cooperate, their rebellion disintegrated, and Datames himself was assassinated in 362 BC. Nathan P
|
|
Cimmerian Bosporos, Pantikapaion. (Circa 340-325 BC.)Æ26.5 (14.67g )
Obverse: Wreathed head of Pan left
Reverse: Bow and arrow.
Anokhin 1022; MacDonald 59; HGC 7, 106.Nathan P
|
|
Cimmerian Bosporos. Panticapaeum. (Circa 325-310 BC)AE17 (4.07 gm)
Obverse: Head of bearded satyr left
Reverse: Î -A-N, head of bull left.
MacDonald 67. Anokhin 132.
Panticapaeum (Ancient Greek: Παντικάπαιον, translit. Pantikápaion, Russian: Пантикапей, translit. Pantikapei) was an ancient Greek city on the eastern shore of Crimea, which the Greeks called Taurica. The city was built on Mount Mithridat, a hill on the western side of the Cimmerian Bosporus. It was founded by Milesians in the late 7th or early 6th century BC.
This area eventually came to be ruled by the Spartocids, a Hellenized Thracian dynasty that ruled the Hellenistic Kingdom of Bosporus between the years 438–108 BC. They had usurped the former dynasty, the Archaeanactids, a Greek dynasty of the Bosporan Kingdom who were tyrants of Panticapaeum from 480 - 438 BC that were usurped from the Bosporan throne by Spartokos I in 438 BC, whom the dynasty is named after.
Spartokos I is often thought to have been a Thracian mercenary who was hired by the Archaeanactids, and that he usurped the Archaeanactids becoming "king" of the Bosporan Kingdom, then only a few cities, such as Panticapaeum. Spartokos was succeeded by his son, Satyros I, who would go on to conquer many cities around Panticapaeum such as Nymphaeum and Kimmerikon. Satyros's son, Leukon I, would go to conquer and expand the kingdom beyond boundaries his father ever thought of.
Ultimately, the Bosporan Kingdom entered into a decline due to numerous attacks from nomadic Scythian tribes in the subsequent centuries leading up to its fall.Nathan P
|
|
Cimmerian Bosporos. Pantikapaion. (Circa 310-304/3 BC.)AE20 (6.83 g)
Obverse: Bearded head of satyr or Pan right
Reverse: Forepart of griffin left; below, sturgeon left.
Anokhin 1023; MacDonald 69; HGC 7, 113. Nathan P
|
|
Corinthia. Corinth (Circa 405-345 BC)AR Stater
19mm, 8.29g
Obverse: Pegasos flying right, below, Ϙ
Reverse:Head of Athena r., wearing Corinthian helmet; on left, aphlaston (upward curving stern of an ancient warship).
Pegasi 246/2; Ravel 652.Nathan P
|
|
|
|
|
Eastern Europe. Imitation of Philip II of Macedon (Circa 200-0 BC)Tetradrachm (Kugelwange or "ball cheek" type)
20 mm, 11.46 g
Obverse: Stylized laureate head of Zeus right
Reverse: Stylized horse prancing left, pellet-in-annulet above, pelleted cross below.
Lanz 468-9; OTA 193/9.
Around the end of the 3rd century B.C., the Celtic Scordisci tribe started issuing their own local coinages imitating the types of Philip II of Macedon. These coinages had a limited volume of production and a restricted area of circulation, so their finds are not numerous and occur mostly in their own territory and in the neighboring territories of other Celtic or Celticized tribes. The Scordisci were originally formed after the Celtic invasion of Macedonia and Northern Greece (280-279 BC) which culminated in a great victory against the Greeks at Thermopylae and the sacking of Delphi, the center of the Greek world. The Celts then retreated back to the north of the Balkans (suffering many casualties along the way) and settled on the mouth of the Sava River calling themselves the Scordisci after the nearby Scordus (now Sar) mountains. The Scordisci, since they dominated the important Sava valley, the only route to Italy, in the second half of the 3rd century BC, gradually became the most powerful tribe in the central Balkans.
From 141 BC, the Scordisci were constantly involved in battles against Roman held Macedonia. They were defeated in 135 BC by Cosconius in Thrace. In 118 BC, according to a memorial stone discovered near Thessalonica, Sextus Pompeius, probably the grandfather of the triumvir, was slain fighting against them near Stobi. In 114 BC, they surprised and destroyed the army of Gaius Porcius Cato in the western mountains of Serbia, but were defeated by Minucius Rufus in 107 BC.
From time to time they still gave trouble to the Roman governors of Macedonia, whose territory they invaded, even advancing as far as Delphi for a second time and once again plundering the temple; but Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus finally overcame them in 88 BC and drove them back across the Danube. After this, the power of the Scordisci declined rapidly. This decline was more a result of the political situation in their surrounding territories rather than the effects of Roman campaigns, as their client tribes, especially the Pannonians, became more powerful and politically independent. Between 56 and 50 BC, the Scordisci were defeated by Burebista's Dacians (a Thracian king of the Getae and Dacian tribes), and became subject to him. Nathan P
|
|
Gaul, Northwest. Coriosolites (57-52 BC)BI Stater
5.36 g
Obverse: Celticized head right, hair in large spiral curls, S-like ear; pearl strings flowing around
Reverse: Devolved charioteer driving biga right; ornaments around; below, boar right.
DT 2329; Slg. Flesche - (vgl. 198)
The Coriosolites (one among a number of tribes in the area) inhabited a region called Armorica in what is now northwest France. They were a mixture of Celts who had fled Germanic incursions across the Rhine and the original inhabitants of Armorica, a place where customs and beliefs of the megalithic age still lingered on.
The Coriosolite coinage appears to have constituted a confederate currency, manufactured at the time of the Gallic Wars between 57 BC, the date of the revolt of the Armoricans and 51 BC, the end of the war of the Gauls. For the Armoricans, the war began with invasion by the Roman General Crassus, who subjugated the tribes by fighting each individually and taking hostages. The Celts then formed an alliance to more effectively fight Rome and captured envoys sent by Rome to serve as their own hostages.
Aware of their efforts, Caesar sent three legions under Sabinus who routed the Celts. No more battles were fought in Armorica, but the Armorican resistance continued; some of the population, unwilling to live under Roman rule, banded together and hid in remote areas. Twenty thousand Armoricans (including many Coriosolites) were among the forces that attempted to relieve Vercingetorix at the siege of Alesia in 52 BC.
J.-B. Colbert de Beaulieu defined six classes of Coriosolite coinage. This coin is in Class VI, defined by a nose shaped like a backward 2 on the obverse and, on the reverse, a symbol resembling a ladder on its side in front of a pony with a boar underneath. John Hooker identifies five coin types within Group VI. The coin above is most likely the fifth type (evidenced by the placement of the curl at the bottom of the horse's mane on the reverse). While 1-3 types in Class VI are among the earliest Coriosolite coins (perhaps even preceding the Gallic wars), Hooker asserts that, based on the style of the driver's body on the reverse, types 4 and 5 may have been minted just prior to the forming of the Celtic coalition and capture of the Roman envoys. Nathan P
|
|
Kings of Macedon. Antigonos I Monophthalmos (Circa 310-301 BC)AR Drachm
18 mm, 4.22g
Struck in the name and types of Alexander III. Abydos(?)
Obverse: Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin headdress
Reverse: Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, holding sceptre; head of Ammon right in left field, ivy-leaf beneath throne, AΛEΞANΔPOY to right.
Price 1551; SNG Copenhagen 970Nathan P
|
|
Kings of Macedon. Alexander III 'The Great' (Circa 324/323 BC)AR Tetradrachm
25.5 mm, 17.24 g
Babylon mint. Struck under Stamenes or Archon, circa 324/3 BC.
Obverse: Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin
Reverse: Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; wreath in left field; below throne, monogram above M.
Price 3655.
This coin was minted in or near the time (323 BC) and place (Babylon) of Alexander's (likely) assassination.Nathan P
|
|
Kings of Macedon. Alexander III 'The Great', (Circa 325-323 BC)AR Tetradrachm
25 mm, 17.18 g
Babylon mint. struck under Stamenes or Archon.
Obverse: Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress, paws tied beneath chin.
Reverse: [Α]ΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Zeus seated left on high-backed throne, his feet resting on a low foot rest, holding long scepter in his left hand and, in his right, eagle standing right with closed wings, in left field, trident above M, monogram beneath throne.
Price 3635; Newell "Reattribution" 227Nathan P
|
|
|
|
Kings of Macedon. Alexander III ‘The Great’, (Circa 332-323 BC)AR Tetradrachm
26 mm, 17.21 g
Salamis, struck under Nikokreon.
Obverse: Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress.
Reverse: AΛEΞANΔPOY Zeus seated left on low throne, holding long scepter in his left hand and eagle standing right with closed wings in his right; to left, bow.
Price 3139.
Nikokreon succeeded Pnytagoras on the throne of Salamis (Cyprus) and is reported to have paid homage to Alexander after the conqueror’s return from Egypt to Tyre in 331. In the war between Antigonos and Ptolemy (315), Nikokreon supported the latter and was rewarded by being placed in control of all Cyprus. He was the last of the Teucridai to rule in Salamis (upon his death in 310 BC, the city came under the rule of Ptolemy’s brother, Menelaos).
The Teucridai were kings of Salamis who claimed descent from Teucer, the mythical founder of the city. The bow in left field on the reverse undoubtedly references Teucer's fame as a great archer, who loosed his shafts from behind the giant shield of his half-brother Ajax the Great during the Trojan War.Nathan P
|
|
Kings of Macedon. Amphipolis. Philip II. 359-336 BC. (Circa 315-294 BC - Kassander)Tetradrachm
24 mm, 14.62 g
Obverse: Laureate head of Zeus right.
Reverse: ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΥ (FILIPPOU, "of Philip"). Youth, holding palm frond, riding horse right. Controls: Below horse, Λ above torch; dolphin right below raised foreleg.
SNG ANS 807; HGC 3.1, 988Nathan P
|
|
Kings of Macedon. Amphipolis. Philip II. 359-336 BC. (Circa 355-349/8 BC)AR Tetradrachm
23mm., 13,99g.
Obverse: Laureate head of Zeus right
Reverse: ΦIΛIΠΠOY (FILIPPOU, "Of Philip"), Philip II on horse left, wearing kausia, short tunic and chiton around the neck, he raises the hand in salutation, bow beneath the front legs of the horse.
Le Rider D71, R -; SNG Cop 545 var.
Philip's revolutionary silver tetradrachms aimed to replace those of the Chalcidian League after his capture of the League's capital, Olynthus, in 348 BC. The horseman on the reverse was the type which had traditionally marked coinage of fine silver in Macedonia. The reverse type exists in two versions. One shows a bearded horseman wearing kausia and chlamys (this coin), very like the horseman on the coins of the fifth-century Macedonian kings; here no doubt Philip himself is represented. The other is a mounted jockey carrying the palm branch of victory, which certainly commemorates the success of Philip's horse in the Olympic games of 356 BC.
From sculptures uncovered in the excavation of Philip’s tomb in 1977, it is evident that the artist adopted some of Philip’s facial attributes in the depiction of Zeus on the obverse of his tetradrachms, which would help assert Philip’s divinity and claim to the broader throne of Greece.Nathan P
|
|
Kings of Macedon. Philip II (Circa 359-336 BC)AE 16, 6.23 g
Obverse: Head of Apollo right
Reverse: "ΦIΛIΠΠOY" (FILIPPOY) above naked youth on horse right, theta p control mark below
SNG ANS 927
The rise of Macedon during the reign of Philip II was achieved in part by his reformation of the Ancient Macedonian army, establishing the Macedonian phalanx that proved critical in securing victories on the battlefield. After defeating Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC, Philip II led the effort to establish a federation of Greek states known as the League of Corinth, with him as the elected hegemon and commander-in-chief of a planned invasion of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia. However, his assassination in 336 BC (perhaps orchestrated by one of his wives, Olympias, and son, Alexander the Great) led to the immediate succession of Alexander.Nathan P
|
|
Kings of Macedon. Philip III Arrhidaios, (Circa 322-318 BC)AR Drachm
17 mm, 4.20 g
Sardes mint under Philip III Arrhidaios (323-317 BC) in the types of Alexander III
Obverse: Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress.
Reverse: ΦIΛIΠΠΟΥ (FILIPPOU) Zeus seated left on throne, holding eagle in his right hand and scepter in his left; to left, bee; below throne, A.
Price P104
This coin is a die match for Nomos Web Auction 6, Lot 330, 11/20/2016 (https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=3481680)
Subsequent to his death in 323 BC, Alexander the Great's sister, Cleopatra, traveled to Sardes (Autumn 322 BC) to lure a husband from among her brother's former generals (who had already begun warring over Alexander's empire). Over the course of the next two years she was visited twice by Alexander's former secretary and now dashing outlaw general, Eumenes of Cardia. The first time Eumenes brought an offer of marriage from the general Perdiccas, who Cleopatra turned away (rightfully, it turned out, as he was killed by his own troops after failing in battle vs. Ptolemy in Egypt). The second time (320 BC) Eumenes offered to ally with Cleopatra to combine his military might and her royal legitimacy.(This was not an offer of marriage, as Eumenes was not Macedonian.) To impress the princess, Eumenes paraded his cavalry back and forth before Sardes. But Cleopatra, though she granted Eumenes an audience, was not willing to become his partisan. Throughout the wars that followed Cleopatra never married or even left Sardes, where she remained as a veritable damsel in the tower keep until her death by assassination in 308 BC. Nathan P
|
|
KINGS of PAEONIA. Patraos. (Circa 335-315 BC)AR Tetradrachm
23.5mm, 12.78 g
Astibos or Damastion mint.
Obverse: Laureate head of Apollo right
Reverse: Warrior on horse rearing right, thrusting spear held in his right hand at enemy below who defends with shield on his left arm. ΠΑΤΡΑΟΥ (PATRAOS)
Paeonian Hoard 479 (same dies); Peykov E2160 (same obv. die as illustration); NRBM Paeonia 40 (same obv. die); HGC 3, 148.
Phiip II of Macedon (359-336 BC) reduced the Paeonian kingdom to a semi-autonomous, subordinate status, which led to a process of gradual and formal Hellenization of the Paeonians, who, during Philip's reign, began to issue coins with Greek legends like the Macedonian ones. Paeonia was most likely still a subordinated kingdom at the beginning of Patraos' reign (340/35 - 315 BC), and at the time of Alexander’s Eastern campaign, the Paeonians were part of the Macedonian army with their light cavalry. In fact, at the battle of Gaugamela (331 BC), Ariston, the leader of the Paeonian cavalry and possibly the brother off Patraos was especially distinguishable, defeating Satropates, the commander of the Persian horseman. It is this victory that was likely the inspiration for the reverse iconography of Patraos tetradrachms.
Interestingly, though, on most of the coins the "Persian" horseman is represented as defending himself with a Macedonian shield, the appearance of which, obviously contains a certain message. There is no direct historical explanation, but the literary sources reveal that after the death of Alexander of Macedon in 323 BC, Antipater was positioned in Europe, being appointed strategus autocrator in charge of all Macedonians, Hellenes, Illyrians, Triballi, Agrianes and the people of Epirus. Notably, the Paeonians are not mentioned in this list, probably because Paeonia had regained its autonomy. Thus, the insertion of the Macedonian shield on the reverse was likely announcing the liberation of Paeonia from Macedonian sovereignty.
With regard to the coin iconography, it is notable that the cult of Apollo was predominant on Paeonian coins. Hesiod identified Paeon as an individual deity: "Unless Phoebus Apollo should save him from death, or Paean himself who knows the remedies for all things." In time, Paeon (more usually spelled Paean) became an epithet of Apollo, in his capacity as a god capable of bringing disease and therefore propitiated as a god of healing.
As discussed by Wayne Sayles in "Ancient Coin Collecting III, Numismatic Art of the Greek World," the obverse of this coin is minted in archaizing style, "with the frontal almond eye common to the art of a century earlier." This type was produced with both the archaic eye and the modern profile eye. "The contrast is not one of stylistic transition, but rather of artistic intention. In fact, the archaizing version seems to have been issued toward the end of the series."Nathan P
|
|
Kings of Thrace. Lysimachos. (Circa 297-281)AR Tetradrachm
16.04 g
Magnesia mint.
Obverse: Diademed head of the deified Alexander right, with horn of Ammon
Reverse: Athena Nikephoros seated left, left arm resting on shield, spear behind; filleted torch to outer left, monogram to inner left.
Thompson 115; HGC 3, 1743
Among the mints in Asia Minor which Lysimachos acquired through his military conquests in 302/1 BC, Magnesia was a fairly prolific issuer of coinage. In 287 BC, however, the city, along with its neighbor, Sardes, was captured by Demetrios I Poliorketes, only to be retaken by Lysimachos the following year. While Sardes was apparently closed throughout the remainder of Lysimachos’ reign, the mint at Magnesia was allowed to continue striking.Nathan P
|
|
Kings of Thrace. Lysimachos. (Circa 305-281 B.C.)AE 18, 4.87 g
Obverse: Helmeted Head of Athena right
Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΛYΣIMAXOY (Of King Lysimachos), lion leaping right, EAM monogram and caduceus in left field, spear head below.
SNG Copenhagen 1153-4; Müller 76
Lysimachos (360 BC – 281 BC) was a Macedonian officer and diadochus "successor" of Alexander the Great, who became a king in 306 BC, ruling Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedon. In 302 BC, when the second alliance between Cassander, Ptolemy and Seleucus was made, Lysimachus, reinforced by troops from Cassander, entered Asia Minor, where he met with little resistance. On the approach of Antigonus he retired into winter quarters near Heraclea, marrying its widowed queen Amastris, a Persian princess. Seleucus joined him in 301 BC, and at the Battle of Ipsus Antigonus was defeated and slain. Antigonus' dominions were divided among the victors. Lysimachus' share was Lydia, Ionia, Phrygia and the north coast of Asia Minor. He was later killed at the battle of Corupedium when fighting another of Alexander's successors, Seleucus, who ruled much of what was formerly Persia.Nathan P
|
|
Lokris Opuntii (Circa 369-338 BC)AR Triobol
16 mm, 2.61 g
Obverse: Wreathed head of Persephone right
Reverse: [O]ΠONTIΩN; Ajax, nude but for crested Corinthian helmet, advancing right, holding sword in right hand, shield decorated with serpent on left arm; kantharos below.
BCD Lokris 99; SNG Copenhagen 50
Opuntian Lokris consisted of a narrow slip upon the eastern coast of central Greece, from the pass of Thermopylae to the mouth of the river Cephissus. In the Persian War the Opuntian Lokrians fought with Leonidas at the Battle of Thermopylae, and also sent seven ships to the Greek fleet. The Lokrians fought on the side of Sparta in the Peloponnesian War.
Ajax of Lokris (or Ajax 'the Lesser'), depicted on this coin’s reverse, supposedly led a fleet of forty ships from Lokris Opuntii against Troy in the Greeks' great war on that city. At Troy's fall, he was alleged by Odysseus to have violated a sanctuary of Athena by ravishing Cassandra, who had sought refuge there. He thus brought down the wrath of Athena upon himself and his countrymen: Ajax himself was wrecked and killed in a storm as he made his way home from the war, and the rest of the Opuntians reached home only with great difficulty. Nevertheless, they annually honoured their former leader by launching a ship fitted with black sails and laden with gifts, which they then set alight, and whenever the Lokrian army drew up for battle, one place was always left open for Ajax, whose spirit they believed would stand and fight with them.
Nathan P
|
|
Moesia, Istros. (Circa 340-313 BC)AR Drachm
6.19 g
Obverse: Two facing male heads; the right inverted
Reverse: IΣTPIH, sea-eagle left, grasping dolphin left with talons; H behind, Δ below.
AMNG I 431. SNG BM Black Sea 245.
Istros was a Greek colony near the mouths of the Danube (known as Ister in Ancient Greek), on the western coast of the Black Sea. Established by Milesian settlers in order to facilitate trade with the native Getae, Scymnus of Chios (ca 110 BC), dated its founding to 630 BC, while Eusebius of Caesarea set it during the time of the 33rd Olympic Games (657 – 656 BC). During the archaic and classical periods, when Istros flourished, it was situated near fertile arable land. It served as a port of trade soon after its establishment, with fishing and agriculture as additional sources of income. Nathan P
|
|
Pamphylia, Aspendos (Circa 380-325 BC)AR Stater
24 mm, 11.08 g
Obv: Two wrestlers grappling. Control: KI.
Rev: EΣTFEΔIIYΣ.
Slinger in throwing stance right. Triskeles right in field; countermark.
SNG France 104; SNG von Aulock 4557.
Aspendos was an ancient city in Pamphylia, Asia Minor, located about 40 km east of the modern city of Antalya, Turkey. It was situated on the Eurymedon River about 16 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea; it shared a border with, and was hostile to, Side. The wide range of its coinage throughout the ancient world indicates that, in the 5th century BC, Aspendos had become the most important city in Pamphylia. At that time, according to Thucydides, the Eurymedon River was navigable as far as Aspendos, and the city derived great wealth from a trade in salt, oil and wool.
There are two stories associated with Aspendos that I found interesting. In 389 BC Thrasybulus of Athens, in an effort to regain some of the prestige that city had lost in the Peloponnesian Wars, anchored off the coast of Aspendos in an effort to secure its surrender. Hoping to avoid a new war, the people of Aspendos collected money among themselves and gave it to the commander, entreating him to retreat without causing any damage. Even though he took the money, he had his men trample all the crops in the fields. Enraged, the Aspendians stabbed and killed Thrasybulus in his tent.
Many years later when Alexander the Great marched into Aspendos in 333 BC after capturing Perge, the citizens sent envoys asking him not to garrison soldiers there. He agreed, provided he would be given the taxes and horses that they had formerly paid as tribute to the Persian king. After reaching this agreement Alexander went to Side, leaving a garrison there on the city's surrender. Going back through Sillyon, he learned that the Aspendians had failed to ratify the agreement their envoys had proposed and were preparing to defend themselves. Alexander marched to the city immediately. When they saw Alexander returning with his troops, the Aspendians, who had retreated to their acropolis, again sent envoys to sue for peace. This time, however, they had to agree to very harsh terms; a Macedonian garrison would remain in the city and 100 gold talents as well as 4,000 horses would be given in tax annually.Nathan P
|
|
Pamphylia, Side (Circa 145-125BC)AR Tetradrachm
29 mm, 15.94 g
Kleuch-, magistrate.
Obverse: Helmeted head of Athena right.
Reverse: ΚΛΕ - ΥΧ, Nike advancing left, holding wreath; pomegranate to left.
SNG BN 697.
In 333 BC, Alexander the Great occupied Side and introduced the population to Hellenistic culture, which became the dominant tradition until the 1st century BC. Ptolemy later overtook the city when he declared himself king of Egypt in 305 BC. Side stayed under Ptolemaic control until it was captured by the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BC. In 190 B.C., however, a fleet from Rhodes, supported by Rome and Pergamum, defeated the Seleucid fleet, which was under the command of the fugitive Carthaginian general, Hannibal (who was unskilled in naval warfare, but to his credit still almost won the battle). The Seleucid defeat solidified by the Treaty of Apamea (188 BC), left Side in an uncertain state of autonomy during which it minted its own money. This lasted until 36 BC when the city came under the rule of the Roman client King of Galatia, Amyntas.Nathan P
|
|
Persia, Achaemenid Empire. Darios I to Xerxes I. (Circa 505-480 BC) AR Siglos
14 mm, 5.38 g
Lydo-Milesian standard. Sardes mint.
Obverse: Persian king or hero, wearing kidaris and kandys, quiver over shoulder, in kneeling-running stance right, drawing bow
Reverse: Incuse punch
Carradice Type II (pl. XI, 12); Meadows, Administration 320; BMC Arabia pl. XXVII, 23; Sunrise 21.
From the Baldwin Maull Collection, purchased 1950s-early 1960s.
The Persians eventual adoption of coinage was related to their conquests of Lydia and then to their conflicts with the Greek city states in the sixth through fourth centuries BC. During these wars, the Persians employed Greek mercenaries, who were accustomed to receiving payment in coinage.
The Persians issued silver sigloi and gold darics (20:1 value) with only a few basic designs. The type of siglos above (Type II), with the full-length king drawing a bow, is attributed to the period 510-480 BC and the third Persian King after Cyrus the Great, Darius I the Great, who is thought to be the human figure represented on the coin.
In general it seems that the circulation patterns of darics and sigloi were fundamentally different – so far there is no single known hoard in which the two types of coins have occurred together. Darics circulated widely and were likely used for the payment of governmental, military (1 per month for the average soldier) and diplomatic expenses. Moreover, once they entered circulation, they would have been readily accepted as bullion anywhere. As the Greeks themselves hardly struck any gold, the daric was almost free of competition on the coin market in its time.
In contrast, hoards of sigloi have been found almost exclusively in the westernmost Persian territories — the central, coastal regions of modern Turkey. From the beginning, sigloi were primarily used for local needs. In international trade the small, relatively unattractive siglos hardly had a chance against the superior Greek competitors, and even the Greek mercenaries serving in Persian service increasingly refused to accept it.
The Persian’s primary mint was certainly Sardes (the mint of the former Lydian kings as well), the seat of the Achaemenid administration for the whole of Asia Minor. As the leading administrative center, Sardes must also have been the collection point for the annual tribute payments from the provinces of Asia Minor, thus ensuring a sufficient supply of precious metals for mint production there. Nathan P
|
|
Persia, Achaemenid Empire. Darios I to Xerxes II (Circa 485-420 BC)AR Siglos
18 mm, 5.59 g
Sardes Mint
Obverse: Persian king in kneeling-running stance right, holding spear and bow, quiver over shoulder.
Reverse: Incuse rectangular punch.
Carradice Type IIIb (early)
Type III siglos (490-375 BC) all have the kneeling-running figure of the Great King right, transverse spear with point downward in right, bow in left hand, bearded, and crowned. They were possibly introduced in connection with the accession of Xerxes. Type IIIb is characterized by a heavier weight (5.55-5.6g vs. 5.3-5.39g for the earlier Type A) and often exhibits a cartoon-like large eye and aquiline nose (evident above).Nathan P
|
|
Persia, Achaemenid Empire. Xerxes II - Artaxerxes II. (Circa 420-375 BC) AR Siglos
16 mm, 5.56 g
Sardes or subsidiary mint.
Obverse: Persian king or hero in kneeling/running stance to right, holding spear and bow.
Reverse: Incuse punch.
BMC Arabia pl. XXIV passim. Carradice Type IIIb Group C
Type III Group C siglos exhibit a stylistic drapery with a broad semi-circular sweep of folds from the left knee back to the right heel and a large formal figure.Nathan P
|
|
Phoenicia, Arados. (Circa 172/1-111/0 BC). Dated CY 91 (169/8 BC).Drachm
18 mm, 3.98 g
Obverse: Bee; (qoppa)A (date, in monogram form - qoppa is 90, A is 1) to left, RE monogram to right
Reverse: Stag standing right; palm tree in background.
Duyrat 2706–17; HGC 10, 63; DCA 774.
Images of the bee as a symbol appear very early in the development of ancient Greek coinage. In particular, the prosperous city of Ephesus in Ionia (on the Aegean coast of Turkey) adopted the bee as its civic emblem. Ephesus was the location of a famous temple of the goddess Artemis (one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.) The high priest of the temple was known as the “king bee” (living in a fiercely patriarchal society, Greeks believed the queen bee was male) and the priestesses were called melissae (honeybees). There are nearly a thousand different known types of bee-and-stag coins from Ephesus, and unpublished new varieties appear frequently.
In 202 BC, Ephesus established an alliance with the Phoenician city of Arados (now Arwad, a small island off the Syrian coast south of Tartus). Arados later marked this event by adopting the bee and stag design for its coinage. Coins of Arados can be distinguished by the name of city ARADION, inscribed in Greek on the reverse. This alliance evidently continued for decades.Nathan P
|
|
Phoenicia, Arados. Uncertain king. Circa 420-350 BC.AR Shekel
18.5 mm, 10.45 g
Obverse: Laureate head of Ba'al-Arwad? right, with frontal eye
Reverse: Galley right above waves with row of shields along the bulwark; M A (in Aramaic) above;
E&E-A Group III.1.1; HGC 10, 28.
Settled in the 2nd millennium BC by the Phoenicians, Arados (Greek name) was located three kilometers off the Syrian shore between Lattaquie and Tripolis. Under Phoenician control, it became an independent kingdom called Arvad or Jazirat (the latter term meaning "island"). The island was a barren rock covered with fortifications and houses several stories in height. Just 800m long by 500m wide, it was surrounded by a massive wall with an artificial harbor constructed on the east toward the mainland.
Like most of the Phoenician cities on this coast, it developed into a trading city. Arados had a powerful navy, and its ships are mentioned in the monuments of Egypt and Assyria. In ancient times, it was in turn subject to the Egyptians, Assyrians, and then Persians (539 BC). But local dynasts were maintained until Straton, son of Gerostratos, king of Arados, submitted to Alexander the Great in 333 B.C.
The earliest coins of Arados (430-410 BC) depict a marine deity, human to the waist, bearded with plaited hair, with the lower body of a fish. Scholars aren't sure exactly who this deity is. Some believe the merman is Dagôn, associated with being the god of grain in the middle Euphrates and old Babylonia. Another option is Yamm (Yam), an ancient god from the semitic word meaning sea. He was worshipped by the semitic religions including Phoenicia and the Canaanites. Today, Elavi and Elayi's (2005) identification of the deity as Ba’al Arwad - a local manifestation of the ubiquitous Semitic god of weather and fertility - seems to be the most commonly accepted interpretation. In later Aradian coinage (like the example above) a Hellenized depiction of the deity’s head replaces the half-man, half-fish figure.
Most Aradian coins bear the same two Phoenician letters mem (M) and aleph (A or ´). In addition, during the first half of the fourth century (until 333 BC), the inscription M A was followed by a letter, some eight or nine in total. The most logical option is that this third letter represents different Aradian kings. This, plus parallels with contemporary Salaminian coinage, suggests that M A stands for “King” of Arwad rather than “Kingdom” (the more common interpretation). Because the coin above lacks a third letter designating a specific king, it’s most likely an earlier example. On the other hand, the more Hellenized portrait argues for a later date.Nathan P
|
|
Pontos, Amisos (as Peiraieos). (Circa 435-370 BC)AR Siglos
17 mm, 5.75 g
Persic standard. Aristeos, magistrate.
Obverse: Head of Hera left, wearing ornate stephane, earring, and necklace
Reverse: [ΠEIPA] in exergue, owl with spread wings standing facing on shield; across field in to lines, magistrate's name: A-PIΣ/TE-OΣ.
Malloy 1v; HGC 7, 229.
Amisos, situated on the southern shore of the Black Sea, was originally settled by the Milesians, perhaps as far back as the 8th century BC. The city was captured by the Persians in 550 BC and became part of Cappadocia (satrapy). In the 5th century BC, Amisos became a free state and one of the members of the Delian League led by the Athenians; it was then renamed Peiraieos under Pericles. In the 4th century BC the city came under the control of the Kingdom of Pontus. Nathan P
|
|
Pontos. Amisos (Circa 85-65 BC)Bronze AE
30mm, 19.53 g
Struck under Mithradates VI.
Obverse: Helmeted head of Athena right
Reverse: Perseus standing facing, holding harpa and head of Medusa; body of Medusa at feet, monograms to left and right.
HGC 7, 238
This coin depicts two figures from the legend of Medusa, who was once a beautiful young maiden who dared to challenge Athena's beauty. As punishment for her impiety, Medusa’s hair was turned into hissing serpents and condemned to turn every living thing which gazed upon her to turn to stone. Perseus, son of Zeus and the mortal Danae, was given the task of slaying this monster. He was aided, in part, by Athena who gave her shield to him for the task. In the context of the period which this coin is from, Perseus and Medusa could be representations of Mithradates VI and Rome, respectively.Nathan P
|
|
Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt. Alexandria. Ptolemy I Soter (Circa 305-282 BC)AR Tetradrachm
26.5 mm, 13.25 g
Obverse: Diademed head of Ptolemy I right
Reverse: ΠTOΛEMAIOY BAΣIΛEΩΣ, eagle standing left on thunderbolt, wings closed; P / AΠP monogram.
Svoronos 255Nathan P
|
|
Rhodes, Caria. (Circa 305-275 BC)AR Didrachm
18 mm, 6.41 g
Obverse: Helios head in three-quarter view on the right.
Reverse: POΔΙΟΝ (RODION) above and Ε-Υ to left and right of rose with bud to right; in left field, bunch of grapes.
SNG Keckman 452; R. Ashton in: Money and Its Uses in the Ancient Greek World (Oxford 2001), p. 104, 158; H. Troxell, The Norman Davis Collection, ANS 1969, #228.
This coin was minted either during or in the years following one of the most notable sieges of antiquity, when, in the midst of the Successor Wars, Demetrius Poliorcetes, son of Antigonus I, besieged Rhodes in an attempt to make it abandon its neutrality and close relationship with Ptolemy I.
The citizens of Rhodes were successful in resisting Demetrius; after one year he abandoned the siege and signed a peace agreement (304 BC) which Demetrius presented as a victory because Rhodes agreed to remain neutral in his war with Ptolemy (Egypt).
Several years later the Helepolis (Demetrius' famed siege tower), which had been abandoned, had its metal plating melted down and - along with the money from selling the remains of the siege engines and equipment left behind by Demetrius - was used to erect a statue of their sun god, Helios, now known as the Colossus of Rhodes, to commemorate their heroic resistance.Nathan P
|
|
Satraps of Caria. Hekatomnos (Circa 392/1-377/6 BC)AR Tetradrachm
25 mm, 14.90 g
Obverse: Zeus Labraundos standing right, holding labrys over his right shoulder and long scepter in his left.
Reverse: EKATOMNΩ, Lion at bay to right.
Hecatomnus 16. Karl 3. SNG von Aulock 2354.
Hecatomnos was the son of Hyssaldomus, the local ruler of Mylasa, a town in Caria (a region on the SW coast of Turkey). In 392 or 391, the Persian king Artaxerxes II appointed Hecatomnos as satrap of that part of the Achaemenid Empire and later awarded him the overlordship of the city of Miletus, the largest Greek settlement in Asia Minor. Hecatomnos seems to have been fascinated by Greek culture, and on one occasion sent his youngest son Pixodarus to Athens. Hecatomnos died in 377/376 and was succeeded by his son Maussolus (builder of the Mausoleum of Maussollos). His house was to rule Caria for another half century.
In many ways, not least in their coinage, the Hekatomnids were the forerunners of Hellenistic kings. They were unique in that period in issuing a regular and prolific dynastic coinage, which remained practically unchanged until the arrival of Alexander the Great. Other satraps struck coins, but none was hereditary and there was no continuity of coinage from one family member to another as was the case with the Hekatomnids.
The tetradrachm series above was a type that remained in use virtually unchanged throughout the coinage of the Hekatomnids. On the obverse is the figure of Zeus Labraundos, bearded and laureate, standing to the right, wearing a himation, and holding a spear pointing downward in one hand and a labrys (double-axe) in the other. This was a potent image, sacred to all Carians by virtue of the importance of the sanctuary of Labraunda (literally, “place of the sacred labrys”). This image of Zeus, with a very Greek looking appearance, remained virtually unchanged throughout the different issues that were minted over a period of about half a century – perhaps suggesting that the coin design was modelled after the actual statue of Zeus at Labraunda.
The reverse of the tetradrachm depicts a lion standing to the left, roaring, its back legs straight and front legs bent, almost parallel to the ground line. Comparable lion postures are found on some contemporary Cypriot issues and on the 5th century BC diobol coinage of Miletos (most likely the Hekatomnids’ inspiration). Nathan P
|
|
Satraps of Caria. Hidrieus (Circa 351-344 BC)AR Tetradrachm
13.77 g
Obverse: Head of Apollo facing, turned slightly right, hair parted in center and swept to either side, drapery at neck
REverse: ΙΔΡΙΕΩΣ (IDRIEOS), Zeus Laubrandus advancing right, labrys in right hand over shoulder, spear in left; small E to right of feet.
SNG von Aulock 8046. SNG Lockett 2909.
As part of the Achaemenid Empire, Caria in the fourth century BC was under the rule of a family of semi-independent satraps known as the Hekatomnids after the dynasty's founder, Hekatomnos. Born in Mylasa, Hekatomnos was appointed satrap of Caria by the Persian king Artaxerxes II, ruler of the Achaemenid Empire . Interested in Hellenic culture (and possibly hedging his diplomatic bets), Hekatomnos sent his youngest son, Pixodaros, to Athens as part of a deputation; his older son, Maussolos, was bound by xenia, or guest friendship, with Agesilaus, king of Sparta. Hekatomnos died in 377/6 BC and was succeeded by Maussolos.
Hekatomnos second series of coinage has on the obverse the standing figure of the Carian Zeus of Labranda, carrying his distinctive double-ax, and on the reverse a lion with the name Hecatomnus above. Maussolos retained his father's type of the Carian Zeus but transferred it to the reverse of his coinage. For the obverse he chose a facing laureate head of Apollo. The immediate model for this type was the facing head of Helios on the Rhodian coinage; the choice was part of the policy of Hellenization in pursuit of which Maussolos built a new capital at Halicaranassus and commissioned for himself a monumental tomb created by leading Greek architects and sculptors. Known later as the Mausoleum, its size and elaborate decoration made it one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.The types of Maussolos' coinage were retained by his successors, who ruled in southwest Asia Minor until the arrival of Alexander - Hidrieus (351-344, the coin above), Pixodorus (340-334), and Rhoontopates (334-333).Nathan P
|
|
Sikyonia, Sikyon (Circa 431-400 BC)AR Drachm
23mm, 5.31 g
Obverse: Chimaira advancing left
Reverse: Dove flying left within laurel wreath.
BCD Peloponnesos 204; HGC 5, 207.
Sparta famously coined no money until well after the end of the classical period. However, because Spartans made up only a small part of the Peloponnesian army during the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) it still required coins to pay for mercenaries. The Peloponnesian mercenaries came largely from Arkadia (center of the Peloponnese peninsula) and would expect to be paid in money coined on the Aeginetan standard. Coins of Aegina were the dominant currency of the Peloponnesus but Aegina’s minting activities came to an end in 431 BC when Athens occupied the city and expelled its citizens. Corinth seemed an obvious solution for a communal mint but Corinth had its own weight standard and would not want to change it and complicate its trade interests in the west. Sparta was also probably distrustful of putting too much influence in the hands of Corinth by allowing it control of the bullion reserves.
That is where Sikyon comes in. At the time Sikyon was the wealthy capital famous for being a center for the arts as well as being known for its fruits and vegetables, its wines, and olives. The whole area was named “field of cucumbers” (Sikyonia) after the cucumbers that grew there.
Sikyon was small enough not to pose a threat to Spartan hegemony and yet close enough to Corinth to give that city a measure of influence. It has been suggested that the treasury at Olympia was used as a silver source to coin the money needed for the war (Persian money would only come late in the war).
This drachm depicts a chimera, a mythical, fire-breathing monster composed of parts of three animals: a lion with the head of a goat arising from its back and a tail that ends in a snake’s head, walking proudly to the left in an almost heraldic manner. According to Greek mythology, the chimera was slain by Bellerophon, and appeared on most of the major coinage of Sikyon. A dove is shown on the reverse, representing the main emblem of the city and a symbol of spirit.
Nathan P
|
|
Skythia, Olbia. (Circa 260-250 BC)AE 19, 7.30 g
Obv: Horned head of Borysthenes left.
Rev: OΛBIO. Axe and bow in quiver; API to left.
SNG BM Black Sea 530
Olbia was founded in the 7th century BC by colonists from Miletus. Its harbor was one of the main emporia on the Black Sea for the export of cereals, fish, and slaves to Greece, and for the import of Attic goods to Scythia.
During the reign of Alexander the Great, Olbia was attacked by the Zopyrion, who had been made a governor either of Thrace or of Pontus by Alexander. For this purpose, he collected a force of thirty thousand men.They marched along the Black Sea coast and besieged Olbia. But the Olbians "gave freedom to their slaves, granted the rights of citizenship to foreigners, changed promissory notes and thus managed to survive the siege". They also made an alliance with the Scythians. Zopyrion, lacking resources to continue the siege, decided to retreat. On his way back, Scythians destroyed his army by constant raids. Defeat was probably accomplished beyond the Danube by Getae and Triballi avenging Alexander's devastation of their lands in 335 BC. Zopyrion perished with his troops in the winter at the end of 331 BC.Nathan P
|
|
Thessaly, Larissa (Circa 356-342 BC)AR Drachm
18mm, 5.83g
Obverse: Head of the nymph Larissa facing slightly left, hair in ampyx, wearing necklace
Reverse: Horse standing right, preparing to lie down.
BCD Thessaly 1154-7; SNG Copenhagen 120.Nathan P
|
|
Thessaly, Larissa. Circa 420-400 BCAR Drachm (18mm, 6.18 g, 6h)
Obverse: The hero Thessalos, with petasos and chlamys hanging around neck, restraining bull left by band held around its head
Reverse: ΛΑΡI-[Σ]-ΙΑ (Larisia), horse prancing right within incuse circle.
Lorber, Thessalian 60 (same obv. die as illustration); BCD Thessaly II 370.3; HGC 4, 421 var. (horse left).
From the BCD Collection.
Thessaly was an agricultural and livestock region with large wild areas. She was famous for her horses and riders. Larissa, the most important city of Thessaly, takes its name from one of the daughters of the mythical king Pelasgos. The town was famous for its horse farms and Thessalos, the eponymous hero of the region, raised wild bulls there.
This coinage is characterized by the use of an iconography common to different Thessalian cities, namely: Thessalos taming the bull in a taurokathapsia (bull leaping) and on the reverse the horse of Poseidon, Hippios. The taurokathapsia was a contest in which the athlete passes a band around the bull’s head and pulls it tight in an attempt to bring the animal under control. This would have been not only a feat of great strength, but also of dexterity and agility to avoid being trampled or gored by the bull. Nathan P
|
|
Thrace. Thasos (Circa 480-463 BC)AR Stater
22 mm, 8.44 g
Obverse: Ithyphallic satyr advancing right, carrying off protesting nymph.
Reverse: Quadripartite incuse square.
Le Rider, Thasiennes, 5; SNG Copenhagen 1010-2; HGC 6, 331.
Both location and mineral riches aided the thriving economy of the North Aegean island of Thasos. According to Herodotos (VI, 46), the city derived 200-300 talents annually from her exploitation of its local silver mines as well as mines controlled on the Thracian mainland opposite the island city-state. Additionally, Thasos gained much material wealth as a producer and exporter of high quality wines, and it was perhaps due to this trade in wine that her coinage spread throughout the Aegean making it a widely recognized and accepted coinage in distant lands.
Thracians for the most part were illiterate, with no alphabet of their own and no written history or literature. Aristotle, though no doubt exaggerating, wrote that Thracians were unable to count beyond four. What we know about Thracians is largely through the prism of what the Greeks and Romans have written and from archeological findings (including coins). We know they were fiercely independent, powerful, and feared, excelling in warfare, horsemanship, and metalwork. Thracians regarded war and plunder as the noblest way of life. Another ancient Greek philosopher, Xenophanes, described Thracians as being "large, powerfully built men," with "a skin white, delicate and cold," and "largely red-haired." Among the noteworthy Thracians of history are thought to be the gladiator Spartacus and the fable-writer Aesop.
The motif of the satyr abducting a maenad appears on several northern Greek coins. In the case of Thasos, this Dionysiac motif served to promote the island's famous wine. Satyrs belong to the retinue of Dionysos (the god of wine) while maenads were the immortal female followers of Dionysos.
This particular series of coinage likely terminated with the capture of Thasos by Athens in 463 BC after its revolt two years earlier. The terms under which Thasos surrendered were harsh and involved the loss of most of her sources of revenue, except that from her famous wine.Nathan P
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
