$100 to spend on coins of non-classical cultures

It was my birthday yesterday and mother gave me $100 to spend on coins!

Unfortunately, $100 doesn't buy much for a one-per-Roman/British-ruler collector who already has every ruler in that price range. It won't buy me a Cromwell crown or a Glycerius solidus!

So i decided to start a new collection of one-per-non-classical culture coins, and this is what i came up with:

1. Himyarite Kingdom
Quinarius of one Tha'rān Ya'ūb Yuhan’im:

I don't know much about this culture except it existed around modern day Yemen during the 1st/2nd centuries. These small cup-shaped silver coin looked really cool to me. If you know more about it, please tell!

2. Indo-Greek
Drachm of Apollodotus II




This is the only coin i have that is bi-lingual - with the Greek legend on the obverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ KAI ΦIΛOΠATOPOΣ / AΠOΛΛOΔOTOY
And the Kharoshthi legend on the reverse: Maharajasa tratarasa / Apaladatasa

The deity is Athena Alkidemos - which helps historians to assign this little-known ruler to the Menander I Dynasty.

(Fun fact - ever since i started Russian lessons, i can now read Greek, since 75% of the letters are similar!)

3. Nabatean Kingdom
AE16 of Aretas IV, with Shaqilat

Having visited Petra (and loved it), I wanted a coin from the peak of the Nabatean period when most of the spectacular monuments were created. Aretas IV ruled for 49 years. On this coin he's pictured with his second wife Shaqilat.

I think these are awesome new additions to my collection. I wanted a coin of Axum but had no change leftover! Ethiopia was one of the last countries i visited before COVID hit.

Apologies - I haven't posted here for ages since i haven't bought any new ancient coins for many months (my focus has been on British rulers so far this year).

Please post your coins of non-classical cultures, and fun facts about them - the weirder the better!

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Maybe you can start a library.. Amazon book -

 

Ahh, i've seen that book before. LOVE the coin on the cover!

I suspect a one-per-culture collection will be easier to complete than one-per-Roman ruler. How many complete one-per-ruler Roman collections are there actually?

 

Nice and very distinctive coins @GregH !

A few months ago I was following an online auction when why wife came behind me (she's a real support to my coin collecting, even though not being a collector herself). As soon as she saw the following coin she told me she would gladly gift me with it : what to do but put a bid ?


LOCAL ISSUES, Kabul. Shahis (Shahiyas). Samanta Deva, circa 850-1000. Jital (Silver, 19 mm, 3.37 g, 5 h). SRI SAMANTA DEVA ('Lord Samanta Deva' in Nagari) Zebu recumbent to left with symbol on rump; in field to left, star above pellet. Rev. Rider facing on horseback to right, holding banner in his left hand; in field to left, 'bhi' (in Nagari). Tye 14

I love her, and I love it

Q

 

These non-classicals deserve more love!
Himyarites of southern Yemen, they are famous for trading Frankincense and Myrrh with the Romans and the East!


Indo-Greeks,
Menander I drachm


My area of interest, south Indian Tamil kingdoms,

The Southernmost coin is Pandya's, minted around the 'Sangam age' of 300 BCE- 300AD. Korkai was their harbour, which traded with the Greeks, Rome and China, the Madurai coin was minted after gaining independence from the Cholas. The Chola gold shows the conquest of the neighboring kingdoms of Chera, and Pandya, depicted as the royal emblems-Cholan tiger, flanked by the Pandyan twin fish to its right, and the Cheran bow behind the tiger, all under the single rule symbolized by the umbrella, minted in the city of Thanjavur (not in this map, coz it's a much older map, but the city is around 60 kms East of Uraiyur). And finally, The Cheras are Kongu Chera clan from Karur, depicting bow and arrow.

Last but not least, the coins that bridge the Western/Eastern cultures, Roman imitative issues from Sri Lanka! https://www.cointalk.com/threads/roman-coins-from-sri-lanka.380242/

 

That's pretty fascinating - the link between Rome and China. Awesome coins. I see Indian imitations of Roman coins in auctions fairly frequently, but haven't come across Sri Lankan.

 

That coin has a lovely style - haven't seen one of those before!

 

Great to see you back @GregH

 

Love it! I don't own a single square coin yet either!

 

I enjoy occasionally looking outside the mainstream... There are some pretty coins to be found, and as a bonus they can be quite affordable. All the following examples were under $100:







Ignore the question marks on the Parthian's label. When I created the image the coin was misattributed and with the valuable help of the Cointalk experts it was deducted that it is Arsakes XVI.

 

Great idea, @GregH! Here's my only Bactrian:


Hermaios and Calliope, 90-70 BC.
Indo-Greek AR drachm, 16.2 mm, 1.80 gm.
Obv: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΕΡΜΑΙΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΚΑΛΛΙΟΠΗΣ, jugate busts, right.
Rev: Kharoshthi legend: maharajasa tratarasa heramayasa / kaliyapaya, king on rearing horse, right; monogram below.
Refs: BMC India p. 66, 1-2; Sear 7739; Forrer 53; SNG ANS 1319-25; MIG (Mitchiner) 408b; Bopearachchi 2B.

And my Nabateans.


Aretas IV, Philopater, 9 BC - AD 40, and wife Shaquilath I.
Nabatean AE 17.5 mm, 4.30 g.
Nabatea, Petra.
Obv: Jugate busts of Aretas and Shaquilath to right.
Rev: Two cornuacopiae, crossed; between them Aramaic legend, "Aretas, Shaquilath" in three lines.
Refs: Meshorer 114; SGI 5699; BMC 28.9,23; Forrer 212.


Malichus II, AD 40-70, and Shaquilath II, his wife and sister
AR Drachm
Nabatea, Petra
3.92 g; 12.2 mm
Obv: Laureate bust of Malichus II, right; inscriptions on right and left.
Rev: Draped and veiled bust of Shaquilath, right; inscriptions on right and left
Refs: Meshorer 124; SGI 5702; BMC 28.11,1; Forrer 213.


Rabbel II, AD 71-106, and Gamilath, his wife and sister
AE 15 Nabatea, Petra 3.10 g; 15.1 mm
Obv: Jugate busts of Rabbel and Gamilath to right
Rev: Two cornuacopiae, crossed; between them Aramaic legend, "Rabbel, Gamilath" in two lines
Refs: Meshorer 163; SGI 5706; BMC 28.13,3; Forrer 168.

 

Kashmir Dynasties.....
Kshemagupta 950-957/8 AD Utpala Dynasty.
Copper Kaserah or Punchshi 18mm
Obverse- Goddess Ardochsho/Lakshmi seated facing in half lotus position, with Nagari legend 'Di' to left 'kshema' to right
Reverse- King standing facing and sacrificing at altar holding trident, with Nagari legend 'Gupta' bottom right.

 

The problem with non-classical cultures is that there are so many of them. Some were major players in their day while others are known from little more than their coins. For the purposes of this thread, we can ignore the existence of cultures that had no coins. There is a problem with $100, too. It once was a lot of money. Today it seems to be shrinking.

There are two ways of buying coins. You can go out and chase down exactly the coin you want planning to pay a premium because there are so many other people chasing that same thing .....or..... You can look to see what prey is in the area and pick a lame one that will be easier to run down. This last method will get more for the $100 especially if you find a seller who just happens to have a bunch of that sort of thing and all his regular customers have one.

There is also some benefit in collecting things that are less popular because they lack easy to read inscriptions that tell you what they are. People who are frightened by Greek tend to be petrified by Nagari and may not even realize that some of those squiggles on a coin actually was a legend.

Most of my favorite NCC coins have already been shown by those who react to Coin Talk in a more timely manner than I. What you get for $100 varies so much by place, timing and opportunity that we can hardly guess what you will have to pay.

Sasanian drachm of Peroz - possibly the best buy in solid hunk of silver but there are a thousand other Sasanians out there ready for you.



My first jitals of the Bull and Horseman series cost $5 each from a huge bag at a Baltimore show 20 years ago. The ones I bought since then have been a lot more but I have never considered paying anything approaching $100 for one. This Samanta Deva was $7 but the seller had no idea who the Shahi kings were or whay anyone would want their coins. For $100, you should get spectacular! You also should spend a bit on Robert Tye's book Jitals. For $100 you might get the book and a coin.


There are a thousand varieties of Kushan coins that I would never consider buying for $100 so you might get one a lot nicer than my Kanishka with Helios. On the other hand, you will find sellers who will try to move a slick, legendless slug telling you that is the way they come. Do you chase this one or wait until it finds you? I paid $30 but would not sell it for $100. Who knows what you can buy today?


Parthians are great; great Parthians are not always cheap. I never pass up an opportunity to show this Mithradates II.


I like these Hephthalite drachms that come in patinated bronze and billon usually attributed to Napki Malek. Finding coins with clear reverses may take some looking and a lot of your $100. There is one on eBay now for $580 but that is from a seller with dreams of grandeur. What I don't know about these would fill a giant library.

 

Nice to see you again, @GregH ! Nice snares for your bday.


India Gandahara
AR Bent Bar
early long type
11.3g
650-600 BCE
(Double dots on both ends - hard-to-find)

 

Some really fun coins and it's great to have you back!
I do enjoy weird coins! And Petra is high on my bucket list. Very jelly. At least I've the coins (I can't find pictures of my Silver from Petra but will add if I find.
To Doug's point, there were sooooo many non classical cultures and some whoms coins could be very hard to come by. That said, to your second question, I would bet that no single person has a one per Roman set including all Usurpers. Maybe the British museum. But it's an interesting question.
Anyways, on to the strange and exotic!

 

What it's that coin 2nd from bottom? It's spectacular!

 

That book by Wayne Sayles, "Ancient Coin Collecting VI: Non-Classical Cultures," is for me the most useful of the series, perhaps because it is so wide-ranging with information about many cultures that is not so easy to find elsewhere. The Byzantine book (Volume V) is good too. I like them because I can go back to them again and again--they have lots of information and it is presented well.

 

SELJUQ OF RUM
Kaykhusraw II
CE 1236-1245
AR dirham
Siwas AH 639 A-1218
lion sunface star L

 

Thanks! He is:
Ghiyath al-Din Kay Khusraw II bin Kay Qubadh .

AH 634-644 (AD 1237-1246). Dated AH 639 (AD 1241/2). Konya
Dirhem AR
20mm., 2,88g.
Lion advancing right, personification of sun above, three stars around / Legend.
very fine
Izmirlier 403; Album 1218.

 

I can't get my head around Ancients but they are sure nice to look at, thanks everyone. Good luck.