I tried looking up variations of "bird on altar" but couldn't find a match. I know I've seen this type before, but I can't find the keywords. Obv: head of dionysos? facing Rev: bird perched on altar? 13mm. 1.5g
Mysia, Adramyteion (Adramyteon) (Circa 350 BC) Obverse: Facing head of Zeus. Reverse: AΔΡA; Bird on altar left. Von Fritze, Mysien 4, 1. SNG France 2. Klein, KM 248. Waddington 608; Traité II, 2518 (as "raven").
You bet. I get a real thrill attributing unknown coins. That's a pretty cool type, and fairly rare from what I gather. There appears to be a couple varieties of this type/motif. One with the bird on an altar (or pediment), and one with the bird on a stone. The latter appears to be dated around the 2nd century BC., while the former dates older @ around 350 BC.
I found this little write up. Adramyttium (Άδραμύττιον) was an ancient city and bishopric in Aeolis, in modern-day Turkey. It was originally located at the head of the Gulf of Adramyttium, at Ören in the Plain of Thebe, 4 kilometres west of the modern town of Burhaniye, but later moved 13 kilometres northeast to its current location and became known as Edremit. The city is said to have been named after its founder, Adramys (also Adromos, Adromon or Adromus), notable for being a brother of the famous king Kroisos of Lydia. The site of Adramyttium was originally settled by Leleges, the indigenous inhabitants of the Aegean littoral, and people from the neighbouring region of Mysia. The area was later settled by Lydians, Cimmerians, and Aeolian Greeks, who gave their name to the region of Aeolis. The area became part of the peraia (mainland territory) of the city-state of Mytilene in the 8th century BC, and the city of Adramyttium was founded in the 6th century BC. According to Aristotle, Adramyttium was founded by, and named after, Adramytos, the son of King Alyattes of Lydia. Prior to his ascension to the throne, Croesus, Alyattes' successor, was governor of a district centred on Adramyttium. Following the fall of the Kingdom of Lydia in 546 BC Adramyttium came under the rule of the Persian Empire and was administered as part of the satrapy (province) of Hellespontine Phrygia from the early 5th century BC onward. In 422 BC, Pharnaces, the satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia, offered asylum to exiles from the island of Delos, who settled in the city. Thereafter Adramyttium was considered a Greek city. Arsaces, a general subordinate to Tissaphernes, the satrap of Lydia and Caria, massacred a number of the Delian exiles. The Delians returned to Delos in 421/420 BC when the Athenians permitted them to do so. Following the end of the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC, Adramyttium came again under the control of Mytilene. The Ten Thousand, a Greek mercenary force, travelled through Adramyttium during their march along the coast. Mytilene retained control of Adramyttium until 386 BC, after which the city formed again part of the Persian Empire by the terms of the Peace of Antalcidas. During the Great Satraps' Revolt, Ariobarzanes, satrap of Hellespontine Phygia, joined the revolt against Artaxerxes II in 367 BC. Autophradates, satrap of Lydia, and Mausolus, satrap of Caria, besieged Ariobarzanes at Adramyttium in 366 BC. However, the siege of Adramyttium was abandoned following the arrival of Agesilaus II, King of Sparta, in 365 BC.
