New Corinthian Pegasi Fractions!

[AncientNumis]

Hi everyone, 
I haven't been very active on this forum for a while, sorry. 
The 28th of July was my birthday, and I saw that there was a Roma auction on that day, so I participated in the hopes of getting some nice ancients for myself 🙂! Although I didn't win all the lots I bid on, I did manage to get a few coins. These are pretty budget pieces, but I love them, and they could be the beginning of a sub-collection composed of Corinthian fractions for me. As for how I managed to get these so quickly, I was able to pick them up from the Auction house. 

Lot of 7 Corinthia, Corinth AR Fractions. Includes types as HGC 4, 1888, 1896, 1897 and 1900. (95 Pounds Hammer)
This was my main purchase. A lot of 7 different fractions, with a variety of types. 2 of these date to roughly 550-500 BC, making them some of my oldest ancient coins. I love the trident type, but my favourite might have to be the 2nd coin in the top row, the pegasus is really nice on it, especially on the reverse.

Corinthia, Corinth AR Hemidrachm. Circa 345-307 BC. Forepart of Pegasos flying to left, key symbol below / Head of Aphrodite to right. BCD Corinth 180 = HGC 4, 1876. 1.27g, 13mm, 9h. Near Very Fine. Rare. (40 Pounds from Roma shop)
After the auction, I decided to get one more coin. This was bought from the Unsolds section, as it wasn't bid on during the auction. It's a simple hemidrachm, featuring the forepart of pegasus flying, as well as Aphrodite. 

And here they are in hand (my hand is pretty small, so they'll probably seem a bit bigger than you might expect):

 

Post your pegasi Coins!

 

Edited August 4, 2022 by AncientNumis

[ambr0zie]

Congratulations!

I have a Gallienus popular antoninianus with Pegasus

and a Q. Titius denarius

 

But I also have one similar to the ones you posted

For this one I am not fully confident about the attribution because of the low weight and size 13 mm, 1,87 g

What I found

Corinthia. Corinth circa 345-307 BC.
Drachm  AR

13 mm, 1,87 g

Pegasos flying left, wings curled, Koppa below. / Head of Aphrodite left, hair in a sakkos. ΠA monogram behind head. BCD Corinth 162; SNG Fitzwilliam 3455-3456; SNG Cop. 136.

Found a (slightly) similar hemidrachm that might be closer

 

[shanxi]

Nice little fractions !

 

Here are two Pegasi:

 

Akarnania, Leukas
Stater, ca. 405-345 BC
Obv.: Pegasos flying right, Λ below
Rev.: Head of Athena right, wearing Corinthian helmet; caduceus behind
Ref.: Nicolet- Pierre and Kroll, AJN 2 (1990), pl. i, pi-1-pi-4. Svoronos pl. 20.

 

Philippus II
Samosata, Commagene, Syria
August 247 - late 249 A.D
Obv.: AVTOK K M IOVAI ΦIΛIΠΠOC CEB / laureate draped and cuirassed bust right
Rev.: CAMOCATEΩN / Tyche seated left on rocks, Pegasus below
BMC 56
AE, 16.92g, 28.1mm

 

 

[Prieure de Sion]

1 hour ago, AncientNumis said:

And here they are in hand (my hand is pretty small, so they'll probably seem a bit bigger than you might expect):

Ahhhh... Hoover-Coins... in my case 😄 

1 hour ago, AncientNumis said:

Lot of 7 Corinthia, Corinth AR Fractions. Includes types as HGC 4, 1888, 1896, 1897 and 1900. (95 Pounds Hammer)

Very pretty, congratulations!

[zumbly]

Very neat group of fractions!   I recently picked up this from one of Roma's unsold lists when I realized I didn't have a fourrée of Corinth. 

 

 

I don't a few different Corinthian fractions, but not the full set. 

Drachms:

 

Diobols:

 

Trihemiobol:

 

Obol:

 

And a recent photograph taken of one of my full size Colts:

 

[Curtis JJ]

Well done! Those little tinies always look a lot better in hand than in photos. (Put differently, making a 4 inch closeup of a 5mm coin is rarely flattering!) I have a dearly beloved collection of tiny Greek fractions (and many, many more in my "accumulation" of tiny Greek fractions, which I didn't select with enough intention to really count as "collection" coins, at least not until I give them more attention).

I have three of the "full size" Corinthian style Pegasi. One from Corinth, one from Akarnania, Leukas, and, lastly, an Epirus, Ambrakia about which I'm not 100% confident.

Here's one of my favorite coins, a Corinth stater that I've shown before. Purchased in 1991 when I was 12. Later found it illustrated in the 1921 Pozzi Sale (1688):

This is my Leukas stater. Another one for which I found a nice collection provenance that was unknown to the seller. I bought it because, in addition to loving the artistry of it, I knew it was the BCD Akarnania 278.1 specimen (photo by CNG EA 302 [8 May 2013], 73)

 

The Ambrakia purchase was a bit out of character, since it's the only one that didn't have enough provenance to be very confident of authenticity. (I'm open to hearing anyone's thoughts.)

Also, it is an unpublished die pair (Ravel Colts dies A58 & P110), which warrants a closer look. I haven't shown it around much yet. I'd probably want professional second opinions (e.g., NGC) before I would ever sell it or anything.

At a minimum it looks to be ex-jewelry or maybe polished/overcleaned on the obverse. Both sides have flatness from a weak strike and "late state" die cracks:

The "Athena" side is a scarce-to-rare die, but there are enough examples to compare "die states" and see that it's in a very "late state": It's after a die crack appeared in the field above Athena's nose-guard, then continued spreading, and finally appears to have been "repaired." I wonder if the crack may have been quickly re-engraved to appear as a makeshift control symbol at some point, perhaps a dolphin (controls in that place are typical for Ambrakia, but it definitely started as a defect in the die).

The other four are not mine but here are various die states, including eventual "polishing away" of the (maybe?) die crack-turned-dolphin symbol. The two examples on the right (incl. mine) are the only ones about whose authenticity I had second thoughts (possibly based on a transfer from the Roma specimen?):

It is paired with an obverse (i.e., Pegasos) also in an advanced state of die-wear. It appears on other coins paired with other reverse dies. The die break on the on the "A" (i.e., the "tail," which isn't part of a monogram, but a defect) seems to correspond to the final states I've seen on the regular pairs. (Could that have also been repaired/evened out a bit before striking a few more?)

My guess (assuming it's authentic, not pressed from a pair of transfer dies from two different coins, of which I'm not certain) is that this could've been either at the end of an issue, striking the last coins with whichever dies were still serviceable (with some last-minute refurbishing), or some kind of rushed or emergency issue, without the usual time put into die preparation (the "later" state Pars example above seems to show die rust).

Edited August 4, 2022 by Curtis JJ

[Ursus]

2 hours ago, Curtis JJ said:

the "later" state Pars example above seems to show die rus

Is this die rust or the silver-ish remains of a removed coat of horn silver? I can't tell from the picture.

My only Corinthian pegasus is a stater, too. I like the small statue of Poseidon in the reverse field:

Corinthia, Corinth, AR stater, c. 414–387 BC (Ravel: period IV, series XI). Obv: Pegasus galloping l.; below, Ϙ. Rev: head of Athena wearing Corinthian helmet l.; in field r., statue of Poseidon standing r., holding dolphin and hurling trident. 22mm, 8.52g. Ref: Ravel 737; Cammann 99d (reverse die).

[Curtis JJ]

Great little Corinth colt, @Ursus! I love how the statue of Poseidon almost looks like he's swimming there! And the Athena with the long helmet.  

7 minutes ago, Ursus said:

2 hours ago, Curtis JJ said:

the "later" state Pars example above seems to show die rus

Is this die rust or the silver-ish remains of a removed coat of horn silver? I can't tell from the picture.

Unfortunately there wasn't a great photo available of that specimen. It's the only other example I've ever seen from my pair of dies. (The seller appears to have come into a group of Epirote Colt staters.) As long as it's not casting pearls, I'll be happy (especially if it was horn silver), since my worry would be that both are forgeries originating from the same source.

Not Mine. Just a thumbnail but should be expandable by clicking for anyone interested, but even that it's not a big image.

Edited August 4, 2022 by Curtis JJ

[kapphnwn]

Korinth Ar Stater 345-307 BC Obv. Pagasos flying left Koppa below Rv Head of Athena left wearing Corinthian style helmet To rght filleted thyrsus Gamme below. Calciati 417 8.54 grms 20 mm Photo by W. Hansen

This is my only coin from the mint of Korinth. It is not for trying. Korinth has a long history of minting coins however it is from this period that we see the coins being offered most readily.