Coin #5 - Guess the CTer 2021

Welcome to the 5th and final round of Guess the CTer 2021. For the latest updates on the game, to check what other coins have been posted and to review the clues to the possible prizes please check out the master thread.

[Ancients] Guess the Cointalker 2021 (Master Thread)

Coin #5

Pontos, Amisos
Time of Mithradates
AE 21, Amisos mint, struck ca. 120-64 BC
Dia.: 22 mm
Wt.: 7.3 g

Why I Added the Coin to my Collection
This was one of the first ancient coins I bought, in a local coin store. I thought the obverse depiction of a Gorgon in Aegis looked like a lady's head surrounded by a sunflower, or possibly a pinecone. Later, I looked up Mithradates VI and came to appreciate the coin as a link to one of Rome's most talented enemies.

How the Game Works
I think most members who have been playing along over the last few weeks already know how the game works so I won’t rehash here. Please take a look in the master thread above if you need a refresher on the rules of the game.

This round will work the same as previous rounds with one small exception. Since this is the final round and everyone has now seen all 5 coins the volunteers provided I will invite everyone to rethink and re-guess all 5 if you so wish. Anyone who attempts to guess all 5 will win an extra chance to win this round. Anyone who gets the 5 correct will get 2 additional chances to win.

Below are the 5 volunteers and the 4 coins from the previous rounds.

@Parthicus
@Curtisimo
@Cucumbor
@bcuda
@Theodosius

Click on the spoiler buttons to see the coins from previous rounds.

Spoiler: Coin #1

Spoiler: Coin #2

Spoiler: Coin #3

Spoiler: Coin #4

A Note to the Volunteers
If you would like to follow along with the results of the poll feel free to vote for yourself or at random.

A Note to Poll Voters
The poll option is intended just for fun. To have your guess counted you MUST comment in the thread.

 

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Well, it looks like this very fun game is about to come to an end! I think it was really enjoyable and I'm looking forward to seeing the winners as well as playing in future editions.

As for this pretty cute coin, my vote goes for @Parthicus, because he's the only one left and also because I wouldn't really be able to fit this coin in the collection of anybody else: sure, @Curtisimo would be a possibility, but he already owns one in similar condition and I'm not sure if he'd keep a double. As for guessing the five volunteers in a row, does it still count if I keep my previous guesses? I'm pretty confident in my detective skills, with the guesses being:
1- @Cucumbor;
2- @Curtisimo;
3- @bcuda;
4- @Theodosius;
5- @Parthicus;

Finally, as far as my coins go, this one has just jouned my YN collection today:

Claudius II (268-270), Antoninianus, Antioch mint, 4th emission.
Obverse: radiate head right, with traces of drapery to front and rear of truncation;
Reverse: Proserpina standing right, holding long-handled torch in right hand, facing Ceres standing left, holding corn-ears in right hand and long-handled torch in left hand.
RIC 200 (unlisted variant), RIC V Online -

 

Yes that counts. I am glad you have enjoyed the game @Claudius_Gothicus . I have enjoyed your well thought out guesses.

...............................................​

To help with guesses in this round here is the updated spreadsheet of the guesses I have logged so far.

 

Well, to continue blundering along, and since Curtisimo is the last remaining of my choices, I select Curtisimo!!!!!!!



AMISOS, PONTOS
AE 21
OBVERSE: Gorgonian head facing on shield
REVERSE: AMI-SOU to left and right of Nike advancing right, holding palm over shoulder; ME monogram to left, VTE monogram to right
Struck at Amisos 80 BC
7.6g, 21mm
SNG BMC 1190

 

First things first: I will not be "guessing" who the owners are. I have told you who the owners are and why they are through a scientific, deductive, and add hyperbole here that would shake you to your little boots' if I attempted explaining.
As I see through ruses and red herrings like Superman sees through the ladies locker room, the 5 that I unbearably humbly submit are in fact in the same order!
That would be, in order; Curtisimo, Theodosius, Cucumber, Parthicus, leaving the last spot to none other than... Bcuda!!!


And to quantify the why, bcuda has had a love of ancients since before I was a speckle in my papi's eye. This is witnessed by his incredible generosity to myself during a most awesome Saturnalia!
The story of picking it up seemingly randomly in a coin store has all the earmarks of bcuda
Also an early favorite of mine:

And this studder stamp has no gorgons in site:

 

Voting for @bcuda since he is the last one on my list.

All of my planning and scheming before this game started has completely gone up in smoke.
I love these Pontos Amisos coins. In fact, the first one I got is what started me on my love for all things Nike/Victory. Call it my "gateway coin" if you will.

For my coin, I will post my newest most unexpected ancient. The only thing more unexpected would be if I did well in this game!

This Claudius II Gothicus antoninanus came from the reject bin of the coinstar at my credit union this afternoon!



Claudius II Gothicus
Silvered AE Antoninianus
Antioch mint
Obverse: IMP C CLAVDIVS AVG, radiate, draped, cuirassed bust right
Reverse: DIANAE VICTR, Diana standing right, holding bow and reaching for arrow from quiver on her back, stag to right, H in ex

 

I also vote @Parthicus, because he's the only one left and because I wouldn't assign this coin to anybody else. It is a first coin. We all had first coins. Not all remember them.
My coin is to remind everyone that this type comes from several cities. Amasos is the most common. Below is one from Amastris, Paphlagonia. For beginners: These are common coins but not as common well struck with clear legends. Look for coins with the legend naming the city clear enough that you do not have to guess.


Kabeira, Pontis


Sinope, Paphlagonia (Once I thought I wanted to get the set of these but I do not know what I was thinking buying this dog.) Just now I realized I don't own an Amasos of this design. I just don't have what it takes to be a coin collector by the standard definition.

 

My only option left is bcuda - quite a mystery CTer: he specializes in Iberian coins, but has also an interest not only in Roman coins from the 3rd - 4th centuries, but also in Roman Imperial's (Lucius Verus, Nerva....); however, can't remember any Greek one's from him. It doesn't seem likely that the Amisos coin is his

Time of Mithradates VI, Æ Tetrachalkon
Amisos, Pontos ca. 85 - 65 BC
21 mm, 8.143 g
SNG BM (Black Sea) 1205-1207; BMC 53-54; SNG von Aulock 59; Sear Greek 3640;

Ob.: Head of Mithradates VI as Dionysos right, wearing ivy wreath
Rev.: AMIΣOI Thyrsos leaning against cista mystica draped with panther skin; monogram NA (type 33, e in Malloys reference) to left

​

 

Well, well, well -
#1 Cucumbor' Ptolemy II Philadelphos Obol
#2 Theodosius’ AR Tetradrachm, Syracuse Agathokles
#3 Bcuda’s sentimental pick of a Severus Alexander AE Sestertius
#4 Curtisimo’s EL 50 Litrae, Syracuse mint
#5 ....

Having removed all of the 無駄 (uselessness) from the predictive bot's logic, and tweaked the NLP engine to better support Aramaic and related alphabets. The process now looks much simpler (thanks, @Alegandron!)


Here are the predictions - still powered by the past posts of the esteemed CT members. Unfortunately it is clear that I lost something in the rewrite as the most probable owners do not fit with my previous picks:

The estimated probabilities of ownership for Coin #5 are:

• 66.2% probability @Theodosius
  
• 22.4% probability @Curtisimo
• 11.4% probability @Parthicus

@Parthicus is my pick for Coin #5, because he is the last option I have left, and as you can see it is the bolder prediction. The remaining question - do I rerun all 5 coins with the final optimized version of the bot....I do have a coin of this type, so I will share it:

Pontos, Amisos, circa 90-85 BC, AE
Obv: Aegis
Rev: Nike advancing right, holding palm tied with fillet over left shoulder

 

I've had my eye on grabbing one of these for a long time.. but the desire keeps getting bumped when I see "bling" - so do not have one yet. I am guessing @Cucumbor because he is just messing with us.

 

This has been an entertaining game, to say the least. Although I must admit, I feel that my guesses are probably little more than conjecture.

Regardless, I'd like to thank our generous hosts @bcuda, @Cucumbor, @Curtisimo, @Parthicus, and @Theodosius for taking the time to put this enjoyable game together.

For this round, my vote is for @Parthicus since he's the only option I have left.

Anyway, since Claudius Gothicus has already made a pair of appearances in this thread, I figured I'd post an example from my collection.





Claudius II
AE Antoninianus
268-270 A.D.
Obverse: IMP C CLAVDIVS AVG; Radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right.
Reverse: FELICITAS AVG; Felicitas standing left, holding caduceus and cornucopia.
Diameter: 20x21mm
Weight: 2.9g

 

Parthicus!

The only one left on my list. That's why.

Change my vote? Not going to happen. Call me a man of principles. And if my principles don't match the facts, well, that's just reality's loss, really. I have a beautiful mind and it'd be a shame to waste it on something as mundane and disappointing as reality.
It's great to be a solipsist. Give me Plato any day.

The only thing that has me slightly worried is all my previous four choices exactly matched the popular favorites. Bad sign. Am I really that gullible?


Too bad this is the last round
Thanks @Curtisimo and the volunteers for organizing the game. It's been great fun participating! And thanks all for letting me read all your funny posts! I'm definitely in next time! (although, next year, I'm seriously considering letting @Ryro's piano-playing monkey pick the right answers for me. If anything, it'll probably improve my odds...)

A coin to scare away evil spirits:
Apollonia Pontika.

 

Coin #5 belongs to @bcuda . His posts suggest he likes horses, Spanish AE, and late Roman AE. So, I inferred that he might buy some other AE. But, you can't determine what will show up at a local coin shop; many of us would buy any attractive coin if the price were right.

Unfortunately, I live in silver-dollar country, so almost no ancient coins ever show up at my "local" (not really local, but "closest") coin shop. However, one did:



Thasos. Thrace.
c. 400 BC.
11 mm. Obol. 0.82 grams.
Satyr kneeling left holding vase
Vase on reverse.

If I had told you an ancient coin showed up, just one, in the shop, you might guess it was a Constantine, but this type seems unlikely. I bought it because it was there and the price was right. That's why @bcuda bought coin #5!

 

@Parthicus as hes the only person i havent chosen yet

 

@Parthicus... I'm in lockstep with @Claudius_Gothicus and @dougsmit. I'll add the following reason: the owner "came to appreciate the coin as a link to one of Rome's most talented enemies." Rome's enemies? Who likes coins of Rome's enemies? This is the coin that sent him on that path.

Like @Claudius_Gothicus I will stick with my original guesses. May the best previously-anointed-with-an-electrum-medal player win!

My only Amisos:

 

I will go with @Parthicus. Why? I'm going to go with a rather different reasoning.

Parthicus implies Parthia, which was a non-Roman culture. Greece is closer to Parthia than it is to Italy (I think??). Therefore, the only one who would post a Greek coin must be our resident Parthian guy.

One of my first ancient coins was a similar one!

It's pretty rough, with some sort of varnish/substance on the surface. However, it's still clear what it's supposed to be.
This one only cost me like 7 bucks so I can't complain.

 

When I entered this contest I had no hope of winning since I know so little about the CT members who submitted coins for this contest. If I manage to guess even one coin correctly in this contest I'll be happy . Parthicus seems to be the natural & obvious choice for coin #5, & it appears most CT members are voting that way. One thing I've learned in my long life journey is the obvious isn't always the correct choice. For that reason I'm not changing any of my votes & picking Parthicus for coin #5 . Instead I'm sticking with Cucumbor, my last remaining choice . Q is smart enough to toss out a red herring like this coin to deceptively steer us the wrong way . My reasoning may be convoluted & confused but that's my choice. The coin pictured below is one of my favorite Greek coins .


Greece, Seleukis & Pieria, Autonomous, Dated Year 18 (92/91 BCE). AR Tetradrachm: 15.00 gm, 34 mm, 12 h. Obverse: Tyche wearing a turreted crown, facing right & surrounded by a border of elongated beads. Reverse: Thunderbolt of Zeus on an elaborate stool, with date letters & inscriptions surrounded by an olive leaf wreath. Roma Auction XX.

 

Not sure I get all the reasoning
But thank you for thinking this beautiful coin would be mine

That said, the area of Pontos has many enjoyable cointypes :







And over the top are to my eyes, the electrum stater from the Bosporan kingdom (I have yet to post a thread about the following one :



Q

 

I believe the coin belongs to @Parthicus . The reason, he needs one of those coins in his collection!

Keep my Guesses as they are. No need to second guess. Either I am right, or I am wrong. Next!

Here are a couple of mine from Pontos:


PONTOS Amisos 85-65 BCE Æ24 12.2g Mithradates VI as Perseus r Phrygian helmet Pegasos grazing l Malloy 33b HGC 7 239



Pontos Amisos AE21 8g 95-90 BCE Zeus - Eagle Tbolt SNG BM Black Sea 1221-5 - Eng Collection



Pontos Amisos Mithradates VI 109-89 BC AE 28 Athena Perseus Medusa Head Body



Pontos Amisos Gorgon Aegis-Nike AE21


AND, Just to shake it up a bit, here is a later "ruler" of Pontos:


RI
Hanniballianus Caesar
Æ Nummus
337 CE
SECVRITAS PVBLICA
Euphrates seated
Constantinople CONSS
Rex Regum of Pontos
RIC 147

 

Looking forward to your posting!