Unusual Characters on Provincial Reverses

[AncientOne]

 

Plutus, Ploutos, or Plutos was the god of wealth. At first he was solely concerned with agricultural bounty but later came to represent wealth in general. Usually shown as an infant being held by a deity, this is the only coin I have found with just Plutos standing.

Lydia, Magnesia ad Sipylum. Marcus Aurelius AE15. Plutos

Obv: ΑVΡΗΛΙΟ ΚΑΙ, bare-headed, draped bust of Marcus Aurelius right.
Rev: ΜΑΓΝΗΤΩΝ ΙΠVΛΟV, Plutos standing left, holding fruit in folds of chiton.
RPC IV.2, 1330 (temporary)

 

 

Liknophoros was the bearer of the liknon or winnowing fan, a basket used for separating grain from its chaff, and usually led the ritual processions at the Dionysia festivals. 

Caria, Antioch ad Meandrum. Marcus Aurelius AE15. Liknophoros

Obv: ΒΗΡΟϹ ΚΑΙ. Bare head of Marcus Aurelius (short beard), r.
Rev: ΑΝΤΙοΧƐΩΝ. Liknophoros r., clad in short chiton, supporting basket on his head.
RPC IV.2, 821

 

 

The Amazons were a group of female warriors and hunters, who beat men in physical agility and strength, in archery, riding skills, and the arts of combat. This coin probably represents Myrina, an Amazonian queen who commanded a military expedition in Libya with her sister Mytilene after whom she named the city of the same name. Myrina also named three more cities after the Amazons who held the most important commands under her, Cyme, Pitane, and Priene.

Mysia, Pitane. Faustina II. AE19.

Obv: ΦΑVϹΤΕΙΝΑ ϹΕΒΑϹ; draped bust of Faustina II, r.
Rev: ΠΙΤΑΝΑΙΩΝ; Amazon standing, l., holding patera and double axe.
RPC IV.2, 629

 

 

Please feel free to share any coin, not just provincial, with unusual characters or anything you feel is relevant.

[Roman Collector]

Fun and interesting reverse types, @AncientOne! Kabeiros seems to fit your theme. He's interesting. I have three coins depicting Kabeiros, all from Thessalonica:

Time of Antoninus Pius, AD 138-161.
Pseudo-autonomous Æ 21.4 mm, 8.48 g, 11 h.
Macedonia, Thessalonica.
Obv: ΘΕCCΑΛΟ-ΝΙΚΕⲰΝ, turreted and draped bust of Tyche, right.
Rev: KABI-POC, Kabeiros standing left, holding rhyton and hammer, star in left field.
Refs: RPC IV.1 3486 (temporary); SNG Cop 384; SNG ANS 812 var. (no star on reverse; same obv. die); BMC 5.113-14, 47-49; cf Sear 4820; Touratsoglou p.329, 30.
Notes: Ex-ArtCoins Roma, Asta 4, lot 96, 5 Dec 2011.


Julia Mamaea, AD 226-235
Roman provincial Æ 24.7 mm, 10.46 gm
Macedonia, Thessalonica, AD 226-235
Obv: ΙΟVΛΙΑ ΜΑΜΑΙΑ ΑVΓ, diademed and draped bust, right
Rev: ΘΕCCΑΛΟΝΙΚΕΩΝ, Kabeiros standing facing, head left, holding rhyton and hammer.
Refs: Similar to SGI 3409; Varbanov 4484.


Gordian III, AD 238-244.
Roman provincial Æ 27 mm, 11.3g, 12h.
Macedon, Thessalonica, AD 238-244.
Obv: AVT K M ANTΩNIOC ΓΟΡΔIANOC, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
Rev: ΘЄCCAΛΟΝΙ-ΚЄΩΝ ΝЄΩΚΟ-ΡΩΝ, distyle temple containing Kabeiros standing facing, head left, between two urns containing palm, holding rhyton and hammer.
Refs: RPC VII.2, — (unassigned; ID 59017); Touratsoglou 145; Price & Trell 132; Varbanov 4583 var.; Moushmov 6827.
Notes: Ex-ArtCoins Roma, Asta 4, lot 303, 5 Dec 2011.

Edited January 22, 2023 by Roman Collector

[ominus1]

..here's Val l & ll, Valerian ll...the latter having a  reverse of a baby on a goat(the goddess Amalthea protecting a baby Jupiter)...and to keep it Op like, here's a Provincial of Hostilian (Anazarbus way) sporting Apollo with lyre leaning on a column reverse 😄

Edited November 20, 2022 by ominus1

[LONGINUS]

Interesting post and coins, @AncientOne! 

I’ve been reviewing my collection without finding any deities or reverses such as yours.

Great food for thought—thank you for posting!

[Spaniard]

Here's an interesting originally celtic diety "Sucellus".

Britannia, Trinovantes & Catuvellauni. Cunobelin. Circa 9-41 AD. AE Unit (2.437 g, 14mm).
Obv: Winged head left, CVNO in front, BELIN behind.
Rev: Metal worker, presumably the smith god known as Sucellus in parts of Gaul, sitting on a solid seat with a detached upright back, holding an L-shaped hammer in his right hand, left hand holding a metal bowl, there is always a distinct bun of hair behind the smith's head, TASCIO (Tascionus his father) behind, beaded border.
Van Arsdell 2097; ABC 2969; SCBC 342. Hobbs 1972-83;..VF.

[shanxi]

Sparzene 

Caligula, AD 37-41
Caria, Cidramus
AE 17
Obv.: ΣΕΒΑΣTOΣ, Bare head left.
Rev.: ΚΙΔΡΑΜΗΝΩΝ ΜΟΥΣΑΙΟΣ ΚΑΛΛΙΚΡΑΤΟΥΣ ΠΡ, Goddess Sparzene standing facing, with outstretched arms.
AE, 5.33g, 17mm
Ref.: RPC I 2874

[AncientOne]

I've never heard of Sparzene. Very cool!  

To add some more unusual,

here is a herm.

Caria, Herakleia Salbace. Hadrian Æ19. Herm

Obv: СΕΒΑСΤΟС / Laureate head of Hadrian, r.
Rev: ΗΡΑΚΛΕΩΤΩΝ / Herm facing.
3.762g, 19.2mm.

 

 

Pyramid

Cappadocia, Caesaraea-Eusebia. Trajan AE13

Obv: Turreted bust of Tyche right.
Rev: Dotted border around pyramid. E-T/Γ (date) around.
2.3g 13.2mm.
CY 3 (AD 111/2).

 

 

Altar with caps of the dioscuri.

Caria, Tabai. AD 69-79 AD. Dionysos/Caps of the Dioscuri.

Obv: ΤΑΒΗΝΩΝ. Head of Dionysus with ivy wreath, r.
Rev: ΚΑΛΛΙΚΡΑΤΗΣ ΒΡΑX. Altar with caps of the Dioscuri, uncertain object between.
RPC II, 1251.

 

 

Pompey!

Cilicia, Pompeiopolis. Pompey AE22. Time of Tiberius.

Obv: Head of Pompey, r.
Rev: ΠΟΜΠΗΙΟΠΟΛΙΤΩΝ; ϘϚ, Athena, seated l., holding Nike; in field several letters.
RPC I, 4001

 

 

Winged head of Medusa.

Lycaonia, Iconium. Æ 15mm. Pseudo-autonomous, c. AD 69-96.

Obv: Winged head of Medusa facing.
Rev: ΚΛΑΥΔЄΙΚΟΝΙЄѠΝ, Kybele seated to left, holding patera and resting arm on drum.
RPC II 1608B

Edited November 30, 2022 by AncientOne

[hotwheelsearl]

How about a stack of party hats!

[DonnaML]

Wow, I go out of town to upstate New York and Toronto for less than a week -- my first venture outside the bounds of New York City since February 2020 -- and I come back to find at least four pages of new posts. It'll take me a while to catch up, so everyone please consider everything you've posted as "liked" by me even if I haven't actually read it yet!

And no way I'm even close to being ready to think about a top 10 list for the year. I still have four Roman Republican coins bought this year that I haven't even written up yet the first time! 

Anyway, here's a new Provincial that came in the mail while I was away, depicting a deity I had never even heard of before. Perhaps it's just me; is this someone most of you know about?

Hadrian, AR Tridrachm, Tarsus [= Tarsos], Cilicia Province, AD 117-138. Obv. Laureate head right with drapery on far shoulder, ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙ ΘΕ ΤΡΑ ΠΑΡ ΥΙ ΘΕ ΝΕΡ ΥΙ ΤΡΑΙ ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟⳞ ⳞΕ [ = Imperator Caesar divi Traiani Parthicus filius divi Nervae nepos Traianus Hadrianus Augustus] / Rev. Hittite/Cilician god Sandan (a/k/a Sandas)* wearing towered crown, striding right on back of a horned and winged lion (with curved goat horns**); Sandan wears bow-case and sword on left side (together with additional weapons [club and dagger?] worn at waist), and holds double axe and wreath (or crown) in his left hand, with a quiver(?) worn on his right side, and his right hand raised to point forward; ΤΑΡⳞΕΩΝ ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛΕΩⳞ. 25.5 mm., 9.95 g.  RPC III Online 3266 (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/3/3266); 21 BMC Cilicia, Tarsus 145-146 at p. 186 [Hill, G.F., A Catalog of the Greek Coins in the British Museum, Greek Coins of Lycaonia, Isauria, and Cilicia (London, 1900)]; Prieur 767. Purchased from Aegean Numismatics, Mentor OH, Nov. 20, 2022.

 

*See CNG’s discussion of Sandan at https://www.cngcoins.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=376: “The cult of Sandan, or Sandas, is a remnant of the 17th century BC Hittite occupation of Cilicia. In his Luwian form he was Teshub, the god of mountain storms. Within the Hittite sanctuary at Yazilikaya he is depicted as a bearded god with conical headdress, holding a club and plant, probably related to the Mesopotamian Tree of Life. Like the rest of the Hittite High Gods, Teshub's feet never touch earth; he either rides the back of mythological beasts, is borne on the shoulders of lesser gods, or strides above the mountain tops. The mountain tops recall the lofty Hittite homeland, as does the high-peaked cap, and the pyramidal shape of Sandan's altar. While Sandan's cult in Tarsos became assimilated with that of Herakles, in his origins as a nature god he is more similar to the Greek king of the gods, Zeus.” 

See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandas: “Sandas (more commonly spelt as "Sandan") was the Anatolian (Hittite) lion god during the Classical period. He used to be represented in association with a horned lion, and often resided inside a pyre surmounted by an eagle. Sandan was often associated to the Greek god Herakles, and sometimes to Marduk. In ceremonies, an image of the god was placed inside a pyre and was set on fire. Sandan appears in the coins of the Seleucids, as well as on other coins of Tarsus (Cilicia) during the time of the Roman emperors. In Tarsus, Sandon (sometimes spelled Sandes, Sandan, or Sanda) was visually represented as a mitre-wearing human form carrying a sword, a flower, or (commonly) an axe who stands on the back of a horned and winged lion.[1][2] Associated primarily with war and weather,[3] Sandon was the chief god in the Cilician pantheon from at least the beginning of the second millennium BC.[4] The ancient Greeks and Romans equated Sandon with Herakles.[5] A large monument to Sandon existed at Tarsus at least until the third century AD.” [Footnotes omitted.]

**For references to the idea of the horned lion on top of which Sandan stands being a goat-lion amalgamation, related to the Chimaera, see Attilio Mastrocinque, “Chimaera: Features of Near Eastern and Greek Mythology Concerning the Plague,” Journal of Ancient and Near Eastern Religions Vol. 7 No. 2 at pp. 198-217 (2007), available at https://www.academia.edu/21694825/The_Cilician_God_Sandas_and_the_Greek_Chimaera.  Also regarding the author's comparison to the mythological Chimaera, note the long, sinuous, snake-like tail on my coin's goat-horned lion.

After looking at all the other examples of this type (and similar types) at RPC and acsearch, I think the details of my reverse are unusually distinct. For example, the cylindrical object extending upwards from Sandan's right side, crossing the outside of his right arm and continuing beyond, is not even mentioned in the descriptions of most other specimens. I've tentatively called it a quiver in my description because there's already supposed to be a bow-case over his left shoulder, and I see what look like they might be arrows sticking out from the top of it. Do people think that's reasonable? And, the additional objects hanging at Sandan's waist down over his left leg seem to be mentioned nowhere else.  Club and dagger are just guesses. If anyone has any other suggestions, they're welcome.

Edited November 30, 2022 by DonnaML

[shanxi]

Kronos

Domitian
Cilicia, Flaviopolis
AE17, dated Dated CY 17 (89/90 AD).
Obv.: ΔΟΜЄΤΙΑΝΟC ΚΑΙCΑΡ, laureate head right
Rev.: ЄΤΟVC ΖΙ ΦΛΑVΙΟΠΟΛЄΙΤωΝ, veiled head of Kronos right, harpa at his shoulder
AE, 2.60g, 17mm
Ref.: SNG Levante 1531, RPC II 1760, SNG von Aulock 5558.

[ambr0zie]

@DonnaML - very interesting Tarsos tridrachm!

I recently bought an Antiochus VII Euergetes Seleukid drachm with an identical reverse (I see you are aware of this type). On your coin I think your assumption is correct - arrows sticking out. I like my coin but I did not include it in my top 10. Not sure if this was a good choice (not including it).

[Marsyas Mike]

Those are some nice Sandans, @DonnaML and @ambr0zie  Here's Sandan's pyre, barely, on a countermarked AE from Tarsos with Tyche's face only somewhat obscured by the Helios countermark, though Sandan's pyre got flattened on the reverse:

Cilicia, Tarsos  Æ20 (c. 164-27 B.C.) Bust of Tyche veiled & turreted  right / TAPΣEΩN right, pyre of Sandan center, KA / M Γ /AP  monograms left. SNG BN 1336-7; SNG Levante 933-57 var. Countermark:  head of Helios right in 8mm circle. (6.31 grams / 20 mm) eBay July 2018

[kevikens]

My unusual character is one more common on Greek  coinage than Roman, which seems appropriate since this is a provincial coin and the language is Greek. The coin itself (Sear 2782) is from Nicopolis ad Istrum and a 26 mm, 13.72 bronze of Geta and the uncommon reverse (for Roman coins) is Nemesis, the deity who provides a rough kind of justice, good or bad for mortals. For us today, a nemesis has the connotation of an enemy or adversary, which Nemesis could be, but Nemeses would provide eventual justice  and that could be a reward rather than just a base revenge. Notice that on this reverse Nemesis is holding a balance scale of justice and possibly a cubit stick for measuring well, measure for measure, allotments. Also imaged is a wheel (of fortune?) showing that "what goes around, comes around", so to speak. The inscription titles Geta as the "autocrator". For what it is worth, I find the provincial coinage of Moesia Inferior an excellent source of well done imagery and portraiture and recommend collectors looking for such portraiture and imagery to check out these coins when looking for something larger than the Imperial denarii of the Severan period. And be careful out there this time of year, naughty or nice, Nemesis is watching and keeping tabs.

[DonnaML]

2 hours ago, kevikens said:

Notice that on this reverse Nemesis is holding a balance scale of justice and possibly a cubit stick for measuring well, measure for measure, allotments. Also imaged is a wheel (of fortune?) showing that "what goes around, comes around", so to speak. 

@kevikens, I believe that's definitely a cubit rule or rod, and agree that the wheel represents the cyclical nature of human fortune. 

I have two ancient coins personifying Nemesis, one in the form of a female deity, and the other in the form of a griffin. One is from Thrace, and the other from Moesia Inferior -- the former in today's Bulgaria, and the latter in today's Romania. Both provinces are among my favorite sources for Roman Provincial coins. One was issued by Philip I and Otacilia Severa, and the other by their son Philip II. Here they are:

Philip I & Otacilia Severa, AE 26, 244-249 AD, Mesembria, Thrace [Nessebar, Bulgaria]. Obv. Confronted busts of Philip I, right, laureate, draped, and cuirassed, and Otacilia Severa, left, wearing diadem (or stephane), ΑΥΤ Μ ΙΟΥΛ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟC Μ WΤ; in exergue (in two lines) ϹƐΒΗΡΑ-ϹƐ / Rev. Nemesis standing facing, head left, holding marked cubit rule with extended right hand and bridle* with left hand, wheel  at her feet left, ΜΕ-ϹΑΜ-ΒΡΙΑΝΩΝ. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. VIII Online 48407 [temporary ID number] (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/type/48407 ); SNG Cop. 664 [Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Copenhagen, The Royal Collection of Coins and Medals, Danish National Museum, Part 6: Thrace 1: The Tauric Chersonese-Thrace (Mesembria) (Copenhagen 1942); Varbanov 4254 [Ivan Varbanov, Greek Imperial Coins And Their Values, Volume II: Thrace (from Abdera to Pautalia) (Bourgas, 2005)]. [Obv. Die match: Naumann Auction 49, Lot 354, Jan. 8, 2017 (RPC VIII Online ID 48407, Specimen 17; see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/obv/333697/high.]  26 mm., 10.5 g.

*Described by dealer as “cubit rule and ribbon,” with type described by some other dealers as “cubit rule and rod,” both of which are clearly incorrect: the “ribbon” is actually a bridle, and a cubit rule and rod are the same thing, except that the former has markings for measurement.

Philip II, AE Tetrassarion, 247-249 AD, Moesia Inferior, Tomis [now Constanţa, Romania]. Obv. Bareheaded, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from rear, Μ ΙΟΥΛ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟC ΚΑΙCΑΡ / Rev. Griffin seated left with right paw on top of wheel [representing Nemesis*], ΜΗ-ΤΡΟ-Π-ΠΟ, continued in exergue in two lines: NTOΥ ΤΟΜΕ/ΩϹ (ME ligate), Δ in right field [signifying the denomination, 4 assaria]. 27 mm., 12.22 g. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] VIII Online 28171 [temporary ID number] (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/type/28171) [this coin is Specimen 7, used as primary illustration for type, see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coin/156187 ]; Varbanov 5781 [Varbanov, Ivan, Greek Imperial Coins And Their Values, Volume I: Dacia, Moesia Superior & Moesia Inferior (English Edition) (Bourgas, Bulgaria, 2005)]. Purchased from Herakles Numismatics, Jan. 2021; ex. I-Nummis, Paris, Mail Bid Sale 6, Nov. 7, 2008, Lot 399  (see https://www.coinarchives.com/a/openlink.php?l=239902|348|399|a3b582d0b87f863b39d084dd851a7a89). [“Scarce”: 11 specimens in RPC (including this coin), 6 examples in ACSearch (including this coin).]

*See https://www.getty.edu/publications/romanmosaics/catalogue/8/ : “The image of a griffin supporting one of its forepaws on a wheel appears in Roman art by the first century AD. The wheel, a symbol of the cyclical movement of human fortune, and the winged griffin are both distinctive attributes of Nemesis, the goddess of vengeance, who is also often represented with wings. In a first-century AD wall painting from the House of the Fabii at Pompeii, Apollo and two female figures are accompanied by a winged griffin with a wheel. This motif also occurs on coins of Alexandria dating to the reign of the emperor Domitian (AD 81–96). Scenes depicting Nemesis with a griffin are especially common during the second and third centuries AD and occur in many different media, including coins, gems, statues, and funerary and votive reliefs. The particular image of a griffin resting its paw on a wheel, typically seated at the foot of Nemesis, is so pervasive that it eventually became a symbol for the goddess herself. For example, a limestone mold of the second to third centuries AD from Egypt, possibly from Alexandria, shows a griffin and a wheel with the Greek inscription Nemesis.

Representations of the griffin with a wheel unaccompanied by Nemesis, as in the Getty mosaic, are particularly common in North Africa and the eastern periphery of the Roman Empire. The motif appears in the second and third centuries AD in Egyptian statuettes in faience [see image at https://www.getty.edu/publications/romanmosaics/assets/images/pics/pic_30_faience-egyptian-statuette.jpg], relief stelai from the amphitheater at Leptis Magna in present-day Libya; tomb paintings in Jordan; a votive marble statue from Erez, Israel, bearing a dedicatory inscription in Greek (dated AD 210–211); gems from Caesarea Maritima in Israel and Gadara in Jordan; and terracotta tesserae from Palmyra. While the worship of Nemesis was widespread across the Roman Empire, it was particularly prevalent in Egypt, where she had a pre-Roman cult, and in Syria and the surrounding regions, where she was associated with several important local deities, including the classical goddesses Tyche (personification of fortune) and Nike (personification of victory) and the Arabic deities Allath (goddess of war) and Manawat (goddess of fate).” [Footnotes omitted.]

 

Edited November 30, 2022 by DonnaML

[DonnaML]

10 hours ago, ambr0zie said:

@DonnaML - very interesting Tarsos tridrachm!

I recently bought an Antiochus VII Euergetes Seleukid drachm with an identical reverse (I see you are aware of this type). On your coin I think your assumption is correct - arrows sticking out.

Thank you, @ambr0zie. I'm pretty convinced at this point that that's a quiver. Is Sandan someone you knew about before you began to collect ancient coins? I'm beginning to think that my previous ignorance of his existence represents a shameful gap in my education!

[ambr0zie]

 

2 hours ago, DonnaML said:

Is Sandan someone you knew about before you began to collect ancient coins?

Why should I lie, no. I found out about this deity about 2 months ago when I attributed this Otacilia Severa, also from Tarsos

This coin is extremely worn but the reverse scene is similar to our coins. Reverse description: Pyre of Sandan: Sandan atop back of horned lion-griffin standing to right between two omphaloi; all on a garlanded altar beneath a pyramidal baldacchino

I bought my Euergetes drachm after, in fact it arrived last week.

[AncientOne]

@DonnaML That tridrachm is wonderful!

@shanxi  Kronos is on my list now.  Nice coin!

 

Here's another deity you don't see every day.

Asteria was the mother goddess of the Tyrian Herakles(Melkart) and both had a special cult in Rabbat Amman(Philadelphia).

Syria, Decapolis, Philadelphia. Commodus AE22. Veiled bust of Asteria

Obv: L AVP KOM MODOC KAIC. Draped and cuirassed bust of Commodus as Caesar.
Rev: ΦΙΛ Κ C V ΘΕΑΛΕΤΕΡΙ. Asteria r., draped and veiled with star on top of head.
22mm, 8.6g.
Spijkerman 32. rare

 

 

Edited November 30, 2022 by AncientOne

[Prieure de Sion]

9 minutes ago, AncientOne said:

Syria, Decapolis, Philadelphia. Commodus AE22. Veiled bust of Asteria

Very nice! Finally again a Commodus here in the forum. Far too few here. Beautiful piece.

[Oldhoopster]

3 hours ago, DonnaML said:

@kevikens, I believe that's definitely a cubit rule or rod, and agree that the wheel represents the cyclical nature of human fortune. 

I have two ancient coins personifying Nemesis, one in the form of a female deity, and the other in the form of a griffin. One is from Thrace, and the other from Moesia Inferior -- the former in today's Bulgaria, and the latter in today's Romania. Both provinces are among my favorite sources for Roman Provincial coins. One was issued by Philip I and Otacilia Severa, and the other by their son Philip II. Here they are:

Philip I & Otacilia Severa, AE 26, 244-249 AD, Mesembria, Thrace [Nessebar, Bulgaria]. Obv. Confronted busts of Philip I, right, laureate, draped, and cuirassed, and Otacilia Severa, left, wearing diadem (or stephane), ΑΥΤ Μ ΙΟΥΛ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟC Μ WΤ; in exergue (in two lines) ϹƐΒΗΡΑ-ϹƐ / Rev. Nemesis standing facing, head left, holding marked cubit rule with extended right hand and bridle* with left hand, wheel  at her feet left, ΜΕ-ϹΑΜ-ΒΡΙΑΝΩΝ. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. VIII Online 48407 [temporary ID number] (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/type/48407 ); SNG Cop. 664 [Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Copenhagen, The Royal Collection of Coins and Medals, Danish National Museum, Part 6: Thrace 1: The Tauric Chersonese-Thrace (Mesembria) (Copenhagen 1942); Varbanov 4254 [Ivan Varbanov, Greek Imperial Coins And Their Values, Volume II: Thrace (from Abdera to Pautalia) (Bourgas, 2005)]. [Obv. Die match: Naumann Auction 49, Lot 354, Jan. 8, 2017 (RPC VIII Online ID 48407, Specimen 17; see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/obv/333697/high.]  26 mm., 10.5 g.

*Described by dealer as “cubit rule and ribbon,” with type described by some other dealers as “cubit rule and rod,” both of which are clearly incorrect: the “ribbon” is actually a bridle, and a cubit rule and rod are the same thing, except that the former has markings for measurement.

Philip II, AE Tetrassarion, 247-249 AD, Moesia Inferior, Tomis [now Constanţa, Romania]. Obv. Bareheaded, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from rear, Μ ΙΟΥΛ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟC ΚΑΙCΑΡ / Rev. Griffin seated left with right paw on top of wheel [representing Nemesis*], ΜΗ-ΤΡΟ-Π-ΠΟ, continued in exergue in two lines: NTOΥ ΤΟΜΕ/ΩϹ (ME ligate), Δ in right field [signifying the denomination, 4 assaria]. 27 mm., 12.22 g. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] VIII Online 28171 [temporary ID number] (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/type/28171) [this coin is Specimen 7, used as primary illustration for type, see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coin/156187 ]; Varbanov 5781 [Varbanov, Ivan, Greek Imperial Coins And Their Values, Volume I: Dacia, Moesia Superior & Moesia Inferior (English Edition) (Bourgas, Bulgaria, 2005)]. Purchased from Herakles Numismatics, Jan. 2021; ex. I-Nummis, Paris, Mail Bid Sale 6, Nov. 7, 2008, Lot 399  (see https://www.coinarchives.com/a/openlink.php?l=239902|348|399|a3b582d0b87f863b39d084dd851a7a89). [“Scarce”: 11 specimens in RPC (including this coin), 6 examples in ACSearch (including this coin).]

*See https://www.getty.edu/publications/romanmosaics/catalogue/8/ : “The image of a griffin supporting one of its forepaws on a wheel appears in Roman art by the first century AD. The wheel, a symbol of the cyclical movement of human fortune, and the winged griffin are both distinctive attributes of Nemesis, the goddess of vengeance, who is also often represented with wings. In a first-century AD wall painting from the House of the Fabii at Pompeii, Apollo and two female figures are accompanied by a winged griffin with a wheel. This motif also occurs on coins of Alexandria dating to the reign of the emperor Domitian (AD 81–96). Scenes depicting Nemesis with a griffin are especially common during the second and third centuries AD and occur in many different media, including coins, gems, statues, and funerary and votive reliefs. The particular image of a griffin resting its paw on a wheel, typically seated at the foot of Nemesis, is so pervasive that it eventually became a symbol for the goddess herself. For example, a limestone mold of the second to third centuries AD from Egypt, possibly from Alexandria, shows a griffin and a wheel with the Greek inscription Nemesis.

Representations of the griffin with a wheel unaccompanied by Nemesis, as in the Getty mosaic, are particularly common in North Africa and the eastern periphery of the Roman Empire. The motif appears in the second and third centuries AD in Egyptian statuettes in faience [see image at https://www.getty.edu/publications/romanmosaics/assets/images/pics/pic_30_faience-egyptian-statuette.jpg], relief stelai from the amphitheater at Leptis Magna in present-day Libya; tomb paintings in Jordan; a votive marble statue from Erez, Israel, bearing a dedicatory inscription in Greek (dated AD 210–211); gems from Caesarea Maritima in Israel and Gadara in Jordan; and terracotta tesserae from Palmyra. While the worship of Nemesis was widespread across the Roman Empire, it was particularly prevalent in Egypt, where she had a pre-Roman cult, and in Syria and the surrounding regions, where she was associated with several important local deities, including the classical goddesses Tyche (personification of fortune) and Nike (personification of victory) and the Arabic deities Allath (goddess of war) and Manawat (goddess of fate).” [Footnotes omitted.]

 

Great looking tetrassarion.  Nice write up that helped me learn something today and its always a good day if I learn something new (that's why I keep lurking on numis forums)

[AncientOne]

58 minutes ago, Prieure de Sion said:

Finally again a Commodus here in the forum. Far too few here.

I agree!  Here's a Commodus from Edessa with king Abgar VII.

Mesopotamia, Edessa. Commodus/Abgar VII

Obv: ΚΟΜΟΔΟϹ ΚΑΙϹΑΡ, laureate head of Commodus, r.
Rev: ΑΒΓΑΡΟϹ ΒΑϹΙΛƐVϹ, draped bust of Abgar (bearded) wearing diademed tiara, r.

[hotwheelsearl]

How about a tiny camel?

[seth77]

On 12/1/2022 at 2:43 AM, AncientOne said:

I agree!  Here's a Commodus from Edessa with king Abgar VII.

Mesopotamia, Edessa. Commodus/Abgar VII

Obv: ΚΟΜΟΔΟϹ ΚΑΙϹΑΡ, laureate head of Commodus, r.
Rev: ΑΒΓΑΡΟϹ ΒΑϹΙΛƐVϹ, draped bust of Abgar (bearded) wearing diademed tiara, r.

These Edessa coins for Abgar and Commodus (and possibly early Severus?) are so small.

AE14mm 1.81g

[septim]

Scylla

 

AE36 - Gordian III minted at Tarsos in Cilicia
AV: AYT K ANT ΓOPΔIAN[OC C]EB / Π / Π 
Radiated draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind
RV: TAPCOY MHT – PO[ΠΩ]ΛEωC 
Scylla with anthropogenic upper body and lower part of the body consisting of four dog protomes and two fishtails, to left; right hand extended, holding rudder (?) with left hand; K / M / A in the left field, Γ / B in the right fields.
36 - 37 mm - 25,74 g
SNG Levante 1125 var. (K M ANT), SNG Paris 1690 var. (?), BMC 268, Waddington 4671

[shanxi]

Pan

LYDIA. Thyateira.
2nd century AD
Obv: head of young Dionysus, r., wearing ivy wreath
Rev: ΘΥΑΤƐΙΡΗΝΩΝ, Pan advancing, l., holding bunch of grapes and pedum
AE,17.5mm, 3.8 g
Ref.: RPC VI, 4306 (temporary), GRPCL 94, Hochard 2661 (Apollo)

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

 

 

PAMPHYLIA. Side. Caracalla, 198-217. Pentassarion (?) (Bronze, 30 mm, 17.51 g, 1 h). AY K M AY CEY ANTΩNЄINOC Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Caracalla to right; above, star; on cheek, countermark: Є within circular incuse. Rev. CIΔH/TΩΝ The river-god Melas reclining left, holding pomegranate tree in his right hand and leaning left on urn from which water flows. SNG Paris -. SNG PFPS 699. SNG von Aulock -. For countermark, Howgego 803. Very rare. Areas of weakness, otherwise, about very fine.

 

PHRYGIA. Hierapolis. Caracalla, 198-217. Diassarion (Bronze, 24 mm, 9.73 g, 6 h). AY K M AY ANTΩNЄIN/OC Laureate and cuirassed bust of Caracalla to right. Rev. IЄPOΠΟΛЄITΩN Kybele seated left, holding patera in her right hand and leaning left on tympanon; at feet to left and right, lions seated left. BMC -. Naumann 55 (2017), 504 (same obverse die). SNG Copenhagen -. SNG Leypold -. SNG von Aulock -. Rare. Some deposits, otherwise, very fine. 

 

Lastly, Caracalla Thessalonica, Nike holding Keiberos/....

Edited January 23, 2023 by Ancient Coin Hunter
added legends