Kamnaskires

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

I have purchased several items from him (Peter Buddle) in the past. The transactions were always pleasant, shipping (from the UK to the USA) went well, and I felt Peter was responsive and very nice. Having said that, I have always felt that his inventory consists of a combination of lots of unquestionably authentic specimens and other items that, well, give me much pause (but are, admittedly, outside of my areas of expertise). And, to my knowledge, Peter is not a member of the Antiquities Dealers Association - at least I don't see a mention of it on his site. (It's preferable to buy from dealers who are members of the ADA.) While I feel very good about the purchases I've made from Peter, I was usually purchasing stuff I was knowledgeable about. I do think it's prudent to be highly selective when purchasing there. Unless you have a decent amount of experience in the area associated with the object you are considering purchasing – and are thus well-positioned to judge authenticity – I’d recommend having it vetted, like by the regular contributors at https://groups.io/g/AncientArtifacts.

Had two auction wins over the past two days. Won’t have them in hand for several days, so these are dealers’ pics below. Looking forward to adding them to my collection. I already own a nice Orodes III tet similar to the top one – and in fact the one I have is an obverse die match. But I got the one below for a relatively low bid, so I couldn’t resist. While the coin below it (an Orodes I tet) doesn't look like much, it is very rare and has been one of my holy grails for years. I’m especially pleased with that pickup. Above: Orodes III (Elymais) AE tetradrachm 2nd century AD Variant of van’t Haaff type 16.3 or 16.4. Below: Orodes I (Elymais) AE tetradrachm Late 1st to early 2nd century AD van’t Haaff 11.2.1-1a

Yes, TC. That's what I had in mind, but I have no strong commitment to the ID. It may well be wrong. But, in any event, here's one posted by Paul (Spaniard) at CT, along with a side-by-side of the concerning "rose" from his and yours. Not sure if yours is a rose, a letter, or some other motif. Here's what appears to be another similar rendition of the motif, from N&N London:

I realize the obverse is rather male-ish looking, but might be worth looking at issues from Laodiceia ad Lycum with Aphrodite on both obverse and reverse. Might be a rose at reverse lower left. Or not...

Perhaps worth mentioning here that David Ruckser's Coins of the Crusaders is also available for free online, at academia.edu.

I have no idea regarding the attribution. However, I note that the "kerykeion" is very similar to the monogram seen on some coins of Cyrrhestica (Kyrrhestike), described sometimes as a "U sign" and sometimes as the "monogram of Hieropolis": To the right of the bird: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=10705743 Above the wreath (described here as the "monogram of Hieropolis"): https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=8778343 Another listed as "monogram of Hieropolis" - from Wildwinds: https://www.wildwinds.com/coins/greece/syria/hieropolis/Seyrig_14.jpg Above the lion: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=4971097 Above the outstretched arm of the seated figure (an electrotype here): https://media.numisbids.com/sales/hosted/roma/e68/image01414.jpg

Parium/Parion seems plausible for the Provincial. Here's a narrowed down search: https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/search/browse?volume_id=&number=&city_id=148&region_id=&province_id=&subprovince_id=&reign_id=&obverse_inscription_simplified=&reverse_inscription_simplified=&obverse_design=l.&reverse_design=oxen+r.&metal_id=&weight_min=&weight_max=&diameter_min=&diameter_max=&format=

To identify Parthian drachms (by David Sellwood's attributions), this fun and easy tool never fails: https://mrcollector.eu/parthia/identifier.php

I don’t know, but that does make good sense. Seems plausible.

Yes, these twisted shank types are medieval, not ancient. Here’s a site I use for medieval iron arrowheads. If you scan way down on the linked page, you’ll see some similar. http://grexluporum.blogspot.com/2017/02/medieval-arrowheads-database.html

Congrats, David. For all: Every volume of KOINON: The International Journal of Classical Numismatic Studies includes a “Catalogue of New Varieties.” General editor Nick Molinari always welcomes submissions for the next volume. It’s a nice way to get such coins published in a serious journal.

Kamnaskires V AR tetradrachm, 54 - 32 BC Van't Haaff type 9.1 Kamnaskires V AR tetradrachm, 54 - 32 BC [possibly retrograde SE date 277, ZOΣ (ΣOZ) = 36/5 BC] Van't Haaff type 9.1

Thanks, Al.

I’m quite pleased to add an important piece - another intact short sword - to my collection of ancient weaponry from Western Asia. It originated in NW Iran. It measures 54.76 cm (21.56”) and dates to the early first millennium BC. It is an iconic type with its distinctive “double-ear” pommel. And here are images of similar swords from Art of Ancient Iran (by Houshang Mahboubian) and Bronze-Hilted Iron Swords from Western Asia at the Department of Archaeology, Hiroshima University (by Hisashi Nojima, Yui Arimatsu, Masahiro Fujii, Susumu Murata, Hakuhiro Ichikawa, Shohei Fujii, Naoto Morimoto). I’ve added the red arrows to indicate two examples from Mahboubian that are quite similar to mine.

Tets of Vologases II and III. My fave Parthian coinage.

Great find!

Terra sigillata fragment with running hare motif. c. 1st – 2nd century AD 38 mm Next: another four-legged animal

Uncertain Early Arsacid Kings BI tetradrachm, late 1st century BC to early 2nd century AD Van't Haaff 10.3.1-1A Next: anything in debased silver (billon).

The original Grand Poobah, Phraates of Elymais. (Yeah, I know. The Stone Age preceded the founding of Elymais - but, then, Elymais preceded the founding of Hanna-Barbera.) Since the obverse of the first and third coins has an Aramaic legend (King Phraates, Son of King Orodes), next: Aramaic legend.

Good catch. The Lanz attribution is incorrect. The reverse of your coin is a typical Elymaean depiction of the bust of Belos facing, not the eagle of Phraates (van’t Haaff 14.2) issues. Your coin is an issue of Orodes II, van’t Haaff 13.2.1-2B.

An Irish coin minted in Elymais. Phraates AE drachm, early to mid 2nd century AD Van’t Haaff 14.6.1-3.b

Left: AE Dagger, NW Iran, Possibly Amlash, 1200 – 800 BC, 40.6 cm (16”) Right: AE Spearhead, NW Iran, Possibly Marlik, 1200-800 BC, 23 cm (9”)

Two oddly shaped flans from Elymais. Kamnaskires-Orodes drachm, above, Orodes II tet, below. Next: front-facing bust on a bronze coin.

A new arrival. Amphora Cyprus, Early Iron Age, 1050 – 650 BC 14.3 cm x 11.8 cm (5.6” X 4.65”) Ex-Anthony Thwaite Collection Thwaite (1930 – 2021) was a UK poet, literary editor, BBC producer, reviewer, lecturer, antiquarian, and an amateur archaeologist: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/apr/23/anthony-thwaite-obituary