Here is another of my recent purchases. The reverse is what drew me to it. Not only the horse but the jug got my attention. AEOLIS, KYME AE 18 OBVERSE: Head of the Amazon Kyme right, wearing taenia REVERSE: Horse advancing right; KY above, jug below raised leg; ΠΥΘΙΩΝ (Phytas(?) in ex. magistrate Struck at Kyme, 250-200BC 7.39g, 18mm SNG Cop 101 The original Aeolian city was Smyrna. It was here on the west coast of Anatolia that the early Greek settlers known as the Aeolians chose to start their new lives after migrating from the Greek mainland. They are thought to have come from the eastern part of Greece, north of Attica. They moved to the north of Smyrna around the mouth of the Gediz River as well as on the island of Lesbos. The Aeolians later made the city of Kyme their capital and went inland as far as the Hermes River where Magnesia was located. These people were the first to make the move out of Greece into Anatolia. They did so probably for economic reasons, the barren country of Greece at that time being insufficient to support a growing population. They were followed by the Ionians, who took over the city of Smyrna. Legend has it that the descendants of Agamemnon founded Aeolis, or Aeolia. Herodotus wrote that there were twelve major Aeolian cities. These were: Lesbos, Pitane, Elaea, Gryneium, Myrina, Aigai, Kyme. Neonteichos, Temnos, Larisa, Magnesia, and, originally, Smyrna. The Aeolians were engaged chiefly in agriculture for their livelihood since the area they chose to settle in is one of the most fertile areas of Anatolia. Several of the Aeolian cities were known as cities at learning, culture and the arts. At Pitane, Aeolian works dating to the 7th century B.C. have been uncovered, and numerous well-preserved examples of Aeolian pottery have been found. Little remains from the ancient capital of Kyme. The Aeolians did not figure much in the history-making process of early Greek Anatolia. They kept to their territory after the initial incursion into the region, without striving to push their boundaries outward. Since everyone likes maps:
Nice coin! I wonder if there's any significance to the horse seeming to step on the jug, or whether the designer was just making room for the jug somewhere on the coin...
This is a deliberate part of the design as it is repeated on other coins too. I don't know the significance. Here are two of my Kyme coins with the same design detail..... They are big tets at over 33mm each.
Very cool coin, Bing (congrats, big-bro) ... Hmmm? ... sadly, I don't seem to have an Aeolis Kyme coin, but I do have a couple of other Aeolis examples ... Aeolis Boione Aelois Aegae
Nice coin Bing, and write up too. I like Kyme, they made a lot of neat coins, from the exquisite like maridvnvm's and Collect89's to the lowly like mine with the eagle and cup,... and one sort of in between, Artemis with cup and wreath.
that's a cool bronze greek bing...and thanks for the map. man, i can't keep all these places in ancient greek world straight. i'm kymeless. i'm interested in the jug. is this a wine making region? did they just like to party?
I found this on Forum after considerable searching on the internet. It was written by Lloyd Taylor: "Both the horse and one-handled jug are common types on many of the Kyme’s issues from its earliest coinage, but their specific association with the city is unknown." That's the best I've got for ya Chris.
Man chrsmat, there are a couple of "wha-the-f?" goin' on in that photo, eh?!! a) is the lady that is sitting-down crushing a beer can on her forehead, or is she clutching her heart? ... or both? (oh I see, she's throwing-up ... nice) b) is the dude with the cool zipper-pockets trying to score with Alice from the diner? c) how did you get my old grad-photo?!!
