Deinomenid

@Nikodeimos there's a specialist overstrike site that has a good number of your type of coin with the various understrikes shown if you click the coin (if known). I don't think it is currently taking new submissions, but may be wrong. My coin is there, but listed as undertype unknown. https://silver.knowledge.wiki/Special:BrowseData/Overstrike?title=Special%3ABrowseData%2FOverstrike&_search_Mint[0]=Gortyn Gortyn is one of their main sources -

Gunk?! That’s called added character! Also it went wholly unmentioned in the description so it might be a figment of our less refined than NAC imaginations - vine-tendril with bunch of grapes. For similar reverse type. cf. Traite II, 2449 and pl. CLXVIII, 2 (eagle standing r.).

A view shared at the auction this week. One of the few to go under estimate. 400k of misery rather than 500.

@Nikodeimos welcome! I completely agree with you on the enchanting qualities of Cretan coins. Would that there were more! The Europa or Britomartis ones like yours are fantastic. There's something about them that not even Becker could reproduce. Here's a Gortnya to keep yours company - Gortyna AR Drachm. 4th century BC. Head of Persephone to right, hair bound with barley wreath, wearing triple pendant earring and necklace / ΓΟΡΤΙΝΙΩΝ, Cretan bull standing to right, head reverted.

I am talking about Greek coins so yes, as I said above. In the past though there were some huge sales by British houses of British collections of Greek coins, so fashions in collecting, disposable wealth when pips were being made to squeak etc might have had a role. Glendinings famous sales etc. Anyway... It's embarrassing, especially when you have to start guessing what obscure spelling of a mint's name they are using! Or toggling between imaged and no image for a given selection, just to see how many are not digitized. I also just found out (no doubt I am the last to know) that there are so-called reserve collections at several of the major UK coin depositories (some call them museums), in the case I learned of today of many tens of thousands of Roman coins (ha not talking Greek!) wholly without notes, images, descriptions etc.

You mustn't! I would not, as there is no direct link that I am aware of. Parochially, I would far rather the strength and breadth of British research, knowledge and collecting be reflected in towering depth and breadth of offering, cataloging expertise etc in UK houses. This is all in reference (on a Greek forum) to the Greek parts of auctions and Greek research, collections etc. I know little of the offerings in Roman, though am fully aware of some breathtaking offerings in UK coinage by domestic houses.

Ranking is perception to an extent, of value, breadth, rarity or consistency of offering. No-one mentioned Morton and Eden, who had an exceptional sale recently, truly special, but they rarely do it. Using this above house as an example, in the few minutes since my last post I've just gone through some of their Sicilian coins and am shocked at them. Some howlers. That don't even exist. (Plus curiously, they offer no bid unsold Roma coins.) I genuinely feel terrible for bidders.

I just looked them up and they have an excellent new (?) angle in provenance reporting. They are selling someone's mostly very recent collection as the "Euclidean Collection". And naming as provenance the err "Euclidean Collection"! I despair. https://auctions.thecoincabinet.com/lots/view/4-DJRDD8/lucania-velia-ar-didrachm Just one of many examples, many of which are also recycled Den of Antiquity coins, if indeed recycled. It does seem a shame that given the towering academic work of British researchers since the 1860s in in the field, some extraordinary collections etc etc that there isn't a similarly ranked UK numismatic auction house, with all due respect to Spink, Baldwins, Noonans etc.

At last my avatar has a use! How I have waited for this moment 😀 The reverse of this coin (wish I could write and mean my coin) features just that. There are only a handful known/ From an auction blurb - 4-litrae, about 406, AV 3.47 g ΣΥΡΑΚΟΣΙOΝ around the rim of a circular shield, at the center of the raised boss of which is a facing gorgoneion. Rev. Ephebe moving left, nude, leaning slightly forward with his left foot turned outward towards the viewer and his right balanced on his toes, his left hand held behind him as a counterweight while using a strigil, held in his right, apparently to clean off a mixture of oil and dust from his left knee. C. Boehringer, "Ehrenrettung einer syrakusanischen Goldmünze", FlorNum p. 74, 1 (V1/R1). C. Boehringer, "Zu Finanzpolitik und Münzprägung des Dionysios von Syrakus", Essays Thompson pl. 38, 11 (same obverse die). De Luynes 1402 (same obverse die). Extremely rare, one of only eight specimens known, of which only three are in private hands. With an extraordinarily lifelike depiction of an athlete cleaning himself after exercising.

But Catalan and presumably filthy rich. If this is a billionaire, based on value, there aren't that many of them there, but Thyssen's widow springs to mind, and she's on all sorts of relevant boards. Seems an obvious choice were it not for the fact that she should donate them given that. Also got to be a megalomaniacal billionaire as the Credits page is empty. She is also an art dealer.

@idesofmarch01 those are breathtaking. Many congratulations. The only slight thing is I'm fairly sure that's not what Apollo looked like. I am told this is actually him on the left - DUROTRIGES, Uninscribed issues, silver Stater, disjointed head of Apollo, rev. disjointed horse left.

Thematically similar but not Maussolos - Satraps of Caria, Hidreios (351-334 BC), drachm, laureate head of Apollo facing slightly to right, rev., ΙΔΡΙΕΩΣ, Zeus Labraundos standing right holding labrys and spear.

I was late for a game against Carnegie Mellon once and ran across town (centralish Pittsburgh) and ran past this. Nearly thought I had fallen through a gap in the time/space continuum as I had no idea it was there. Been in a couple of times since. Well worth a look.

I thought this was a Roma joke at first.🙂

As did all the Roma points! It's been a strange process. Limped on way longer than I thought likely.

I had no idea. Thank you for pointing it out. I saw some of his coins already being resold by Waddell with his dates but assumed an error. Ex: Dr. Kaya Sayar( 1933-2024) collection etc

Just to steer completely away from Abdera, I went through May and there's nothing. The closest is May 125 but the dotting is completely different. Kunker just did a huge sale of what you'd expect to show up re the Lycian (very generally speaking) style Pegasos and there was nothing like your coin. Ditto the obvious eagle suspects from Elis, to Kyme to Sinope etc. I know this answer isn't worthy of a postcard and usually I'd start worrying at a mashup but Cilicia/Lycia etc etc do throw up some unique coins. And stylistically it fits with some of these from that sale. https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?search=pegasos&p=sale&sid=7708&s=b Long shot, but the man who sold a huge number of these types in this sale might be able to help as he's supposedly a true expert. Can't hurt to ask them. That is of course if it's not id'ed here or elsewhere before. Last thought from me (no doubt thankfully!) is that area did produce coins like yours with the dotted lines within the incuse AND being inside a frame, which is unusual. Like this framed dotted line. https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?p=lot&sid=7708&lot=55

I buy quite a few ancients books from Edizioni D'Andrea and they often kindly throw in one for free. This time they were exceptionally generous, but the book is way outside anything I know and rather than let it sit here, I'm happy to send it free to any US address. I'll eat the record of the address immediately on sending, in case of privacy fears etc. No idea if this is the right place to post this. But it's post-medieval. There is no catch, but it is in Italian. Still in its wrapper.

I honesty don't know but Hoover guides sometimes quote someone who did various studies to try to put numbers to it. I don't know how controversial this is, but for what it is worth, and I've seen this quoted across Greek and Roman (Houghton was a Seleucid specialist if that makes any difference, but this quote is from Hoover Sicily) -

Here's a Nile Club dirk, the club being of the surviving officers of the British fleet at the Battle of the Nile. From the Billy Ruffian, aka HMS Bellerophon. One of the most illustrious of the third rate ships of the line, Napoleon surrendered aboard her amongst other things (things including Battle of Trafalgar, Battle of the Glorious First of June, raider/escort against the US, Russia etc.)

The lady I dealt with left very recently, I kept sending money to old bank accounts as I can't keep up with their changes and the superexpensive rare coin I have been following (aka droning on about)as I watch pedigrees be wiped off records was just shown to be likely glued together with no hint of that, and sold for 20% of prior estimate. Not the actions of a company soliciting long term relations with high-end collectors (not that I am one). Photos stolen from a forum member's post on another forum, with apologies. The cabinets point is very interesting!

They are usually quite open to queries, and it would be fantastic if you can give them better information. JD Hill heads up research still I think. Or here- bmresearch@britishmuseum.org

That’s incredible! Cyprus is so hard to collect well and with good information. I need a “deep jealousy” emoji. Here's a Kition that fits the table- CYPRUS, Kition. Pumiathon. Circa 362/1-312 BC. AR Tetradrachm (24mm, 17.38 g, 12h). In the name and types of Alexander III. Struck circa 325-320 BC.Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; monogram in left And here’s a Kition from only 100 years earlier, showing just how strange the place was at least in presentation. Aramaic and a king with a very nonGreek name. Baalmelek II. Circa 425/0-400 BC. AR Stater 22.5mm, 11.14g. Herakles, wearing lion skin, in fighting stance right, holding [club and bow] / Lion attacking stag crouching right; L B’LML[K] (in Aramaic) above; all in dotted square within incuse square.

Plato visited Syracuse 3 or more likely 4 times, under Dionysius, Dionysius the Younger and Dion, with whom he was very close. This coin is highly likely contemporary (it as close as can be) with his first visit. Syracuse, Ae drachm, c. 380 BC, [ΣΥΡΑ], head of Athena left wearing olive-wreathed Corinthian helmet, rev., sea star between two dolphins, 33.8g

@KenDorney Are you sure that's a Becker? It doesn't look like it from my admittedly rather beat-up old copy of the Hill book. There are quite a few differences between your coin and this. I'm aware of the irony of suggesting this is a fake of a fake! 🙂