21 hours ago, Victrix said:

It does seem to be somewhat in the same style.

Well, they do differ in some of the diagnostic details that differentiate attributions. The socket seems longer, proportionally, to the blade on yours (Victrix's). And, while both blades are lanceolate, yours is proportionally leaner (longer and narrower). And, importantly, the midrib on yours is flat and quite broad near the shoulders, tapering toward the point. I cannot tell if Albert's spearhead has a defined midrib. I certainly don't see a similarly broad, tapering shape evident on his.

Sadly, as compared to much ancient bronze weaponry (including spearheads), iron specimens like this are so exasperatingly difficult to attribute since their shapes and details were often fixed over long spans (of time) and great distances. And sometimes, it seems, sellers just make up attributions as they go along, figuring no one will know the difference. (For my own  collection of spearheads, daggers, and such, I only add items that I can confidently attribute based on specific scholarly references, and I catalog them as such.)

Here is a specimen that, while probably a bit larger, seems generally close to yours - it is iron with flat/tapering midrib, and elongated lanceolate blade. It was auctioned in January of last year (the first link) with, IMO, an inflated estimate. It was passed. It (the exact same spearhead - identifiable by the rust pattern) has now showed up again in an auction in NY. (The second link.) In the span of a year, this spearhead has gone from "Celtic Iron Age La Tene - 5th to 1st century BCE" to "Ancient Luristan - c. 1000-600BC."). I can safely say that the Luristani attribution is incorrect. (I don't know much, but I do know Luristani weaponry.)

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/celtic-iron-age-la-tene-forged-iron-spear-head-15-c-b03427ebdd

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/173518589_ancient-luristan-iron-socketed-spear-head-c1000-600-bc

So nice to read that you - and Callie - are doing well, Donna. I hope you feel back to 100% soon.

Bob

I hope you feel better very soon, Donna. Best wishes.

The great majority of daggers, dirks, and swords that were produced in Luristan and its environs during the Iron Age I and II (about three thousand years ago) were made of bronze. An exception to the rule is a rare but well-known variety known as “iron mask swords.” There are estimated to be only about 90 or 100 extant examples. Due to their construction, Oscar White Muscarella (in Bronze and Iron: Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art) referred to these swords as “one of the most complex weapon types known from antiquity.” All of them were originally “purchased by museums and collectors in the 1920s and 1930s when graveyards in Luristan were being plundered en masse.” [Khorasani (2006) paraphrasing Pigott (2004)] Museum specimens tend to be relatively high-end with little corrosion. The few that show up on the market (on very rare occasions) tend to be in poor shape.

I am pleased to own two of these swords. Here they are posing together, followed by collages of each one seen from different views.

From what I can tell, iron mask swords usually measure less than 50 cm (about 19 ½”), which is, technically, the measurement that serves as the division between the classification of a dirk and a sword. However, they are nonetheless popularly referred to as swords rather than dirks in the references. Perhaps this naming convention has something to do with the fact that so many of the remaining examples (like mine) have severely corroded blades, making their original lengths difficult to precisely determine.

On his webpage called “The Enigma of the Luristan Iron Swords” Helmut Föll discusses this variety of Luristani weapon, writing “They are unlike any other sword ever found and have no obvious relation to older (Luristani) bronze swords (of which there are thousands).”

https://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/iss/kap_b/backbone/rb_1_3.html

Most of the authors specializing in ancient Iranian weaponry date iron mask swords to around the ninth to eighth centuries BC. Muscarella speculates that, “The homogeneity of all the swords of this class suggests that they must have been made within a relatively short period of time and by a limited number of craftsmen.” In Ancient Bronzes from Luristan, P. R. S. Moorey states that iron mask swords must have been made by “a closely associated group of workshops.” In discussing the complexity of their manufacture, Muscarella writes: “Technologically, swords of this class represent a remarkable accomplishment of the ancient craftsman…On macroscopic examination alone one has the impression that they were made in one piece, the intent, no doubt, of the craftsmen. However, both X-ray and careful laboratory examination of many examples have demonstrated that all the swords were in fact constructed from a number of units, varying in quantity from sword to sword.” (See examples from the Web below.) Some swords have as many as 15 separate pieces! 

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Unprovenanced-Luristan-iron-mask-pommel-swords-Left-type-example-after-Rehder-1991_fig2_283106244

https://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/iss/kap_b/backbone/rb_1_3.html

Iron mask swords all have disc-shaped pommels that are decorated with human* heads (protomes) – that hang over the edge of the disc and that seem to morph into frogs(?) on top of the pommel, grips with two molded cords, ending in guards adorned with couchant predators (lions?), and blades curiously set at a 90-degree angle to the handle. The blade and handle were usually made of different iron parts, cast and forged together.

* Having said this, it seems to me that only one of the two heads on the first of my swords (the first collage I present above) is clearly human. The other head (on the right in that collage) might be an animal of some sort.

It seems likely that iron mask swords were created for ceremonial purposes. Certainly, their unique form must have had some special significance. But their purpose – and the meaning of their iconography – are lost to time.

Here are some impressive examples from various museums.

Details of the NY (Metropolitan) sword above:

Is this it?
https://www.galata.co.uk/netherlnds-gent-after-1259

Guttos

Greek
c. 5th – 4th century BC
12 cm (l) x 60 mm (h)
(4 3/4” x 2 3/8”)

Next: pottery (amphora, kantharos, krater, kylix, etc.) as depicted on a coin.

This modest little lamp arrived this week.

Late Roman/Early Byzantine
c. 5th century AD
90.5 mm (l)
(3.56")

Thanks for the reply. Do you know where it was found?

Nice spearhead! Is it iron? I can't tell if the brown/orange material is rust or, rather, deposits over bronze.

Interesting. You are probably aware of this, but seems to be most closely related - from an iconography standpoint - to a variety of AR fraction from Taras/Tarentum.

https://www.ma-shops.com/henzen/item.php?id=72568

https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?p=lot&sid=3707&lot=4

You'll never guess which one I voted for. 😁

Another imitative.

https://www.biddr.com/auctions/aphroditeartcoins/browse?a=4148&l=4910417

56 minutes ago, kirispupis said:

Other possibilities are Pella

Or perhaps an imitative (of Pella) type...might be a faint trace of a helmet crest on the OP obverse:

https://cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=245136#

1 hour ago, Alwin said:

Next: more Elymais AR

Kamnaskires III, with Anzaze

AR drachm, c. 82/1 - 73/2 BC
Van’t Haaff 7.1.2-1B

Next: Jugate

Great interview of one of my favorite coin forum contributors.

Here's one of three ex-Parthicus coins in my collection. Vologases II, Sellwood 72.2:

I hope you receive the coins soon. I work a few miles from that spill.

Cypriot Bowl
Iron Age, Cypro-Geometric, c. 1050 – 750 BC
20.3 cm (w) x 58.4 mm (h)
(8” x 2.3”)

Description:
Shallow, flaring body with flattened base; interior decorated with concentric dark-pigmented circles over a red slip surface; two opposing pierced lugs (one clogged); body repaired.

Ex- P. A. Collection, London, 1990’s.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

For me, other than NF, it's:

Coin Community Family's ancients/medieval board

https://www.coincommunity.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=51

And, to a lesser extent:

Parthia-L Discussion Group

https://groups.io/g/Parthia-L

Forum's Discussion Board

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php

World of Coins

http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/

Ancient Artifacts

https://groups.io/g/AncientArtifacts

The rarely seen R5vv (voyeur variant) reverse, with quadripartite incuse square.

Kamnaskires-Orodes

AE tetradrachm, early to mid 2nd century AD

Van't Haaff 12.1 variant (Combines the obverse of V.H. 12.1.1-1.B or C with the reverse of V.H. 12.1.1-3E)

On 7/25/2023 at 2:15 PM, robinjojo said:

Here's a new style owl that arrived yesterday

Some nice iridescent toning on that one. Thumbs up!

Just arrived today:

Nice. Where was it found?

Here's a bronze hedgehog described by the seller as Roman:

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=5734433

I have no idea if his attribution is correct.

An FYI for those who may not be aware of this: you can do antiquities searches at acsearch by adjusting the category in the dropdown menu at the top of the search page there. The antiquities database is limited compared to coin searches, but sometimes it's a useful tool.

Nice to read about the happy ending. Neat coins. Congrats.