My new favorite coin

Thurium, Lucania AR double nomos, c 410-400 BC

I am so excited about winning this coin I will post it before it arrives! It has problems, mainly the corrosion resulting in the loss of an edge piece and small pits scattered around both sides, especially the reverse. But the beauty and artistry of the die engraving absolutely amazes me! It might help to enlarge it before you take my detailed tour of the imagery:

OBVERSE: Perfectly centered, with the crest of the helmet and the Greek letter theta (above Athena’s forehead) complete, and only the tip of Athena’s chin missing. Her face has classical, well-defined features, framed by wavy hair which might suggest the waves off the coast of Thurium (Thanks to Eric Kondratieff for this observation). The bristles in the helmet crest are separately defined and are fastened into double curved lines, the outer dotted or beaded, the inner solid (compare with the exergual lines under the bull on reverse). On the lower neck guard of the helmet is a crouching, right-facing griffin, a mythological creature with the body, tail and back legs of a lion; the head and wings of an eagle; and eagle talons for front feet. On the bowl of the helmet is a fabulous depiction of Skylla, the sea monster Odysseus’ ship encountered on his journey back from the Trojan War, where she devoured six of his sailors. Her head, with fine details in the face, ear, and hair, rises in front of the bristles and curved lines of the helmet crest, as does her left arm, which is raised as she scans the sea for more ships to terrorize. I’m still trying to determine the significance of the squiggly line between her left forearm and head: perhaps it represents her vision projecting out as she looks for her next meal to appear?! Her lower body is sea serpent-like with spikes atop the curve and ending in a fish tail. Look closely for a detail I had missed until I read a description of her: the heads of two dogs protruding from her waistline! Her right hand lies across the front dog; the ear of the second is right under her left elbow. The dogs’ heads are probably what actually ate sailors.



REVERSE:

Slightly off-center with half the fish at the bottom, the bull’s horns, and part of the tail loop off the flan. A dynamic and powerfully rendered bull, with wonderful detail especially in the legs and hooves. He is also well endowed, with hair trailing from the penis sac and portions of the scrotum showing behind and in front of the rear leg. His beard, with its flowing lines, trails behind with the tip showing between his belly and his bent right front leg. He stands on double exergual lines, the upper one solid, the lower one dotted (Compare with the double lines attaching the bristles to Athena’s helmet).

Ex: Ira & Larry Goldberg Auction 91, June 7, 2016, lot 1772.
Ex: Hess-Divo AG Auction 317, October 27, 2010, lot 27.
Ex: M&M Deutschland Auction 10, March 22, 2002, lot 147.

 

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Wow what a lovely coin. The helmet design is what I like best about it. Chips and some corrosion doesn't bother me any.

Congrats.

 

It's beautiful!

 

congratulations on winning this lovely coin AN!

 

That is outstanding, I love it. Chips don't bother me either.

 

A true masterpiece of Classical Greek Art, with die-engraving rivaling the very best of Syracuse from the same period. One has to wonder if the last decade or so of the 5th century doesn't mark the highwater mark of Greek numismatic art?

 

Congrats, that's some amazing coin artistry!

 

That is one beautiful coin!

 

Ditto, ditto (that's a double ditto). Usually I pick out one side or the other that I like better, but in this case, they are equal in my eyes. Both just plain gorgeous!

 

It's magnificent. Great write up, too.

 

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum, this is my first post here. I am returning to join a numismatic forum after a long pause. I was formerly named Taras on Forvm ancient coins, I deleted my account there some months ago, after my disaccord with the owner of that site.

Well, congratulations ancientnut, your coin is really awesome!!

The types are listed by Sidney P. Noe as entry B2, of which he identified 15 specimens.

We can date the issue 413-412 BC, for the following reasons: this is the first obverse die on which the Skylla replaced the wreath of Athena's helmet. The wreath on the helm was a sign of the strong influence of Athens on the Panhellenic colony of Thoúrioi, a foundation commissioned by Pericles around 443 BC; the city adopted the new obverse die with Skylla after the defeat of Athens by Syracuse occurred in 413 BC., and the new type persisted for many decades on the city's coinage. According to Noe, in the Skylla we may see an apotropaic motif featuring a native myth and replacing the form adopted when the Athenians were in power. Noe's B2 issue is the earliest with Skylla.

So 413 BC as "terminus post quem" for the coin object of this thread.
The "terminus ante quem" is given by the Phi letter, the signature of the engraver Phrygillos, who left south Italy to move to Syracuse in 412 BC. The same artist also engraved the dies of the Thurian staters with the bird on reverse.

About the reverse, Noe's group B distaters are the only one where the lowered head of the bull is seen to be in profile, for all the following groups the bull's head will be turned so as to be partly facing.
The type of the earliest issues was clearly inspired by this wonderful work of art:


This bronze sculpure, today stored at Sibari in the Museo archeologico nazionale della Sibaritide, was discovered in 2004 during archaelogical excavation in the area of ancient Sybaris/Thoúrioi/Thurium/Copia. Today is widely considered by scholars as the most important bronze sculpture from Magna Graecia. The technique of bronze casting allowed archaeologists to date it to the last quarter of V century BC, dating consistent with the beginning of the coinage of Thoúrioi. Interestingly the piece was restored in roman times, when the original piece, made by Greeks by a single casting foundry using the indirect lost wax method, was integrated by overlaying low quality metal sheets. Originally the charging bull likely represented for Greeks the power of the local river Sybaris, where the newborn Panhellenic colony was founded, on the ruins of the archaic polis of Sybaris destroyed by Kroton about 100 years earlier. Romans probably re-used the piece as a statue of the Egyptian god Apis, in fact it was found by archaeologists in the area of ancient Thurium/Copia, in layers dating back to 1st c. AD, where stood a Roman Imperial temple dedicated to Isis.

Bye
Nico

 

Welcome aboard, @NSisci! Glad you're here

 

@NSisci : Nico, thanks for adding that really interesting information (and the beautiful image of the bull). Wonderful!

 

Glad to see you back in the mix, my friend!

 

Welcome @NSisci !!!

WOW!!!! That coin is absolutely phenomenal!!! So many devices, saying so much!! The artistry is just fantastic---GIMMME!!!!

Double Nomos??? It appears to be about 16 grams???

Wonderful write-up !!!

 

amazing coin. still looking at the head side. wow .

 

Thanks for sharing such a nice photo of a real masterpiece.

 

Thank you buddy!
And thanks to all for the welcome!!

Nico

 

Spectacular imagery, a work of classical art. Good buy @ancientnut!

Welcome @NSisci

 

It's obvious why it's your favorite!

Also welcome @NSisci !