My first coin of 2023- an Agathodaemon!

[JayAg47]

Kicked off this year with a mystical serpent from Egypt, nothing spectacular but I've always wanted one of these giant cobras and happened to saw this coin offered by a local ebay dealer for 20 bucks, despite the thick patina, the coin actually looks better in hand. 

I gotta say it's the hardest coin for me to photograph! so I've attached one I took under direct sunlight, and the other one indoors with filtered light that brings out the natural colour of the coin, which do you think is better?

Hadrian (117-138). Egypt, Alexandria. Æ Diobol - year 14
Serpent Agathodaemon
Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r., seen from behind. R/ Serpent Agathodaemon erect r., crowned with pschent, coiled around caduceus on left and grain ears on right; L IΔ (date) in exergue.
24mm, 9.86g

And here are a couple of serpents from different cultures-

This coin depicts baby Krishna dancing on the head of Kaliya to remove it's venom, an evil snake that terrorised humans.

 

And the Australian indigenous Dreamtime Rainbow Serpent. 

Please share your serpents from Alexandria or from other cultures!

[shanxi]

 

9 minutes ago, JayAg47 said:

I gotta say it's the hardest coin for me to photograph! so I've attached one I took under direct sunlight, and the other one indoors with filtered light that brings out the natural colour of the coin, which do you think is better?

I prefer the "red" version. Nice coin. 

 

 

A serpent from Pergamon

Mysia, Pergamon
AE 20, 200-133 BC
Obv.: laureate head of bearded Asklepios
Rev.: ΑΣΚΛΗΠΙΟΥ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ, snake coiled around omphalos, monogram below,left
AE, 6.37g, 21mm
Ref.:

[LONGINUS]

Great coin and post, @JayAg47! Congratulations on your first acquisition of 2023.

 

Here’s my recent Philip I with snake imagery.

 

 

 

 

This Pisidian coin was a Secret Santa Saturnalia gift from several years ago. Being a lover of classical music on ancient instruments, I couldn’t help but associate the image with the musical instrument called a serpent dating back to the Renaissance.

 

 

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

I have one of he-of-the-prominent-nose Nerva. I like how the snake's tail holds a cadeucus. In my travels to Egypt I visited Armant, a village 15 km south of Luxor, the center of the cult for the war god Montu. In the center of town are ruins of the impressive temple. After paying the village headman some bakshish, a sort of honorary facilitation of 100 Egyptian pounds I was able to walk around inside the temple and decipher some of the hieroglyphs. There are some as early as the reign of Nebhepetra-Montuhotep a Middle Kingdom ruler literally: "The lord of the rudder is Ra" and "Montu-is-satisfied" or "Montu-is-at-rest" if you prefer. There is a local legend where the cobra would emerge from a water jar and offer a blessing to whomever sees it, he said in Arabic, and ward off the evil eye. In this town there are red pottery water jars set up around the town square at strategic locations so one can drink from a ladle in the hot summer months when the temperature can reach 45 degrees. I tried the water and it was surprisingly cold. After a smoke and some tea at the cafe across from the temple, along with a friendly game of backgammon I took my leave. They are not so used to tourists in this town and it is sort of a novelty for them.

 

Edited January 18, 2023 by Ancient Coin Hunter

[Al Kowsky]

3 hours ago, LONGINUS said:

Great coin and post, @JayAg47! Congratulations on your first acquisition of 2023.

 

Here’s my recent Philip I with snake imagery.

 

 

 

 

This Pisidian coin was a Secret Santa Saturnalia gift from several years ago. Being a lover of classical music on ancient instruments, I couldn’t help but associate the image with the musical instrument called a serpent dating back to the Renaissance.

 

 

I love the green snake eyes on Philip I 🤣!