Cordoba

i mostly collect bactrian coins and turkoman figural bronzes. the designs are really nice on both, and the mystique of bactria is super interesting to me. 

Greco-Baktrian Kingdom. Demetrios I, circa 200-185 BC. Tetradrachm
(Silver, 32 mm, 16.71 g, 12 h)

Artuqids of Mardin. Husam al-Din Timurtash, AD 1122-1152. Dirham
(Bronze, 29 mm, 12.21 g, 7 h), Mardin

Mazaios Stater, (25 mm, 10.90 g, 2 h)

i really like cilician coins! i have one coming soon once leu finally gets around to shipping it. super interesting how the seated Zeus is likely inspired by these coins. i also agree that the walls are probably not jerusalem, but tarsus. next target is one with a fresher obverse die. seems like these are usually struck with pretty worn obverses.

N&N was actually smart and gave something pretty good. 380 gbp hammer

for #1, does it include all of the bactrian kings? some of them are reasonably affordable, but someone like plato would be pretty pricey. pantaleon would cost more than the rest of the bactrian kings combined if you wanted a tetradrachm of his, and that's if you find one in an auction. bronze issues are more realistic for him.

i think 1 is pretty interesting big and shiny coins are pretty fun, just the price factor would be rough.

won a Ptolemaios III tetrobol, nice bonus is that was purchased previously before 1970

5 hours ago, kirispupis said:

Just thought I'd mention that for those of you who would like to pay the "old" prices for these tets, you're in luck.

For example, this one sold last month at Heritage for 950 USD - https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=11125532

But you can own it today for only 2300! - https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/palmyra_heritage/120/product/armenian_kingdom_tigranes_ii_the_great_9556_bc_ar_tetradrachm_26mm_1573_gm_1h_ngc/1911137/Default.aspx

and the photos and description aren't even his lol. he's really doing the work to justify a 2x markup

41 minutes ago, kirispupis said:

Those are some amazing pickups!

I noticed the Mazaios stater and was very jealous on how clear the inscription is. It's in much better condition than mine.

The Hyspaosines is also a great pickup I'm jealous of, since I paid considerably more for mine from CNG a couple months ago.

really excited to get the Mazaios stater, my first cilician stater. love the lion and bull

the hyspaosines went cheaper than i expected, i suspect it went cheaper than usual due to the reverse condition. i'm going to try to clean it carefully, but i'm still pretty satisfied if it's unable to be improved further. i'm pretty sure it was cleaned with sodium thiosulfate which caused the weird yellow toning, and i know that is possible to treat

grats! i got a mazaios stater and a hyspaosines tetradrachm. the stater went for near my max, a bit sad since back in 2019 it went unsold and was bought for 200 gbp

19 hours ago, CPK said:

Interesting post! 👍

I've always been curious to try garum. I reckon that Worcestershire sauce is probably about the closest modern equivalent.

nuoc mam, which is fermented vietnamese fish sauce would be similar i think

5 hours ago, Steppenfool said:

Anyone else in the same boat as me?

Been waiting for an opportunity to buy a certain coin for about 9 months now, it just won't turn up anywhere! This seems to happen to me a lot.

yea, there are some types i'm after that are quite rare, only showing up every couple years. i knocked out the more common coins on my list already, and now the only ones left are rare and/or expensive.

Another Agathokles, but from bactria. This was apparently pierced with a nail/suspension loop in antiquity

Greco-Baktrian Kingdom. Agathokles, circa 185-180 BC. Tetradrachm
(Silver, 31 mm, 16.65 g, 12 h)

Obv: Diademed bust of Euthydemos I to right.
ΕΥΘΥΔΗΜΟΥ Θ[ΕΟΥ]
Rev: Herakles seated left on rock, holding club set on rocks and leaning
left on rocky seat, in inner right field monogram.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΟΝΤΟΣ ΑΓΑΘΟΚΛΕΟΥΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ
Reference: Bopearachchi 16B; HGC 12, 87; MIG Type 145a; SNG ANS 261;
Glenn, Euthydemos Group I, 192 (O33/R101, this coin);
Holt, Lost World of the Golden King, p. 203, end note 75 (this coin).

15 minutes ago, JeandAcre said:

That's an awesome example, @Cordoba.  Can you venture a better guess than I can what the prototype for this obverse would be?

Thanks! I probably don't really have a better guess on the prototype of this. There isn't really something strikingly obvious as the prototype, so I think any guesses is just speculation. Spengler & Sayles says the hat resembles a sharbush, which is a furry hat that was often depicted in Turkish art. They seem to believe it is another representation of the planet Jupiter.

got this fun artuqid bronze recently

Artuqids of Amid and Hisn Kayfa. Qutb al-Din Sukman II, AD 1185-1200. Dirham
(Bronze, 25 mm, 8.34 g, 6 h), Hisn Kayfa. AH 594

Obv: Nimbate half-length male bust facing slightly right, wearing sharbush and
holding scepter and globus; AH date around.
Rev: Name and titles of Sukman II in four lines; marginal legends citing the
Abbasid Caliph al-Nasir.
Reference: Spengler & Sayles 14; Album 1822.3.

Ex JP Righetti collection

not minted in constantinople but a sultani minted in egypt of suleiman the great

Ottoman Empire. Sulayman I The Magnificent, AD 1520. Sultani
(Gold, 21 mm, 3.36 g, 1 h), Misr

Obv: Name, titles, mint and date in five lines.
Rev: Titles in six lines.
Reference: Album 1317, Pere 180.

I got this artuqid bronze recently and I really love the portrait on this. Spengler and Sayles says the prototype of this coin is from Antiochos IV or V. I definitely see the resemblance with portraits of Antiochos V. This coin is a fairly scarce type, since his reign was short, so I was pretty happy to find one at auction for a good price.

Artuqids of Amid and Hisn Kayfa. Nur al-Din Muhammad, AD 1174-1185. Dirham
(Bronze, 32 mm, 12.81 g, 6 h), Hisn Kayfa. AH 578

Obv: Large diademed male head to left within beaded circle; around, mint and date.
Rev: In inner field, 'Malik al-Umara Muhiyy / al-Adil Nur al-Din /
Muhammad ibn Qara Arsla/n ibn Artuq Nasir / al-Imam al-Nasir /
li-din Allah'; in outer margin, Mal'un man / yu'ayyiruhu'; all in Kufic.
Reference: Spengler & Sayles 11; Album 1821.3.

Not my coin, but a picture of an Antiochos V tetradrachm for reference. From dr busso peus nachf


 

From Turkoman Figural Bronze Coins and Their Iconography. Vol. I - The Artuqids page 33:

Quote

 

The artists serving Turkoman princes adapted venerable motifs and images to the needs of their own artistic program. In some cases we see clear evidence of historical awareness and sensitivity, especially in the use of classical images to bolster a program of legitimization. This is not to assume, however, that every image resurrected from the ancient world was recognized by Turkoman die-engravers in its original context, any more than we can assume to have interpreted the context correctly from our own vantage point. The portrait serving as model for this coin could have been seen by 12th century intellectuals as representing a specific person, perhaps Antiochos IV or V, but not necessarily so.

It is just as plausible that the Seleucid portrait was mistaken for a personification or even for some other personage. More likely, the prototype simply provided a convenient resource for the artist in a program with an increasingly astrological and political orientation. The fact that Antiochos IV was the ruler against whom the Maccabees revolted in Palestine may or may not be of significance. In any case, the precise intention of the artist remains a mystery.

 

for bactrian coins:

https://numismatics.org/bigr/

9 minutes ago, The_Collector said:

These are some really great coins! Thank you for sharing. 

@Cordoba those are some really unique coins. How did you get interested in your specific specialty? I think your coins are perfect example of how specializing can get you some great coins at great prices!

I was interested in them because they contain imagery, which is pretty uncommon in Islamic coinage. The Greek/Roman/zodiac imagery are all very interesting, and it's interesting seeing where the die engravers drew their inspiration from. Below I linked an example of an Artuqid coin that is inspired by a Seleucid tetradrachm. It was $120, so a bit over the budget of this thread, but you can definitely find examples of these for less than $100. Spengler and Sayles wrote an interesting reference book on these coins, and they go into detail the on the motifs shown on the coins.
 

I really like Artuqid/Zangid figural bronzes, a lot of them are pretty common and affordable. Super interesting designs too

Zangids of Mosul. Sayf al-din Ghazi II, AD 1169-1180. Dirham
(Bronze, 32 mm, 15.56 g, 11 h), Mosul

Obv: Helmeted male head left; Kalima around.
Rev: Name and title of Sayf al-Din Ghazi II in three lines; mint
and AH date in margin.
Reference: Spengler & Sayles 61.1; Album 1861.2.

This was about $100 after fees, so just within the range. This type is based off of Side tetradrachms.

Artuqids of Mardin. Nasir al-Din Artuq Arslan, AD 1201-1239. Dirham
(Bronze, 29 mm, g, 10 h), Mardin

Obv: Male figure sitting cross-legged on throne, holding small globe.
Rev: Kufic inscription, citing the Ayyubid ruler al-Kamil Muhammad
as overlord.
Reference: Spengler & Sayles 46; Album 1830.9.

Gorny & Mosch Auction 294 Lot 1701.

From a group lot of 5, so this was $20 after fees.


 

Zangids of Sinjar. Qutb al-Din Muhammad, AD 1197-1219. Dirham
(Bronze, 27 mm, 10.48 g, 2 h), Sinjar. AH 596

Obv: Curly-haired male bust to left, sceptre over right shoulder.
Rev: Four-lined and marginal legends citing titles of Abbasid Caliph
al-Nasir and Zengid ruler.
Reference: Spengler & Sayles 81; Album 1880.2.

This was about $60 after fees.

Great write-up! I have quite a few dirhams from the emirate and caliphate of cordoba. Abd al-Rahman III was the one who began claiming the title of caliph

 AH 348. Abd al-Rahman III. Medina Azzahra. Dirham. (V. 443) (Fro. 7). 2.59 g

10 hours ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

What would you do with something like this?  The horn silver is rather thick on the reverse.  What kind of mix would be used (how diluted)? How long would it be dunked in there?  What then?  A brush?  How does one stop the process?  How about drying it?

This came from a hoard which had fairly many pieces with more detail than usual.  However, the cleaning job wasn't great; scratches and horn silver.  The non-horn silver parts are shiny, so something was done.

However, the great majority of uncleaneds I buy are because I found those particular ones to be more interesting that way.  Cleaning those particular ones, even if I managed not to botch it, would just reveal a mundane or decrepit coin.  I enjoy having a few different types as uncleaneds.

I found these to be much more interesting this way.  I don't see uncleaned Sassanians too often.

Roerbakmix posted this tutorial using sodium thiosulfate on cointalk https://www.cointalk.com/threads/how-to-remove-encrustation-from-r-r-coin.348784/#:~:text=Well-Known Member-,Thanks,-%40TIF. I agree

I still prefer bactrian tetradrachms, but I like seleucid coins better than ptolemaic ones. There are ptolemaic coins I would want, like Ptolemy I's elephant headdress coin, but overall I prefer the seleucid coin designs. There's a lot more variety in seleucid coinage. The lower weight and size of ptolemaic tetradrachms are also a bit of a downside for me. From what I've seen ptolemaic coins are kinda expensive too.

This is my favorite seleucid coin; I really like the realistic high relief portrait. Has a pretty rare monogram combination too.

Seleukid Empire, Antiochos III Megas, 222-187 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 27 mm, 17.06 g, 12 h), Soli.

Obv: Diademed head of Antiochos III to right.

Rev: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ - ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ Apollo seated left on omphalos, holding arrow in his right hand and leaning with his left on his bow; to left, ΣA above head of Athena to left; to right, ΣE.

Reference: SC 1019.2a; Houghton, Royal, Group C, 17–8 (A3/P5); HGC 9, 20; SNG Spaer 654 (same dies).

Provenance: From the Kalevala Collection.

BAKTRIA, Greco-Baktrian Kingdom. Diodotos I Soter. Circa 255-235 BC. AR Tetradrachm (26mm, 15.74 g, 6h). In the name of Antiochus II

Zeus and his thundering cheeks. just won this at cng today

next: bactrian/indo greek

i think it's specified as an obol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charon's_obol

My favorites:

Antimachos and his cool kausia.

Antiochos and the Artuqid rendition of his portrait