Agathodaemon riding a horse.

[JayAg47]

My second Agathadaemon of the year, man I love these weird issues from Roman Egypt! They certainly came up with some of the most creative themes in ancient coinage. A man headed snake riding a decorated horse! 

The coin is most definitely not the prettiest one, but it's the norm for these Egyptian provincial issues, it has some corrosion and encrustations on the obverse, but I didn't buy the coin for the bust of Ant pi. 

 

EGYPT, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius.

AE Drachm (31mm, 18.05 g). Dated RY 23 (AD 159/60).

Obv: Laureate bust right, slight drapery

Rev: Serapis-Agathodaemon serpent on horseback advancing right; L K Γ (date) across field. Dattari (Savio) 8939

Please share your Egypto-Roman coins! 

 

Edited August 18, 2023 by JayAg47

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

Nerva 96-98 C.E.

Billon Tetradrachm

25mm, 12.7 grams, mint of Alexandria year 96-97 A.D.

Obverse: Bust of Nerva facing right, KAIS SEB AVT NEPOVAS

Reverse: Agathodaemon serpent coiled with head right, holding caduceus and grain ear within coils, wearing the skent crown. In exergue, LA.

Reference: Milne 542, Dattari 638 

[Severus Alexander]

Great coin, a very desirable type! Brings back very fond memories of this thread: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/so-these-exist-snake-cowboys.314032/

Here's another weird one:

It's an A. Pi drachm.  A few details:

The name Harpocrates comes from the term Har-pa-khered, the Egyptian epithet for Horus as a child. He was a god of the dawn sun. Due to a misunderstanding of his usual gesture of holding a finger to his lips, which to the Egyptians symbolized childhood, Harpocrates was worshipped by the Greeks as the god of secrecy. 

The Menelaites nome, where this coin was issued, contained the famous town of Canopus. Its main cults were devoted to Amun, Harpocrates and Sobek, the crocodile god, thus the depiction on this coin. (Sobek is apparently also closely associated with Horus.)