show your marks

I LOVE countmarked coins. To me they represent, to quote Churchill, "a riddle,wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma".
Here are some of my Greeks...

Here is an Athena from Pergamon Mysia with what I believe is a tripod for sideburns!

Antiochus IX Cyznicenus, Seleucid kingdom AE23, 114-95 BCE, with some kind of feather or wheat in his hair looking like he is rocking the man bun some 2,100 years before they we're cool...who am I kidding man buns have NEVER been cool.

This one came listed as Gorgoneon counter marked with anchor. But I'm not so sure it is an anchor. It looks to me like a face. Possibly a Gorgon? How meta if it's a Gorgon on a Gorgon!?!

 

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Bing, that's a large and well-defined countermark on the head of Pan!

 

Judaea, Herod IV Philip, with Augustus, Æ20. Caesarea Philippi (Panias), dated RY 12 of Herod Philip (8/9 CE). Laureate head right; countermark: star(?) / Tetrastyle temple (the Augusteum of Panias); L I B (date) between columns. Meshorer 97; Hendin 1221; RPC I 4940. 8.88g, 20mm.


Meshorer speculates on the aforementioned "riddle" of countermarks (by Ryro), as they appear on Phillip's coins. He notes that a relatively large number of these coins were restruck with countermarks, most commonly with a star-shape (as above?) or with the Greek letter phi. They are only found on early coins, up to his 19th regnal year (15/16 CE), likely added between 15 and 27 CE, a period when Philip did not mint coins. Meshorer's hypothesis is that these countermarks on existing coins came in place of minting new ones during that time. Philip issued coins again in the latter part of his reign which ended with his death in 34 CE.

 

Try this page: http://www.romancoins.info/CMK-Nero&later.html
Twas a simple google search. Good luck.

It's funny, when I saw your question I immediately thought..."I know I have a book...somewhere." Dummy says I, that's why God invented Google.

Good luck and have fun.


Larry

 

Yeah I really don't know either! Hopefully someone will chime on in.

 

I was just thumbing through some of my old Persian coins (ok, my 2 Persian coins) and I'd noticed before my Siglos of The Great King with bow and dagger has what i believe are some test marks and low and behold I just spotted a saweet lil countermark on the reverse! Check it out...



So far I'm stumped as to what the image might be. I've been scrolling through Google images for a bit and (wishful thinking) the closest thing so far is an owl.
Anyone want to take a stab at it? (BaBoom! Pun fully intended...the great king has a blade..cmon. If I have to explain it it's not as funny). But seriously, any ideas?