Since I buy and sell ancient coins as well as collect - or rather buy and sell so that I can collect - an objection having been lodged to using house money for ancient coins, and since I love attributing coins - which in turn means I end up with a lot of Greek bronzes - In short a common problem is - "where was it struck?" and very rarely "is it really unique?" And sometimes there are coins that should be easily attributable but are not, which this posting is really about. In order to attribute Greek bronzes and after decades of doing this Wildwinds is my go to, at least initially - it is a magnificent site. When that doesn't solve the problem, I try the "Dictionary of Coin Inscriptions" assuming any part of the inscription in legible. Although it should work every time, the lettering sometimes does not conform to what it should and...it just doesn't work. The CNG site is also a great place to do research, more rarely I use the British Museum, and just lately for late Roman monograms, the Forumcoins site, which also has a terrific fake coin database which has saved me a few times from foolish purchases. The other sources are the relatively few books in my coin library - nothing special Lingren has been a help, and the CNG Handbook series - I am up for five - is very VERY good. BUT....sometimes nothing works despite spending hours and hours and days and just getting extremely frustrated - especially when there is enough on a coin so that it should be easily attributable as in three of the examples below - but it is not. Then it sort of stops being as much fun. I have been reluctant to ask people in this site for attribution assistance although when I did ask about what turned out to be Eastern European medieval coins the response was terrific. So here are my (1) a coin that I can't find anywhere else and think might actually be unique and (2) three coins that should be readily attributable but for some reason I simply cannot find anywhere: 1. Ainos - 12mm, 1.16 this one I was able to attribute using the CNG Handbook - the lettering is on the helmet on the obverse is quite clear and it is definitely Ainos, despite being found in a group of coins from Troas. But, despite searching everywhere above, and some other places, I have yet to find another example. I cannot believe that this is the only one known. The reverse is something I have never seen on ancient coin - a disembodied hand clutching a caduceus - 2. This 9mm, 0.96 gram coin has defeated any effort at attribution - I know I need to clean it better - but the reverse has a monogram that does not come close to anything I have seen before - I checked Roman monograms could not find anything and as I write this I just realized that maybe Byzantine monograms should be my next step: 3. Next is another bizarre monogram and I think might be the same as the one above - also there is a portrait under the gunk - but 8mm coins weighing 0.59 grams are very hard to clean: 4. This 10mm coin should be readily attributable -it came in a group from Troas, and to be candid, I have not spent nearly as much time on it as the ones above. I wish the "obverse" was less worn but this one should be easy - I would start with Greek Coin Inscriptions - this should be easy I think: In any event, thanks and was anyone else disappointed with the small number of dealers at the New York show this month? Some nice coins but all I thought was that the internet had really dealt a huge blow to the coin show. But that is a well worn subject - I was very happy to once again talk to the dealer who set me on the path to collecting ancient coins in an organized manner. But I miss the huge numbers of people and the multiple hoards that used to be seen in the early 2000's. C'est la vie. Thanks again - I have two what I hope are interesting articles planned concerning sestertii of Caracalla and Elagablus that I have to make time for - :
for 2 and 3 check out the five nummi of Justinian I-- they are usually 10mm +; but unofficial issues exist in smaller modules.
A simple hypothesis : You should search Lampsacus, c. 4th c. BC... Your last coin has the Persian emperor on obv. (as on sigloi) and ΛAM on reverse. The 2 previous ones have a Λ in a circle. Even the association Hermes on obv. / caduceus on rev. exists in Lampsacus AE minute coinage. The Persian king dates your lot before Alexander, so these coins date back to the 4th c. BC. Lampsacus was a Greek city located in Troas, and you know the provenance of your coins : Troas. This is what I call a real provenance... I could not find your coins in online databases. That's normal : online databases are mostly filled with coins from auctions, and this kind of minute AE coins rarely show up on auctions, for they are not sought after by collectors who prefer larger coins. You should try to find a scholarly work, an extensive catalogue of Lampsacus early coinage, if such a study exists. Of course this is a simple hypothesis. I've never seen these coins before, but minute AE coins are often unpublished.
Thanks for your response - Lampsacus would make alot of sense, and I will follow up and let you know.
I do not know why I had checked everything Greek and Roman but didn't look at Byzantine - I will do a thorough search and will post the results
I started with the Ainos, haven't checked the others. ACSearch is usually my first stop. I think these three are of the same type. None give a reference beyond "extremely rare" or "Cf. Numismatic Naumann 45, lot 43" (bottom coin): Naumman 70 (7 Oct 2018), 56: N&N London Green 6 (6 Mar 2023), 38: Naumann 45 (2016), 43:
For #4, I can see the Achaemenid "King Running" but I also immediately wondered if it might be an illusion (especially if there's pitting that looks like design). If reoriented, might it appear to be something else, like a bearded head right? Compare especially the first one below. The type below seems, at a minimum, to have the same reverse. (I suspect the same obverse, but you've got it in hand, so you're in the much better position to judge if pareidolia + pitting could have combined.) Two different cities referenced for the LAM. Savoca 6 Blue, 360 Mysia. Lampsakos circa 400-300 BC. 8mm., 1,42g. Head of Dionysos right (?), within border of pellets / ΛΑΜ, legend within ivy-wreath. citing cf. Numismatik Naumann (formerly Gitbud & Naumann) 14, Lot 242 (Lamponeia). Naumann (Pecunem?) 14, 242 TROAS. Lamponeia. Ae (Circa 4th century BC). Obv: Head of Dionysos right, wearing ivy wreath. Rev: ΛΑΜ.
Thanks - took the water out of my sails - I thought maybe I had something unique. Still it is better to know - I use ACSearch all the time to determine rarity and provenance but I’m going to try it for attribution as well - thanks this is REALLY helpful -
#3 bears a similarly to a coin of Theodoric being sold on the next Artemide auction - makes sense given where it came from -
I have two books of Thracian and Odrysian coins and there are some similarities - no necessarily with these but some of the others I have. I do know the odd ones above were found in the Balkans so maybe - I have looked everywhere - online, in books can't find anything at all - of the coins I have not been able to attribute - these have taken more time than any other. They do not look anything even like ones that are listed as unknown. Who would strike such small coins and how much could they buy? Maybe Bulgarian medieval?
