A coin from Euhippe

[kirispupis]

Recently, I added this rare coin from Euhippe in Caria.

Caria, Euhippe
2nd-1st century BCE
Æ 16mm, 4,15g
Eagle standing to right, c/m: head(?) to right, within incuse circle /
Zeus seated to left, holding thunderbolt, [E]YIΠΠEΩ[N] to right, [...]ΔECCTH to left
Unpublished, cf. HNO 1649 (temporary)

 

Like a number of ancient cities with rare coinage, we don't know a lot about Euhippe. It was mentioned by Stephanus of Byzantium, but otherwise contemporary sources are dry. Here's its location on my map.

It was named after Euhippos, whose son was Alabandos and was the namesake of nearby Alabanda. Supposedly, both were actual people, and Alabanda was praised so often by its citizens that others grew nauseated. The mother of Alabanda was Callirhoe, although we're not sure which one. I've tried to research more here, but I haven't found the ancient source that mentioned this. It was Cicero who discussed the nauseating worship of Alabanda, but he didn't cover the family tree.

In Greek, Euhippos literally means "having good horses." The few remains of its ruins are near modern day Dalama, Turkey.

I do find the coinage intriguing though, both for its eagle on the obverse and Zeus in a similar manner to Alexander the Great's coinage on the reverse. The eagle also resembles those of Halikarnassos.

CARIA. Halikarnassos
Mid 4th-3rd centuries BCE
Chalkous AE 12 mm, 1.04 g, 12 h
Laureate head of Apollo to left. Rev. AΛI Eagle standing left; to left, lyre.
BMC 18. Karl 133-137. SNG Copenhagen 346-7. SNG Keckman 50
Ex J. Metzger Collection

It's those resemblances that makes me wonder whether this coinage is earlier than the 2nd-1st century attribution and may be from the 3rd century BCE. FWIW, the seller where I bought listed it as 300 BCE.

The eagle reminds me a bit of Ptolemaic coinage, though the resemblance isn't strong.

The coinage of Euhippe is extremely rare. It did mint a few Roman provincials, but this type is clearly from before then. There exists another type, apparently only in museum collections, with Pegasus.

Feel free to show your coins of Caria!

[Phil Anthos]

Fascinating coin and story, thanks. 

~ Peter 

[Deinomenid]

In case it helps looking for these coins, it is often (ha!) spelled Euippe. The British Museum has none  under Euhippe, but if you try  Euippe  some come  up. They have some  really frustratingly specific names for mints. 

The BNF has a few similar coins. Several were donated by William Waddington, a straightforward English name but the French ambassador to the UK amongst many other roles. Here's one with a ~similar Zeus on the throne (facing the other way) and eagle, sadly with a date range that spans  half  of our planet's existence.

https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb41778982v

[CPK]

Handsome little coin!

[ominus1]

...well,, imma hippie....:P...nice coin!  🙂

[kirispupis]

6 hours ago, Deinomenid said:

In case it helps looking for these coins, it is often (ha!) spelled Euippe. The British Museum has none  under Euhippe, but if you try  Euippe  some come  up. They have some  really frustratingly specific names for mints. 

This seems to be a general problem for Greek cities. No one seems to have a consistent way to anglicize them. I had a terrible time trying to look up Euhippos and Alabanda. I wound up just searching for the Greek itself, which of course didn't help...