Benefactor kirispupis Posted February 8 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted February 8 Recently, I had the following discussion with myself concerning a coin. Me: Wow! That's a nice and really interesting tetartamorion from Naxos! Myself: Yes. Move along now. Nothing to see here... Me: But we have a soft spot for coins from the Cyclades. Myself: Yeah, but this is an archaic coin. We don't collect those. Me: But this one is cute, and we know the type is rare Myself: But the age puts it outside our main collecting area Me: But look how cheap it is! Myself: Sorry, not buying it. We already have an example from Naxos. That night, I work on coin stories for my website. It just happens that the next coin in line is Naxos. I complete that, and a few coins down the line another story mentions Naxos. Me: It's fate! We need to buy it! Myself: Nah. It's probably from a seller in Germany. Not worth paying the shipping. Me: (looks up the seller) He's in the next county! We go birding there all the time. Myself: Okay, here's what we're going to do. We'll sleep on it. Most likely someone will grab it overnight. Me: sniffling Okay... The next morning the coin is still available Me: Yeah! Let's buy it! Myself: FIne! But just so you know our photo of it will probably suck. Cyclades, Naxos AR Tetartemorion 5mm .12g 520-470 BCE Obv: Kantharos Rev: Quadripartite incuse square HGC 6, 627 Please share your coins where you just felt you had to acquire it! 21 1 1 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis JJ Posted February 8 · Supporter Share Posted February 8 Great little Tetartemorion! I'm sure it's wonderful in hand. I have a special fondness for the tiny Greek AR fractions. They're really amazing coins. But very hard to capture in photos how charming coins they are. I don't have any from Naxos -- or from the Cyclades at all, I don't think. But I have other coins that small. Here's one with almost the same measurements (also weighing under 1/8 of a gram). And it fits your prompt of coins "you had to acquire": Caria, Hekatomnos (?) AR Hemitetartemorion (Milesian standard; 4mm, 0.12g). Uncertain mint, c. 392-377 BCE. Obv: Head of ram right. Rev: Bare head of young male right; in right field, ΕΚ (for Hekatomnos?). Ref: One of four examples cited in HNO Caria (K. Konuk, editor). HN Online 1922.3 [this coin, id = 6188]. Prov: Ex Elvira Clain-Stefanelli (1914-2001) Collection; ex Naville Auction 34 (16 September 2017), Lot 70 [unsold, and subsequent sales]. 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Anthos Posted February 8 · Member Share Posted February 8 (edited) Both cool coins, although the Naxos gets a bit lost against that black background. What's really amazing is that a coin that small is also incuse! Here's a tiny example from Taras with much simpler devices... Taras, Calabria 480-470 BC AR Hexas (5mm, 0.08g) O: Scallop shell with 7 teeth, within linear border. R: Wheel with four spokes. D'Andrea IV, 78; Vlasto 1118; SNG France 1617; HN Italy 836 Very scarce From the E.E. Clain-Stephanelli collection. ex Naville Numismatics I had to have it because I didn't have it, and the danger of specializing is you must jump on a rarity or risk missing it forever. At least that's what I'm telling myself. ~ Peter Edited February 8 by Phil Anthos 12 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryro Posted February 9 · Supporter Share Posted February 9 Excellent write up! You had me in stitches. Do we all go through the same mental gymnastics when we see a coin outside of our general collecting area?? And I didn't know you were a bird lover!? My wife and I go birding often. Freakin archaic coins. They just love being so hard to say no to: 9 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor kirispupis Posted February 9 · Benefactor Author Benefactor Share Posted February 9 12 minutes ago, Ryro said: Excellent write up! You had me in stitches. Do we all go through the same mental gymnastics when we see a coin outside of our general collecting area?? And I didn't know you were a bird lover!? My wife and I go birding often. Freakin archaic coins. They just love being so hard to say no to: Thanks! I'm obviously jealous of the Kroisos. I spend a lot of time birding, though I'm more into bird photography. Most of the photos not of coins on my photo roll are of birds - https://www.flickr.com/photos/calevphoto/ The coins are a bit overrepresented there right now because I've been busy photographing them for my upcoming website. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPK Posted February 9 · Supporter Share Posted February 9 I don't normally collect small, semi-autonomous AE's from the Levant. But the combination of good general strike/condition, historical interest (struck around the time and place of the New Testament), rarity, and cheap price, was too good to pass up. Plus, it is now the illustrated specimen - the only one pictured, actually - for RPC Online PHOENICIA, TYRE Time of Nero AE (13.75mm, 3.06g, 12h) Struck AD 54/5 Obverse: Veiled head of Tyche with palm right Reverse: ΤΥ ΙΕΡΑ ΑΣΥ, 𐤋𐤑𐤓, ΡΠ, palm tree References: RPC Online, Vol. I, 4739 (this coin) A scarce type with good surfaces and detail. RPC I, 4739 (ox.ac.uk) 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brennos Posted February 9 · Member Share Posted February 9 (edited) Very nice catch, i love the Kantharos ! Don't you think that a photo with a white background might be better ? Edited February 9 by Brennos 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor kirispupis Posted February 9 · Benefactor Author Benefactor Share Posted February 9 21 minutes ago, Brennos said: Very nice catch, i love the Kantharos ! Don't you think that a photo with a white background might be better ? The real problem isn't the background but my lighting. The system I have right now isn't ideal for very small coins because it's extremely difficult to get them to lay flat on the velvet I use for a background and that results in uneven axial lighting. I've tried using my twin-light on them without the axial, but found that looks even worse because it loses depth. There are two main reasons I don't use white backgrounds: I don't like the look of them My website is designed with a black background and every coin image I have uses it At this point, I'm sticking with the shitty system I have because my full efforts have been on my website. After that, I'll look into building a new coin photography setup and I'll re-photograph coins like these whose images suck. FWIW, this coin is nearly as small and used the identical setup, but I had better luck in getting it to lay flat, so the image is much better. Cimmerian Bosporos, Myrmekion Circa 470-460 BCE AR Tetartemorion 5 mm, 0.22 g Ant seen from above. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square, pellets in two opposing compartments. HGC 7, 54. MacDonald 6 10 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajax Posted February 11 · Member Share Posted February 11 (edited) On 2/8/2024 at 11:28 PM, kirispupis said: Recently, I had the following discussion with myself concerning a coin. Me: Wow! That's a nice and really interesting tetartamorion from Naxos! Myself: Yes. Move along now. Nothing to see here... Me: But we have a soft spot for coins from the Cyclades. Myself: Yeah, but this is an archaic coin. We don't collect those. Me: But this one is cute, and we know the type is rare Myself: But the age puts it outside our main collecting area Me: But look how cheap it is! Myself: Sorry, not buying it. We already have an example from Naxos. That night, I work on coin stories for my website. It just happens that the next coin in line is Naxos. I complete that, and a few coins down the line another story mentions Naxos. Me: It's fate! We need to buy it! Myself: Nah. It's probably from a seller in Germany. Not worth paying the shipping. Me: (looks up the seller) He's in the next county! We go birding there all the time. Myself: Okay, here's what we're going to do. We'll sleep on it. Most likely someone will grab it overnight. Me: sniffling Okay... The next morning the coin is still available Me: Yeah! Let's buy it! Myself: FIne! But just so you know our photo of it will probably suck. Cyclades, Naxos AR Tetartemorion 5mm .12g 520-470 BCE Obv: Kantharos Rev: Quadripartite incuse square HGC 6, 627 Please share your coins where you just felt you had to acquire it! Is the attribution to Naxos supported by any references? Looking at the source of such coins dispersed in the recent years, Asia minor appears more probable... Edited February 11 by ajax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor kirispupis Posted February 11 · Benefactor Author Benefactor Share Posted February 11 3 hours ago, ajax said: Is the attribution to Naxos supported by any references? Looking at the source of such coins dispersed in the recent years, Asia minor appears more probable... The source I see cited most often (though I don't own myself) is HGC 6, 627. CNG also cited Sheedy 66 (050/R-). However, I don't have that reference either. This coin closely matches the known staters of Naxos from this period on both the reverse and the obverse. Those coins at least were found on Naxos. Therefore, this attribution was either from the extreme similarity to coins found on Naxos or due to being found on Naxos themselves. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khaghogh Posted February 11 · Member Share Posted February 11 (edited) I just took a look at Sheedy and coin #66 is this coin in the British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1938-1007-179 It was donated to the BM by Stanley Robinson in 1938 and the accompanying ticket has "Lesbos hoard" written on it. That could point to either a Cycladic or Asia Minor or Lesbos origin. Sheedy mentions this coin in one sentence. He seems to accept the attribution to Naxos but a footnote says "A study of this coin is to be published by E. Kosmidou." Sheedy might have accepted the BM attribution for now, waiting for Kosmidou to evaluate it more thoroughly. I can't find a publication of this coin by E. Kosmidou, so the publication is probably still pending. E. Kosmidou must be Elpida Kosmidou. https://ucl.academia.edu/ElpidaKosmidou Perhaps someone could contact her and ask her current thoughts on the attribution of this coin type, particularly with the new examples that have appeared on the market since Sheedy's study was published. Edited February 11 by khaghogh 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khaghogh Posted February 11 · Member Share Posted February 11 A few more possibly relevant points. Sheedy says the coin was 'recently discovered', although it was donated to the BM in 1938. Possibly this means that the coin was in the BM's unattributed trays and someone (E. Kosmidou?) saw it and suggested the Naxos attribution. It's also noteworthy that in Sheedy's study (published in 2006) it is the only example of this type known to him. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor kirispupis Posted February 11 · Benefactor Author Benefactor Share Posted February 11 1 hour ago, khaghogh said: A few more possibly relevant points. Sheedy says the coin was 'recently discovered', although it was donated to the BM in 1938. Possibly this means that the coin was in the BM's unattributed trays and someone (E. Kosmidou?) saw it and suggested the Naxos attribution. It's also noteworthy that in Sheedy's study (published in 2006) it is the only example of this type known to him. Interesting. I count 21 examples on ACSearch, and mine was from VCoins. All of those examples sold after 2016. The Naxos attribution certainly makes a lot of sense given its similarity to their staters. I assume Sheedy wouldn't have attributed it to Naxos if Kosmidou believed it was from somewhere else, unless she was unsure at the time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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