Just this morning a mystery that has been bothering me for some time has been solved. I thought some might find this overstruck drachm interesting. Can you figure out the undertype? PHILISTIA (PALESTINE), Overstruck Drachm PHILISTIA (PALESTINE), Uncertain mint. Mid 5th century-333 BC. AR Drachm (15mm, 3.95 g, 12h). Imitating Athens. Overstruck on uncertain type. O: Helmeted head of Athena right, with profile eye R: Owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig left; all within incuse square. -Gitler & Tal IX.1D; HGC 10, –. The Philistian coins belong to a stratum of autonomous municipal coinages that enabled daily trade without being noticed by the Persian administration. The Persian Empire did not care about the fiscal policy of its subjects, so long as the taxes were paid. Obviously, the provincials were free to choose their own coin-types. Like their Northern neighbors in Samaria and Jerusalem, the Philistians adopted the Attic coin standard, and a great many of their coins are imitations of the Attic coins circulating in the Levant.
As one with a seemingly innate attraction towards coins with historical context, I love that Philistia drachm !!! But I can't even begin to guess what was underneath the overstrike.
Sorry Nemo, I can't determine what it is ... but man, I love these over-struck types (I'm sure after a few sips and a few spins of the photos, somebody will recognize the hidden puzzle-piece) ... very cool addition
No, not Tyre or Arados. I suppose one might say it's the right neighborhood but that will not be much help in getting the answer. The key here is deciphering the clues on the reverse.
Alright, let's spice this up a bit. Whoever guesses correctly will get the choice of 1) A Sicily, Syracuse Decadrachm signed by Kimon. 2) A random aureus from the Boscoréale Hoard of 1895 or 3) An emoji smiley face with a note saying, "You are correct!" Of course the choice of prize will be mine. And now the next (and I suspect last) clue -
I knew the prizes would get you guessing! I bought the coin with the description of an unknown under type. Every so often I would take it out and try to figure it out. The problem was that I didn't consider the most simple answer. The undertype is simply the same die rotated 180 degrees. You can see the head feathers, eyes and beak. The alpha, theta, and part of the epsilon are also there. Dionysos and Stevex6 tied for the closest answer so you must share the prize!!! You were both semi-correct!!!
