The power of trees

[kirispupis]

Until this week, I didn't really understand what a "bomb cyclone" was and honestly just felt it was another meteorological term to scare people. Nevertheless, we hunkered down in the basement, parked our cars away from trees, and searched for the least horrible movies on streaming. The next morning, this was our backyard.

The tree was our neighbor's and it was kind enough to stack the pieces of fence it ripped out neatly on top of each other. It fell length-wise into our backyard neighbor's yard, and this is their house now.

In a kind decent twist of fate, our neighbor of many years, who has become very disoriented in his old age, had just sold the house to a nice couple we met as they examined what had become of their new home. You can't quite make it out in the photo, but there used to be a very nice deck that looked out over the Cascades. Soon, there will be a newer one. The contour of the roof has also been modified and I expect will require straightening. Luckily, no one was home. The new owners were in the process of remodeling and now will have some more work.

 We then walked through our neighborhood and realized our cul-de-sac was lucky. Everyone trees were beating up houses. One of our other neighbors had her nose broken and another we spoke to saw his neighbors' home slammed by a large tree. Since they are elderly, he rushed outside to help them and was in the middle of the street when a massive fir split him home into two and annihilated the bedroom where he was moments ago. My wife then received a frantic call from one of her friends, a builder, who had two homes heavily damaged. We went to see one, a very nice $3.8M new construction that was hit by no less than six(!) trees. It was actually a bit serene looking at the master tub with an ominous tree resting against its side.

Thank goodness, no one in our neighborhood was killed, though a women was crushed in her bathroom while taking a shower on the opposite side of our town. While the entire ordeal needs to be taken seriously, I cannot help but be awed by the power of nature. People love the Pacific Northwest due to its majestic trees, but they do turn on us sometimes.

Now, since this is a coin forum, and I've had a bit to think of since my work has no power, I wondered about coins with trees on them. Here are a few of mine.

Troas, Skamandria
c. 350-300 BCE
Æ 19mm, 5.04g, 3h
Wreathed head of nymph Ida r. R/ Palm tree; Σ-K flanking.
SNG Copenhagen 464.

 

Crete, Priansus (Priansos)
Circa 320-270 BCE
18mm 4.70g
Obverse: Head of Artemis right, wearing earring and necklace.
Reverse: PPIANCIWN, palm tree; rudder to left, dolphin facing downward to right.
Svoronos, Numismatique 17; Joy 493; SNG Copenhagen 548; BMC 12

 

Crete, Gortyna
Circa 250-221 BCE
Æ 17mm 4.1g
Europa seated right in tree, lifting her drapery; to left, eagle standing left, head right; border of rays /
Europa seated right, lifting her drapery, on bull running left; all within wreath.
Jackson pl. 12, 2; Svoronos, Numismatique 109; Joy 466; SNG Copenhagen 447; BMC 45

 

Argolis, Halieis
struck under the Tirynthians circa 340-330 BCE
Ae 14mm 2,58g
Obv: Laureate head of Apollo to left.
Rev: T-I. Palm tree between chelys to left and grapes to right.
BCD Peloponnesos 1278.1. HGC 5, 777

 

Post your trees!

[CPK]

Good grief @kirispupis, glad you all weren't hurt! I had no idea it was that bad. I hope that things can get back to normal quickly. How are the utilities?

ROMAN PROCURATORS OF JUDAEA
Time of Antonius Felix, AD 52-60
AE Prutah (16.40mm, 2.27g, 4h)
Struck AD 54. Jerusalem mint
Obverse: ΝΕΡΩ ΚΛΑΥ ΚΑΙϹΑΡ, crossed shields in front of crossed spears
Reverse: ΒΡΙΤ ΚΑΙ above and below palm tree; L-ΙΔ across fields
References: RPC I 4971, Hendin 6377
Earthen patina. Struck under the procuratorship of Antonius Felix, the Roman governor before whom Paul appeared in Acts 23 & 24.

[Ryro]

Glad you and the fam are safe! Sorry for your neighbor. That thing sounded nasty. My sister was without power, but has been restored, due to downed power lines from "da bomb" cyclone. 

Here is ancient Rome's most powerful tree... until they ate it into nonexistence that is:

Bronze, 4th century B.C. Chr.

Obv: head of Carneios with ram's horn r., name of official (ΑΝΔΡ?)

Rev. silphion tree.

SNG Cop. 1216 cf.

Thick flan.

Nice

14.83g, 22mm, 11h. Rare

Ex. Collection Münzgalerie Viktor Hruby, Vienna. Purchased from Fitz March 2023

*edit-ps, your coin from Skamandria assists to be overtaken by bronze disease. I hope I'm mistaken, but that looks pretty bad

Edited November 22, 2024 by Ryro

[Phil Anthos]

I didn't realize the lack of trees in my collection, but here's an ugly little Punic bronze that's been hiding...

Carthage, Zeugitana

circa 4th-3rd century BC AE16 (2.99g) O: Head of Tanit left, wreathed in corn, wearing earring and necklace; pellet behind. R: Horse standing right, palm tree in background; pellet at right. Sear 6444v

[Curtisimo]

That is tough @kirispupis. as others have said above I am glad to hear that you are safe.

Crete, Gortyna
AR stater, struck ca. 330-270 BC
(27.5 mm, 11.58 g)
Obv.: Europa seated right in leafless plane-tree, holding branches of tree with both hands
Rev.: Bull standing right, head turned back, scratching muzzle with hoof.
Ex Karl Kress (1969†), inventory from 1950s - 1960s with original envelope, Gorney & Mosch Auction 241, lot 2989 (part of)(Oct. 9, 2016); Ex Minotaur Coins, private purchase February 6, 2021

[Sulla80]

Tough "bomb cyclone" @kirispupis, glad you and neighbors made it safely to the other side, and clearly lots of work to do on cleanup.  I don't have much in the way of tree coins" - these little laurel trees would probably just blow down the street like a tumbleweed.

here are a few cypress trees:  Roman Republican denarius of Lariscolus with a triple cult statue of Diana Nemorensis with cypress grove behind.

Edited November 22, 2024 by Sulla80

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

That's really scary.  I'm glad you came out relatively okay.  I hope that things come back  to normal soon.

[Croatian Coin Collector]

[shanxi]

Aphrodisias
Asia Minor, Caria
Assarion, AD 209-211
Ti Cl. Zenon magistrate
Obv: IEPA CYNKΛHTOC; diademed and draped bust of Senate right
Rev: KΛ ZHNΩN PXAΦPOΔICIEΩN, tree with three branches growing up from altar
AE, 24 mm, 8.95 g
Ref.: David MacDonald, The Coinage of Aphrodisias, Type 104, O152/R269 (same dies)

[ambr0zie]

I am glad the things worked our relatively OK. You cannot fight against the forces of nature. 

Here are my trees:

The most interesting one in my opinion

30 mm, 13,72 g.
Pontus, Amasia. Geta, as Caesar 198-209. Ӕ. 208-209. Π CЄΠTI ΓЄTAC KЄCAP, draped and cuirassed bust of Geta, right / AΔP CЄY ANT AMACIAC MH NЄ ΠP ΠO / ЄT CH, altar of Zeus Strateus, on the altar a dead bull with its legs up; on the bull, an eagle, standing facing, head left, with wings spread, holding a crown in its beak; tree to left. RG 96.

16,7 mm, 4,55 g
Zeugitania, Carthage. Ӕ. 400-300 BC.
Palm tree with two bunches of dates / Horse's head and neck r.
SNG Cop 102; Sear 6531.

 

32 mm, 20,98 g.
Lucius Verus 161-169 AD. Æ sestertius. Rome. 163-164. L AVREL VERVS AVG ARMENIACVS, head of Lucius Verus, laureate, right / TR P IIII IMP II COS II S C, Victory, winged, half-draped, standing right, fixing to a palm-tree with left hand shield inscribed VIC AVG
RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1397; BMC 1116.

[mcwyler]

You have to use your imagination to see trees but that's what it says they are.

Zeugma. Philip I, 244-249. Ae (bronze, 16.30 g, 29 mm). AVTOK K M IOVΛI ΦΙΛΙΠΠOC CЄB Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / ZЄVΓMATЄΩN tetrastyle temple of Zeus with peribolos containing grove of trees; capricorn to right in exergue
 

[Qcumbor]

Ouch !
That's scary. Glad you're all well and safe.

A fig tree :

S. Pompeius Fostlus, Denarius - Rome mint, 137 BCE
Helmeted head of Roma right, X below chin, jug behind head
SEX PO [FOSTLVS] She wolf suckling Remus and Romulus, fig tree in background, the shepherd Faustulus behind. ROMA at exergue
3,73 gr
Ref : RCV # 112 var, RSC Pompeia # 1a, Crawford # 235/1c

 

A palm tree :

Augustus & Agrippa, Nemausus (Nîmes) Dupondius - type IV - Nemausus mint, after 10 CE
4th type
IMP DIVI F PP, Laureate heads of Augustus looking right and Agrippa looking left, back to back
COL NEM, Crocodile chained to palm tree
12,80 gr
Ref : RPC # 525, RCV #1731, Cohen #8

 

Take care of yourselves 🙂 
Q

[expat]

A nasty ordeal to go through, but glad you made it through. Not too many trees in my collection.

ANTONIUS FELIX AE Prutah. Roman Procurator of Judaea under Claudius. AD 54.
Obverse: Palm tree with dot and star and with L ΙΔ in field under branches either side of tree; BPIT above, K AI either side of tree across bottom.
Reverse: NЄP(Ѡ) KΛAY KAICAP. Two oblong shields crossed, two crossed spears behind.

Issue struck in the name of Nero Claudius Caesar and Britannicus.
 
RPC-4971, Sofaer 59-61. Jerusalem mint, RY 14 = 54 AD. 2,49 g - 17 mm
Volume: RPC I №: 4971
Reign: Claudius Persons: Britannicus (Caesar)
City: Jerusalem  Region: Judaea Province: Judaea
Denomination: Æ Average weight: 2.41 g. Issue: Year 14 (AD 54)
Obverse: ΒΡΙΤ ΚΑΙ, LΙΔ (in field); palm tree
Reverse: ΝƐΡW ΚΛΑΥ ΚΑΙϹΑΡ; two crossed spears and shields
Reference: Meshorer 29 Specimens: 12
Not too much known about Britannicus, son of Claudius. He was named after his Father´s exploits in Britain around 50 AD. The sudden death of Britannicus shortly before his fourteenth birthday is reported by all extant sources as being the result of poisoning on Nero's orders; as Claudius' biological son, he represented a threat to Nero's claim to the throne.

 

Antoninus Pius and the Great sow.
Often depicted on coins are celebrations of important events and, as this coin alludes to, the legendary founding of Rome. In this case these coins are intrinsically linked by images relating to the 900th year of the founding.
This from Virgil
The Aeneid Book VIII
It was night, and through all the land, deep sleep gripped weary creatures, bird and beast, when Aeneas, the leader, lay down on the river-bank, under the cold arch of the heavens, his heart troubled by war’s sadness, and at last allowed his body to rest.
Old Tiberinus himself, the god of the place, appeared to him, rising from his lovely stream, among the poplar leaves (fine linen cloaked him in a blue-grey mantle, and shadowy reeds hid his hair), Then he spoke, and with his words removed all cares: ‘O seed of the race of gods, who bring our Trojan city back from the enemy, and guard the eternal fortress, long looked-for on Laurentine soil, and in Latin fields, here is your house, and your house’s gods, for sure (do not desist), don’t fear the threat of war, the gods’ swollen anger has died away. And now, lest you think this sleep’s idle fancy, you’ll find a huge sow lying on the shore, under the oak trees, that has farrowed a litter of thirty young, a white sow, lying on the ground, with white piglets round her teats, That place shall be your city, there’s true rest from your labours. By this in a space of thirty years Ascanius will found the city of Alba.
Antoninus Pius AE As, RIC 733, Cohen 450, BMC 1624
143-144 AD. ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III, laureate head right / IMPERATOR II S-C, Sow facing right under helm-oak, suckling four young, another piglet in front. SC in ex. 25mm, 10.09gr Relatively Scarce

 

 

[AncientOne]

Glad no one was hurt!

 

 

Achaea. Corinthia, Corinth. Caracalla Æ24.

Obv: Laureate, draped bust of Caracalla left. Melikertes-Palaimon.
Rev: CLI COR / Melikertes-Palaimon reclining right on the back of a dolphin, pine tree in background.
24mm., 8.1 g.
BCD Corinth 930.

 

Phrygia, Apamea. Demos AE24

Obv: ΔΗΜΟϹ / bare head of the Demos (youthful), r.
Rev: ΑΠΑΜƐΩΝ / tree

[kirispupis]

13 hours ago, CPK said:

Good grief @kirispupis, glad you all weren't hurt! I had no idea it was that bad. I hope that things can get back to normal quickly. How are the utilities?

For us, utilities were no problem because we have undergrown cables. That being said, a lot of people, and my company's campus, still don't have power.

13 hours ago, Ryro said:

Here is ancient Rome's most powerful tree... until they ate it into nonexistence that is:

I could really use some silphium right now, even though I'm not exactly sure what it did. Definitely looking for a close to this week. Have tickets to see Gladiator II tonight. That's why I need, a historically accurate, thoroughly researched, depiction of Roman times that is receiving glowing reviews... 🙂 

13 hours ago, Phil Anthos said:

I didn't realize the lack of trees in my collection, but here's an ugly little Punic bronze that's been hiding...

Nice little bronze!

 

13 hours ago, Sulla80 said:

Tough "bomb cyclone" @kirispupis, glad you and neighbors made it safely to the other side, and clearly lots of work to do on cleanup.  I don't have much in the way of tree coins" - these little laurel trees would probably just blow down the street like a tumbleweed.

Those are some wonderful trees on coins! All of mine are palms, which are actually built quite well for winds.

On our side, the cleanup is almost done. There's still a huge root structure in the corner of our yard, but it's our neighbor's tree and it landed on her yard. She asked us to call our insurance but we see no need to involve them. She hinted she's prepared to play the waiting game on it, but I'm not sure what that will do for her since it's her property that's encumbered, not ours. If nothing happens by Thanksgiving, we'll decorate the roots with lights.

I did find out my car was dented by a difference fence. I thought I was being smart by parking it away from any trees, but our fence was ripped out and got it. The dent's too small to bother with insurance, though, so we're hoping one of those car-magnets can smooth it out.

In the meantime, I've been adding timelines to my website. I just published cities up to Karystos, people up to Chandragupta Maurya, and Romans up to Gallienus.

[panzerman]

I know all about trees and storms!

I am happy that you are OK/ thank God for that😉 Of course it will take some time to clenup the mess.....

 

We had an "Ice Storm" event in Jan. 1998. Almost a solid week of non stop freezing rain. WE had no power for 14 days.

By Feb. things got back to normal/ they opened all the snowmobile trails by then, I went about 100 miles East and South by St. Lawrence R. It looked like a Godzilla movie/ all the high voltage towers/ were crumpled/ entire forests were obilterated.

Then on May 21st/ 2022 I was working in Woodroffe area when a derecho hit. It was 35 celsius and humid/ then it looked like a wall of blackness was coming from West direction. I made a run for my truck. I then started it to cool down. Temp. was 35/ then the wall slammed into my truck/ 30 mins of shake/ rock & roll. Outside temps dropped too 16 from 35 in 2 mins.! Trees were coming down all around me/ saw a barbeque flying over two houses! By 3:30 it stopped/ Sun came out. The Street I was on had trees down/ so no way to go anywhere. Anyway/ I had a cold beer/ then fired up the lawnmower and finished the two clients. By 9:00PM I  was done/ and by 10:00 could safely go home. At 12:20 AM I finally got home/ we had power/ ZERO damage in Orleans. So after having a late supper I went to sleep. Next day Sunday I went to do clients in Alta Vista/ trees down/ lots on houses. Heard on radio that the highest winds 220K were/ you guessed it/ where I was!  Scary ride....

Zeugitania

AV 1/10 Stater ND (340-10BC)

Cathage Mint

Horse/ Palm Tree

 

Central American Republic/ Costa-Rica

AV 1/2 Escudo 1848

San Jose Mint

 

Here are some trees on coins

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

Through inheriting a house I learned that less trees are better.  They tear up the foundation and cause sewer problems.  The raking leaves part also isn't fun.  The oak attracts mice and other undesirable stuff.  The leaves also shed really late.  There's also the problem of them falling over.  The stickers and also the helicopter seeds from the sweetgums are infuriating.

While we sure need trees as a whole, but if I were ever to build on a normal size lot, I would completely avoid trees.  Or, I'd do some mini pear trees.  The one in the backyard never got very big.

[JAZ Numismatics]

My collecting niche doesn't feature many types with trees, but here's a tetradrachm imitating Alexander III from the Eastern Arabian city of Mleiha. A palm tree is featured in front of pseudo-Zeus which looks rather like he has a potted fern...

[Phil Anthos]

13 minutes ago, JAZ Numismatics said:

My collecting niche doesn't feature many types with trees, but here's a tetradrachm imitating Alexander III from the Eastern Arabian city of Mleiha. A palm tree is featured in front of pseudo-Zeus which looks rather like he has a potted fern...

A weirdly interesting coin!

~ Peter 

[Original Skin Coins]

Glad you made it through safe and (relatively) undamaged! I'm in the big city to the west of you and we thankfully managed to avoid the brunt of it, though there are still quite a few power outages in the surrounding areas (some of which will apparently last a day or two more). There's more wind coming tonight but hopefully all the trees that were going to fall have already done it. 

 

I don't have any interesting ancients with trees so will have to resort to a modern coin here, albeit one whose sculptor was inspired by an ancient statue (the Winged Victory of Samothrace). 

1907 United States Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle High Relief

Here you can see Lady Liberty doing her part in picking up olive tree debris, most likely after a windstorm.

 

And an obligatory relief shot

[JAZ Numismatics]

40 minutes ago, Phil Anthos said:

A weirdly interesting coin!

~ Peter 

Here's my earlier thread on it...

Cities of Gerrha and Mleiha

[airhead1983]

2 hours ago, JAZ Numismatics said:

My collecting niche doesn't feature many types with trees, but here's a tetradrachm imitating Alexander III from the Eastern Arabian city of Mleiha. A palm tree is featured in front of pseudo-Zeus which looks rather like he has a potted fern...

My brother recently discovered these and he’s hoping to add one someday. Very cool!

Erin

[Sulla80]

10 hours ago, kirispupis said:

In the meantime, I've been adding timelines to my website. I just published cities up to Karystos, people up to Chandragupta Maurya, and Romans up to Gallienus.

The timelines are nice @kirispupis - I like the summaries by emperor of key dates.

[AncientJoe]

That's terrifying and I'm glad you're alright!

Here's my favorite ancient tree, on my Gortyna half stater:

[rvk]

Our utility company is busy dealing with outages all over Vancouver island. Glad you are safe.

A fun-sized commoner coin.