Al Kowsky Posted February 5, 2023 · Member Share Posted February 5, 2023 Yesterday the two coins I won from CNG 531 arrived, so I'll post the more interesting one ☺️. The Roman provincial coins from the Gaza mint are usually crude & the die engravers must have been "journeymen", so I was happy to score this hefty bronze that looks better than most. ROMAN JUDAEA, Gaza. Antoninus Pius, AD 138-161 (dated CY 215, AD 154/5). AE: 20.23 gm, 30.95 mm, 12 h. Obverse: Laureate, draped, & cuirassed bust of emperor facing right & seen from behind. Reverse: Bust of turreted, draped & veiled Tyche of Gaza facing right; EIC (date) in left field; (G)AZA in right field; sign of Marnas, mem near bust. Rosenberger 75; Sofaer 94. Photo courtesy of Coin Archives; Ex Kenneth S. Abramowitz Collection. Gaza has a known history going back 4,000 years that's been plagued by continuous upheavals & warfare. The Canaanites were the earliest known settlers, followed by the Egyptians, then by the Philistines. Gaza became part of the Assyrian Empire around 730 BC until it was conquered by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. At this point in it's history, most of it's inhabitants were killed or scattered & resettled by Bedouins. Gaza slowly became Hellenized. It was fought over by the Ptolemaic & Seleucid dynasties until it was destroyed by the Hasmoneans in 96 BC. It was rebuilt by the Roman general Pompey the Great & granted to king Herod the Great 30 years later. Gaza was now firmly under Roman control with Herod being nothing more than a Roman puppet. After the 1st Jewish-Roman War, AD 66-73, prosperity & stability returned to Gaza. The city received grants & building projects from several Roman emperors. Many pagan temples were erected in the Gaza City dedicated to the god Marnas & the local goddess Tyche. Hadrian visited Gaza in AD 130 & inaugurated a new stadium that became famous for it's sports competitions. Gaza was an important trading center for goods coming from Arabian caravans, so a local currency was a necessity. The earliest coinage used in Gaza was most likely Persian gold darics & silver siglos. Native kings began striking silver coinage in Gaza circa the mid 5th century BC. Imitations of Athenian Owls & their fractions soon followed. A mint was reestablished under Roman control circa 61 BC, & anonymous bronze coinage became the common currency. Bronze coinage depicting Roman emperors began with Augustus & continued through the Roman occupation. Billon coinage was introduced by emperor Caracalla, primarily for his proposed war against the Parthian Empire. Al Kowsky Collection. Photo courtesy of CNG. The "Holy Grail" of Gaza coinage is an imitation of an Athenian Owl pictured below. The coin was auction by Nomos AG, on June 22, 2021 for $76,700.00 (including the buyers premium) 😲; it is the finest known example of 9 in existence. The obverse looks like a typical Athenian Owl but the reverse is dramatically different, with a front facing owl making eye to eye contact with the viewer 🤨. PHILISTIA (Palestine), Gaza. 5th-4th centuries BC. AR Tetradrachm: 24 mm, 17.49 gm, 11 h. Obverse: Head of Athena with a full crest facing right. Reverse: Front facing owl with an olive sprig on both sides. The two letters spell "Zayin", the Phoenician name for Gaza. BMC pl. XL II. Photo courtesy of Nomos AG. References Essay: Heroes and Deities on the Coins of Gaza under Roman Rule. Yoav Farhi. University of Negev. 2017. Essay: Roman Influence on Jewish Coins. Rachel Barkay. Spink. 2012 Essay: Notes on Gaza Coins. Archdeacon Dowling. Haifa Syro-Phoenician Tetradrachms and Their Fractions, from 57 BC to AD 253. Michel & Karen Prieur. 2000. Classical Numismatic Group LLC, Lancaster, PA Nomos AG, Zurich, Switzerland. Wikipedia. Website members are welcome to post their coins from Gaza or anything else relevant to this thread ☺️. 20 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor Ancient Coin Hunter Posted February 5, 2023 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted February 5, 2023 Great coins Al. It would be nice to score a chunky provincial bronze or tet. Did emperors after Caracalla continue to strike billon coins in Gaza like they did in Syria? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roman Collector Posted February 5, 2023 · Patron Share Posted February 5, 2023 Gorgeous coins, @Al Kowsky! I particularly like that Antoninus Pius. I have no coins from Gaza to share, sadly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Kowsky Posted February 5, 2023 · Member Author Share Posted February 5, 2023 47 minutes ago, Ancient Coin Hunter said: Great coins Al. It would be nice to score a chunky provincial bronze or tet. Did emperors after Caracalla continue to strike billon coins in Gaza like they did in Syria? A.C.H., Macrinus also had tetradrachms struck in his name from the Gaza mint along with his son Diadumenian. The output from this mint was very small & all the tetradrachms are considered scarce to extremely rare. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Kowsky Posted February 5, 2023 · Member Author Share Posted February 5, 2023 43 minutes ago, Roman Collector said: Gorgeous coins, @Al Kowsky! I particularly like that Antoninus Pius. I have no coins from Gaza to share, sadly. R.C. I was very pleased to win this bronze at a very reasonable price 😊. With the buyers premium it cost me $330.00. Harlan J. Berk Ltd. currently has this example for sale at $840.00. 9 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Factor Posted February 6, 2023 · Member Share Posted February 6, 2023 On 2/4/2023 at 7:00 PM, Al Kowsky said: ROMAN JUDAEA, Gaza. Antoninus Pius, AD 138-161 (dated CY 215, AD 154/5). AE: 20.23 gm, 30.95 mm, 12 h. Obverse: Laureate, draped, & cuirassed bust of emperor facing right & seen from behind. Reverse: Bust of turreted, draped & veiled Tyche of Gaza facing right; EIC (date) in left field; (G)AZA in right field; sign of Marnas, mem near bust. Rosenberger 75; Sofaer 94. Photo courtesy of Coin Archives; Ex Kenneth S. Abramowitz Collection. Very nice coin, congratulations! One correction though, it is actually BIC, not EIC, so year 212. Matches both obverse and reverse dies of coins clearly dated BIC. Also, your coin previously sold on CNG auction, back in 1993. CNG Printed Auction XXVII (29.09.1993), lot 1346. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Kowsky Posted February 6, 2023 · Member Author Share Posted February 6, 2023 2 hours ago, Factor said: Very nice coin, congratulations! One correction though, it is actually BIC, not EIC, so year 212. Matches both obverse and reverse dies of coins clearly dated BIC. Also, your coin previously sold on CNG auction, back in 1993. CNG Printed Auction XXVII (29.09.1993), lot 1346. Factor, Thanks for your info ☺️. I went by the info in the CNG description along with a round sticker written by Abramowitz that also dates the coin to year 215. The first date letter is not clear so an error is certainly possible. I did check CNG RESEARCH & they list no Printed Auction XXVII (29.09.1993). I also checked RPC & Wild Winds for a photo comparison with no luck ☹️. If you can post a reference source with a photo comparison I would be indebted to you. Thanks again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Factor Posted February 6, 2023 · Member Share Posted February 6, 2023 Sure, here it is, page 121: https://issuu.com/cngcoins/docs/cng_xxvii Also, Abramowitz typically marked his purchase price on his stickers, does this coin have it? CNG estimate was $800 thirty years ago 😉. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Kowsky Posted February 6, 2023 · Member Author Share Posted February 6, 2023 1 hour ago, Factor said: Sure, here it is, page 121: https://issuu.com/cngcoins/docs/cng_xxvii Also, Abramowitz typically marked his purchase price on his stickers, does this coin have it? CNG estimate was $800 thirty years ago 😉. Factor, Many thanks for the access to the CNG XXVII E-Mail Auction ☺️. I was able to successfully download it 😉. It's interesting that the coin was dated Year 215 in this listing and had an estimate of $800.00, that seems very high for 1993 🤔. The sticker that was included with the coin is only 1 inch in diameter & the cost isn't on it. You mentioned that you've seen photos of this coin type dated Year 212, can you post any of them or lead me to a sight that I can copy them 🤨? Thanks again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Factor Posted February 6, 2023 · Member Share Posted February 6, 2023 Here is a double die match, though the reverse die was in better shape when your coin was struck. https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/pavlos_s_pavlou_numismatist/131/product/palestinegazaantoninus_pius_ad_138161ae265mmstruck_ad_1512turreted_bust_of_thycheunrecorded_date_for_issue/223287/Default.aspx There are some additional coins with the same obverse die in several public and private collections, for example Sofaer 91. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Kowsky Posted February 6, 2023 · Member Author Share Posted February 6, 2023 2 hours ago, Factor said: Here is a double die match, though the reverse die was in better shape when your coin was struck. https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/pavlos_s_pavlou_numismatist/131/product/palestinegazaantoninus_pius_ad_138161ae265mmstruck_ad_1512turreted_bust_of_thycheunrecorded_date_for_issue/223287/Default.aspx There are some additional coins with the same obverse die in several public and private collections, for example Sofaer 91. Factor, Many thanks again for your impressive detective work 🤩! I'm not confident the coins are a double-die match because of the excessive wear on the coin you located, however, I'm confident your attribution is correct ☺️. The 1st date letter on the coin you found is without question a "B" & appears to have been recut for more clarity. The 1st date letter on my coin is really impossible to identify accurately but the other features on both coins are close enough to say they are the same issue 😉. Your research has proven the experts wrong by correctly attributing a coin that's been erroneously attributed for at least 30 years 🤨. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Factor Posted February 7, 2023 · Member Share Posted February 7, 2023 @Al Kowsky Thank you, I enjoy these little puzzles. I submit corrections to RPC quite often, and even published a paper on reattribution of several coins: https://www.uni-muenster.de/Ejournals/index.php/ozean/article/view/3016 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Kowsky Posted February 7, 2023 · Member Author Share Posted February 7, 2023 Detective Factor Factor, I admire your successful sleuthing, especially on coins that are difficult to attribute 😊. I enjoyed the essay you shared & downloaded it for my personal reference files 😉. Is German your mother tongue 🤔? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Factor Posted February 7, 2023 · Member Share Posted February 7, 2023 No , the journal is German so they translate the abstracts;). The paper is in English. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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