Cyrrhestica, Beroea Tetradrachm

Many years ago I acquired a handsome tetradrachm from Cyrrhestica, Beroea (modern day Aleppo, Syria). The coin is 26 mm in diameter, weighs 14.80 gm, & is in choice mint state. This ancient city has a history going back at least 5,000 years & has been occupied by a number of different civilizations. Serious damage has been done to this city with the on-going civil war, & many of the important archaeological sites have been destroyed. One thing that has puzzled me about this coin is the strange winged animal between the eagles legs. Does anyone know what this creature is? The emperor Macrinus is depicted on the obverse, AD 217-218.

 

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Have you looked for a match on wildwinds?

 

Nice coin and a very neat little symbol. I would have said Chicken Little facing, but most catalogers seem to go with 'winged animal' or 'bird' or 'flanking bird' facing. I like the description used in this old CNG Mail Bid auction :
"The mint symbol of Beroea has never been identified. "Goony bird" seems as apt a description as any."

 

Edit: What @zumbly said.

 

I can't help narrow it down any further from winged creature/bird but regardless, it (and the other examples at a variety of angles) are ripe for a @TIF animation!

 

The large eyes make me think it is a stylized owl.

 

Nicholas Molinari, that thought crossed my mind too. The wings, large head & eyes, & front facing view similar to early Athenian coins suggests an owl. Maybe there was a historical link between Athens & Beroea, or maybe the owl has a mythological significance to this city....

 

Not yet.

 

Du bist auch.

 

Check wildwinds

http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/greece/syria/beroea/i.html

Prieur 884

 

Whatever it is seems to be inspiration for Miss Prissy, Egghead Jr, and Chicken Little




I love the CNG "goony bird" description. Here's a real gooney bird:



The large eyes do make it seem like an owl but the body looks eagle-ish.

Maybe it's a crested eagle hawk? Hmm, nope, those aren't found in Syria.

Best guess: Long eared owl. They are found in Syria.

 

Fantastic coin

 

Pishpash, my coin looks like Prieur 891, the way the reverse inscription ends looks the same. Wildwinds has some interesting examples, especially the last coin being a mule with a Caracalla reverse. All the bird-like creatures look different.

 

Have you looked up references for Farfetch'd?

 

I am surprised this coin has not been featured on cable TV as additional proof of ancient aliens among us.

 

Very beautiful design!

 

I don't take the 'eyes' as eyes based on past experience with the critter like the one on my Caracalla. Bellinger, in his 1940 work on these, devoted a paragraph to the question ending with the statement: "the question is immaterial, the mint is sure." The highlights of his discussion include: "Speaking as an ornithologist, I protest that it is not a bird" and "Never having seen a griffon from the front, I cannot say how much this looks like one."

 

That is hilarious!

 

..are they?!?... i've got a piece i bought years ago that was listed as a Horace( i knew it wasn't) that depicts an owl with ears made of stone.. perhaps it may be a item from that area? what do you think.. it remains an enigma and one of my most treasured pieces, regardless of origin..

 

that's a very lovely coin @Al Kowsky