CPK Posted December 11, 2022 · Supporter Share Posted December 11, 2022 Why aren't there any ancient coins depicting the Great Pyramids of Egypt? Even in antiquity they surely would have been the most impressive man-made structures in existence - huge stone pyramids rising starkly out of the desert. Yet I haven't heard of any ancient coins featuring these colossal iconic structures. Why not? 2 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Julius Posted December 11, 2022 · Member Share Posted December 11, 2022 (edited) As far as I know, the great pyramids never appeared on ancient coinage. I do believe that there are coins that show pyramids… but not the great pyramids. Their absence is perhaps because the creators of these monuments lived before coinage as we know it… and the Greeks/Romans weren’t too interested in trumpeting the achievements of another culture long before… or it’s because they were built by aliens. Edited December 11, 2022 by Orange Julius 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qcumbor Posted December 11, 2022 · Supporter Share Posted December 11, 2022 (edited) But there are coins depicting the great Sphynx which is nearby... Q Edited December 11, 2022 by Qcumbor 3 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambr0zie Posted December 11, 2022 · Member Share Posted December 11, 2022 That is indeed a good question and a correct observation from @Qcumbor I am currently reading a fictional book about Moses and, like I knew, in the times of building the pyramids, coins were not yet used. And they were used much after. So this explains why the pyramids were not depicted on coins when they were built or soon after - because the coins did not exist yet. @DonnaML presented 2 beautiful ancient coins here https://www.cointalk.com/threads/top-15-roman-provincials-for-2021.390021/ One depicting a pharaoh like we all imagine a pharaoh should look like, and one even depicting a mummy. So there was no tabu in putting Egyptian symbols on coins. Sphynx is also a common theme on coinage. Not sure why a pyramid was not added - shouldn't be difficult to create an image for a coin. Perhaps this is a good explanation 4 hours ago, Orange Julius said: and the Greeks/Romans weren’t too interested in trumpeting the achievements of another culture long before 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Limes Posted December 11, 2022 · Supporter Share Posted December 11, 2022 See a thread I did about it, a while ago: Its not just the Pyramids, but some magnificent structures also are not shown on coins, while others are. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPK Posted December 13, 2022 · Supporter Author Share Posted December 13, 2022 On 12/11/2022 at 1:05 AM, Qcumbor said: But there are coins depicting the great Sphynx which is nearby... Q Exactly. Wouldn't the Pyramids be so much more impressive and imposing? It just seems odd. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor kirispupis Posted December 13, 2022 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted December 13, 2022 What I wonder about the coins with the Sphynx are: did they depict the Sphynx or just a Spynx? My suspicion is that coins with mummies, amulets, and sphynxes were depicting things still created that day. These were objects that were still important to the Egyptians on a daily basis. The pyramids were recognized as the tombs of ancient rulers even back then (see Strabo). Thus, there was really no incentive for current rulers to advertise for them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor DonnaML Posted December 13, 2022 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted December 13, 2022 1 hour ago, kirispupis said: What I wonder about the coins with the Sphynx are: did they depict the Sphynx or just a Spynx? My suspicion is that coins with mummies, amulets, and sphynxes were depicting things still created that day. These were objects that were still important to the Egyptians on a daily basis. The pyramids were recognized as the tombs of ancient rulers even back then (see Strabo). Thus, there was really no incentive for current rulers to advertise for them. I think Roman Egyptian coins depicting sphinxes with human female heads are just sphinxes, of the basically Greek type. But when there's a male head that looks like a Pharaoh, it's almost certainly the Great Sphinx that's intended. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.