Ryro

10 minutes ago, Alegandron said:

That was my Dog, Blue.  Several times I would travel overseas for 2-6 weeks, and Blue loved me the same. She was ALWAYS with me. When I stopped traveling, I took her to the office all day, everyday. If I walked into another room, she always followed me.  She was my Buddy, my Soul-Dawg.

I used to have a little soul buddy quaker parrot, Squirt. As soon as I got home from work he would squawk until his was on me.

Here I am right before some race or another. Hence the shaved head:

The new avatar is to celebrate a pretty unlucky dude, as far as the fates were concerned. Call me a romantic, but I'm so stupid that every time that I read the Iliad I STILL root for Hector despite knowing his horrible outcome!? A guy who gave it his all and came up short. I might have s post laying around here about it... somewhere

45 minutes ago, Alegandron said:

OMG, @Ryro... I forgot how well The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band did with that song!  Haven't heard that since it came out, but played the RECORD all the time then!  I think that came out in 1970!

I like to think this is Argos, Odysseus' dog!

ARGOLIS Argos 490-470 BC AR Triobol 14mm 2.9g Forepart of wolf lying - A 2 incuse sqs pellet crossbar within shallow sq incuse BCD Peloponnesos 1009 R

 

Roman Republic C Mamilius 82 BCE AR Denarius Serrate Mercury winged petasos caduceus Ulysses Dog Argos Sear 282 Craw 362-1

It is very interesting that

And that

As 20 years was the time Odysseus was away. 10 in Troy and 10 trying to get home. 

I really wish he could've pet Argo. But I think the line was poignant.

49 minutes ago, ambr0zie said:

Great coins, Ryro (and rest of the coin owners)... hmmmm where did I see these coins.... 🥸

I can only contribute with a coin I always wanted in my collection and I was very happy to grab this - pretty decent coin with a very decent price.

Ionia. Smyrna. Bronze Æ 21 mm, 6,26 g
75-50 BC. Laureate head of Apollo right; laurel wreath border / ΞMYPNAIΩN, Homer seated left, resting chin on hand and holding transverse sceptre. Milne 359; SNG Copenhagen 1207; BMC 116; Mionnet 921; Weber 6138; SNG Tuebingen 3180.
Note: although uncertainty remains, from textual analysis of both the Iliad and the Odyssey scholars have noted Homer's knowledge of sites in Ionia such as the river Meles, and have thus proposed that it is likely that the poet had roots there. One of many cities claiming to be the birthplace of this most important bard Smyrna, along with cities such as Colophon and Chios, included Homer on the coinage, as can be seen on the present piece.

 

Very cool! I'd trade you but mine clearly shows the toilet that Homer was sitting on while he did his best thinking!

And 100% I have @ambr0zie to thank for the MUCH APPRECIATED heads up on these beauties. I always thought having a second job moonlighting as a chip n dale's dancer would be fun...I like his second job more😍

Doesn't get much cooler than

Next Pyrrhos 

Bump. Don't know if my timing was bad when I posted, but have a feeling @zumbly, @Curtisimo and I aren't the only NF members with coins relating to Homer and The Illiad??

To keep it legal, the bittersweet image of Odysseus returning home greeted by his pooch, Argo. For his plan to work Odysseus cannot show that he recognizes the dog. Odysseus turns away to hide his tears and Argo dies.

 my coins so worn you can only barely make out Argo's form to the right of Odysseus feet:

And the clock ticks six:

Next: pretty boy Apollo

Fun coin! And that idea🥳

Pamphylia, Aspendos or Pisidia Selge

Ae (2nd-1st century BC).

Obv: Round shield with monogram ΠΘ or ΠO.

Rev: Athena wearing crested Athenian helmet

Condition: Very fine.

Weight: 1.89 g.

Diameter: 14 mm.

Ref: BM Lycia p. 262 no. 55 and Numismata Graeca #850

Ex Savoca

If wanted one of these for a while due to the monogram on the shield (I'dlove to know who/what it references. So this one popped up I snagged it up on the cheap!

EXCELLENT topic for a thread!

And of course:

Haha. Poor Carus. A friend of mine is bald and often says, "God only made a few perfect heads. The rest he put hair on!"

next: perfectly imperfect. 

Excited to say, I do have a Juno Faustina...I!

Diva Faustina I AR Denarius. Struck under Antoninus Pius, Rome, AD 141. DIVA FAVSTINA, draped bust left / AETERNITAS, Juno standing left, raising right hand and holding sceptre.

Reference:RIC 344

Very Fine, 2,8 gr, 17 mm

Purchased from NBS Aug 2021

10 minutes ago, zumbly said:

Wow, congrats on both scores!  Your first with the facing head of Hektor is much nicer than my grotty example. 

One of my favorite pickups this year features the greater Ajax, depicting the unfortunate scene of his suicide (thanks, Athena 😠). 

CARACALLA
AE Diassarion. 7.45g, 24.4mm.
BITHYNIA, Prusa ad Olympum, AD 198-217. SNG Cop 596 (same dies); SNG von Aulock 873 (same obv die); RG 102.
O: AYT•K•M•AYP•ANTΩNINOC•CЄ KA•, laureate head right.
R: ΠPOYCAЄΩ/N, Ajax the Telamonian, nude but for helmet and balteus, falling on his sword; before, pile of stones; on ground line, shield.

Thanks my friend.

That Caracalla reverse is brutal. Much like the hero turned deity Herakles, Ajax the great had great surges of strength and Valor and also unstable breaks. Before he'd killed himself Ajax the great suffered one of these fits. Coming out of it. Well, you see the result in @zumbly's stunning coin. 

Any idea why Hector's ears stick out like a satyr?

And @Curtisimo what's your hypothesis on Homer, the legendary blind storyteller, reading on our coins?

Next: another severed head

Some more favs of his papa:

Bronze age golden shield boss:

The most frustrating thing about never receiving this coin was that the bridge that the seller sold me in Brooklyn is already owned apparently!? He assured me that wasn't so and they both must be lost in the mail, while he was packing his belongings. 

What a goof. Who does that?

next: beautiful design

Very excited to say I was able to score not one but TWO NEW (to me) coins featuring my favorite hero from the Iliad (does anyone know why Hector's ears stick out or is that part of the helmet?):

★ Rare ★ Troas, Ophrynion Æ13. Circa 350-300 BC. Bearded, three-quarter facing head of Hektor, turned slightly right, wearing triple crested helmet / OΦΡΥ, the infant Dionysos kneeling right, holding grape cluster in right hand. SNG Copenhagen 456ff; BMC 4-7; SNG von Aulock 1559; Laffaille 457.1,88gr

And then an even more rare type showing the warrior in action (also my new avatar). I imagine the die engraver showing Hector right before Achilles death blow:

★ Rare ★TROAS. Ophrynion. Ae (Circa 350-300 BC). Obv: Laureate head of Zeus right. Rev: OΦΡΥ. Warrior Hektor, wearing crested helmet, crouching left, holding shield and spear. BMC 8-9; SNG Copenhagen 460. Rare 1,57gr

Hector never had a chance. Zeus knew it, all the other gods knew it. Achilles sure knew it when he decided not to heed his goddess mother's advice instead deciding to become the greatest warrior of all time but to have an early demise.

It seemed everyone knew it but this guy and his wife and baby (Andromache & Astyanax):

In the end Hector fell due to his own brothers cowardice. Chased, killed, dragged around his city for all to see and mutilated by dogs. 

Famous for being one of humanities biggest d bag cucks older brothers and losing the biggest battle he went into. So is the story of a truly selfless hero, Hector son of Priam. 

A few more from the story:

Poor Ajax the Lokrian, better intern as Ajax the lesser on account of there being another Ajax in the story who is second only to Achilles:

Lokris Opuntia

Hemidrachm around 350 BCE 2.60 g. Head of a nymph with reed wreath, simple ear pendants and necklace to the right / Ajax in the Corinthian helmet with drawn short sword storming to the right, holding above the left arm oval shield with a lion as inner jewelry, spear lying on the ground. BMC 26

(Oh, now we see why they called him, "the lesser")

Here we have a portrayal of Homer, the famously blind storyteller, sitting (and as @dougsmitpointed out) reading!?!?

Ionia, Smyrna. Circa 125-115 BC. Æ 20mm (21mm, 8.27g). Phanokrates, magistrate. Laureate head of Apollo right / The poet Homer seated left, holding scroll. Milne, Autonomous 194a; SNG Copenhagen. Former Kairos Numismatik

And what maybe most recall is the brilliant ruse that ended Troy:

Please post up your coins featuring folks from the Illiad or Oddesy, Homer, warriors in battle, thoughts and comments. 

SABINA
Dupondius, 136 CE 
Mint: Rome 
26.3  mm, 10,2 g.
Obverse legend : SABINA AVGVSTA - HADRIANI AVG PP, Obverse: Diadémé bust and drape of Sabina on the right, hair raised, artistically capped. Reverse: Veiled and draped Ceres, seated left on a basket, holding ears of corn in right hand and torch in left hand.

Next: something cool looking worn on someone's head that isn't a helmet

next: great head of hair

EXCELLENT work @Restitutor!!!

It's even better than I thought it could be!

Could your moniker be any more prophetic!?

To Restitutor, restorer of the coin world!

Stunningly beautiful coin!

RR Battle scenes...

next: a historical figure you always imagine as being cute

next: a coin with one beautiful side

Dast!!

You beat me to the modern ATG:

Here's one my wife and I still laugh about..."Concordia" and then they shake hands instead of, oh, idk, kissing or...

Also, a rad Mercury prepping for the race. This is what I would call a "modern fourée"

 Though there are versions of this coin in silver. The artistry is different. And you can even see the bronze starting to shine through. In the last couple hundred years someone gave this beauty a silver coating :