Say hello to my new little crabby friend (Akragas hemidrachm)

[lordmarcovan]

I love the Akragas coins with their crabs and eagles. Particularly this hemidrachm type mentioned below. With the eagle snatching a hare on the obverse and the Ketos (sea serpent) snatching a fish on the reverse, there’s a lot of predatory action going on! But the pièce de résistance is, as always, the realistically rendered crab.

I had a lower grade example of this type perhaps a decade or so ago, and after I sold it I always wanted another- slightly nicer- one, and vowed I’d do that someday. (In fact, if I recall correctly, an Akragas crab was one of my numismatic New Year’s resolutions for 2024, so I’ve fulfilled that just before the year’s end.)

This is the lower grade example I used to own:




Now, recently one came up on CNG, but I was outbid on it (which usually happens to me in CNG auctions).

Then I saw this example in a German auction and was actually relieved to have lost on the CNG coin, because I actually like this one a little better. It might not be as high grade as the CNG coin, but it’s got the ideal grey contrasting toning I like on my old silver coins. (And this one is very old indeed!)

Not only do I like it better, but it was also considerably less expensive than the CNG example turned out to be.

This is the new example I just bought:



Here’s the auction description, Google-translated to English:

SICILY. AKRAGAS. 
Hemidrachm, around 425-406 BC. Eagle right, crouching a hare, in the field left barleycorn. Rev. (A-)K-(PA) crab, below Ketos/Pistrix left with a fish in its mouth. 2.05 g. 16 mm. SNG ANS 1010 f., SNG Kop. 56. Winterthur 579. 
Very fine. 

Acquired from Münzen & Medaillen AG Basel on March 10, 1970.

Post your “crabby” coins, if you have ‘em! Or other types from Akragas.

Edited December 7, 2024 by lordmarcovan

[kirispupis]

That's a very nice looking crab! I in particular like the pincers.

Here are my crabs.

Mysia, Priapos
11.52mm, 1.11g 300-200 BCE
Obverse: Laureate head of Apollo right
Reverse: A / ΠPI, crab, harpa below
SNG von Aulock 7526

 

Islands off Caria. Kos
circa 400-300 BC.
Æ 13 mm, 1,68 g
Head of Herakles left, wearing lion's skin. Rev. K Crab. shton, Beginning, n. 34 and pl. 4, 40. HGC 6, 1336 var.

 

Islands off Caria, Telos
circa 350 BCE
Æ 11mm, 1,37g
Helmeted head of Athena (?) right /
Crab
cf. Imhoof-Blumer, Griechische Münzen (1890), 679

 

[panzerman]

Congrats on a fine looking coin. I tried winning that gold one....to die for. Hammered for BIG MULLAH.

[Ryro]

Excellent upgrade! I've got crabs too! (Things you here on coin forums and swinger parties)

My first coin show purchase:

An RR crab:

Creperius, Rocus

Denarius. 68 BC. Uncertain mint. (Ffc-657). (Craw-399-1b). (Cal-522). Obv: Bust of the back of the Sea Goddess to the right, C to the right, to the left crab. Rev .: Neptune with trident, in biga pulled by hippocampi to the right, below Q CREPER M (F) / ROCVS. Ag. 3.61 g. Usually struck off center. Very scarce. VF.

Ex: Tauler & Fau

Shout out to @Sulla80 for the outstanding animation:

The reverse shows Herakles 2 and 1/2 labor. While he was fighting the Lernaean Hydra, Hera sent her favorite giant crab after Herakles. He killed it, and then the Hydra. But Hera was so sad she put it in the sky and we get our cancer sign:

ISLANDS off CARIA, Kos. Circa 260/50-240/30 BC. Æ Chalkous (9mm, 1.24 g, 6h). Diag(oras), magistrate. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Crab; below, club above ΔIAΓ. HN Online –; Stefanaki Series VII, Issue 23; HGC 6, 1338. Earthen green patina. Purchased from Demos Nov 2024

[CPK]

Lovely little crab @lordmarcovan! And it's got a nice pedigree, too.

Here is my example which I am very happy with. Not a very high grade, but good eye appeal.

SICILY, AKRAGAS
AR Hemidrachm (14.76mm, 1.86g, 2h)
Struck 420-406 BC
Obverse: Eagle facing left, standing on and tearing at hare
Reverse: Crab; below, fish swimming right
References: SNG ANS 1003-9
Well-centered strike with attractive toning.
The ancient city of Akragas came into being around 582 BC, as a colony founded by Greeks from Gela, a city about 40 miles to the east. The site was well-chosen, strategically located on a high plateau near the Hypsas and Acragas rivers and controlling a vast and rich agricultural area.
By the 5th century BC, Akragas had become the second-largest city on the island (behind Syracuse), with a population of perhaps 200,000 people, and had become a leader in the art and culture of the Classical period. Part of that artistic brilliance was manifested in the city’s coinage, which includes some of the most beautiful and recognized coins of the ancient world. This coin, though small, showcases that artistic talent with finely rendered naturalistic images of various creatures, notably the crab, which was the symbol of the ancient city.

[lordmarcovan]

4 hours ago, Ryro said:

Excellent upgrade! I've got crabs too! (Things you here on coin forums and swinger parties)

My first coin show purchase:

An RR crab:

Creperius, Rocus

Denarius. 68 BC. Uncertain mint. (Ffc-657). (Craw-399-1b). (Cal-522). Obv: Bust of the back of the Sea Goddess to the right, C to the right, to the left crab. Rev .: Neptune with trident, in biga pulled by hippocampi to the right, below Q CREPER M (F) / ROCVS. Ag. 3.61 g. Usually struck off center. Very scarce. VF.

Ex: Tauler & Fau

Shout out to @Sulla80 for the outstanding animation:

The reverse shows Herakles 2 and 1/2 labor. While he was fighting the Lernaean Hydra, Hera sent her favorite giant crab after Herakles. He killed it, and then the Hydra. But Hera was so sad she put it in the sky and we get our cancer sign:

ISLANDS off CARIA, Kos. Circa 260/50-240/30 BC. Æ Chalkous (9mm, 1.24 g, 6h). Diag(oras), magistrate. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Crab; below, club above ΔIAΓ. HN Online –; Stefanaki Series VII, Issue 23; HGC 6, 1338. Earthen green patina. Purchased from Demos Nov 2024

I quite like the look of that well-worn AE!  Crab with a bonus shrimp or prawn!  (I note this is often called a “crayfish” in auction descriptions, but in my part of the world, a crayfish is a different beastie entirely.)

The creepy-crawly animation is a hoot.  Took me a moment to see it.  LOL

[lordmarcovan]

4 hours ago, CPK said:

Lovely little crab @lordmarcovan! And it's got a nice pedigree, too.

Here is my example which I am very happy with. Not a very high grade, but good eye appeal.

SICILY, AKRAGAS
AR Hemidrachm (14.76mm, 1.86g, 2h)
Struck 420-406 BC
Obverse: Eagle facing left, standing on and tearing at hare
Reverse: Crab; below, fish swimming right
References: SNG ANS 1003-9
Well-centered strike with attractive toning.
The ancient city of Akragas came into being around 582 BC, as a colony founded by Greeks from Gela, a city about 40 miles to the east. The site was well-chosen, strategically located on a high plateau near the Hypsas and Acragas rivers and controlling a vast and rich agricultural area.
By the 5th century BC, Akragas had become the second-largest city on the island (behind Syracuse), with a population of perhaps 200,000 people, and had become a leader in the art and culture of the Classical period. Part of that artistic brilliance was manifested in the city’s coinage, which includes some of the most beautiful and recognized coins of the ancient world. This coin, though small, showcases that artistic talent with finely rendered naturalistic images of various creatures, notably the crab, which was the symbol of the ancient city.

Indeed, that has good eye appeal for the grade.  I value eye appeal over technical grade almost every time.  In most cases I’d rather have a really eye appealing Fine or VF coin than a more drab or typical XF, AU, or sometimes even UNC example.

i think the comparison above between the coin I lost on CNG (in the link) and the one I won bears this out.  The CNG coin was certainly higher grade, but had light roughness.  The one I ended up with had much more visual “pop” to my eyes.  And as an added bonus, it only cost roughly half as much in the end.

Edited December 7, 2024 by lordmarcovan

[lordmarcovan]

To recap, here’s a direct comparison, with costs taken into account.

My original, lower grade example (cost me $100-120-ish USD, around 2014):

 

The example I recently was outbid on at CNG (closed for $600 USD):

The new example I just bought (won for €300, or about $317 USD)

 

Of the three, both in terms of the money and of eye appeal, I think that last is the right coin for me.

Edited December 7, 2024 by lordmarcovan

[jdmKY]

Crabby Cassius - 42 BC

[Phil Anthos]

Taras, Calabria

290-281 BC AR Diobol (12mm, 1.13g) O: Head of Athena right, wearing crested Attic helmet decorated with Skylla. R: Herakles kneeling right, wrestling the Nemean lion; crab above, club behind. D'Andrea XL, 956; D'Andrea Diobols F, 154; HN Italy 976; Vlasto ----; Cote ---; SNG France ----; McGill --- Scarce ex Pavlos S. Pavlou A scarce variety with the crab control mark, unlisted in most major references.

[panzerman]

I  have one "crab"

Kos

EL 1/48 Stater ND (625-600BC)

Kos Mint

[Alegandron]

SICILY, Akragas. 
Æ Onkia, 16mm, 3.8g, 12h; 425-406 BC, 
Obv.: AKP-A, Eagle right, with head turned back; below fish, in left field, fly.
Rev.: Crab, above pellet, below conch shell. 
Reference: CNS I 84; SNG ANS 1062 var. (obv. type left).
Ex: @JAZ Numismatics

Seller's Comments: On the southern coast of Sicily, Akragas (modern-day Agrigento) was one of the most important colonies of ancient Magna Graecia, boasting a population of 100,000 to 200,000 people. Akragas came to prominence during the 6th century BC, under the tyrants Phalaris and Theron. However, after the brief and brutal reign of Theron’s son Thrasydaeus, the citizens of the city opted for a democracy, which lasted until the Carthaginian sack of 406. The city never quite recovered from that, although it did experience a period of revival under the 3rd-century ruler Timoleon.

Various eagle and crab types are well-known as didrachms, but they also occur in bronze. It would seem that all of the bronze issues are rare, probably because bronze does not survive the vicissitudes of time as well as silver.

 

 

 

Edited December 11, 2024 by Alegandron