Kicked off this year with a mystical serpent from Egypt, nothing spectacular but I've always wanted one of these giant cobras and happened to saw this coin offered by a local ebay dealer for 20 bucks, despite the thick patina, the coin actually looks better in hand. I gotta say it's the hardest coin for me to photograph! so I've attached one I took under direct sunlight, and the other one indoors with filtered light that brings out the natural colour of the coin, which do you think is better? Hadrian (117-138). Egypt, Alexandria. Æ Diobol - year 14 Serpent Agathodaemon Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r., seen from behind. R/ Serpent Agathodaemon erect r., crowned with pschent, coiled around caduceus on left and grain ears on right; L IΔ (date) in exergue. 24mm, 9.86g And here are a couple of serpents from different cultures- This coin depicts baby Krishna dancing on the head of Kaliya to remove it's venom, an evil snake that terrorised humans. And the Australian indigenous Dreamtime Rainbow Serpent. Please share your serpents from Alexandria or from other cultures!
Nice serpent coin. Not particularly what I would get, but I do like the way the serpent is shown. Very cool. I like the top photos best.
Nice addition. Nero (54 - 68 A.D.) Egypt, Alexandria Billon Tetradrachm O: NEΡΩ KΛAY KAIS SEBA GEP AVTO, laureate head right. R: NEO AGAQ DAIM, Agathodaemon serpent, coiled with head up, holding poppies and grain ears, L ς (date) to left. Year 6. 23mm 13.11g Milne 203; Emmett 106.6 (R4) ; RPC 5260 The Agathodaemon was a good spirit/demon that was worshipped by the ancient Egyptians. He had the shape of a serpent with a human head. The Greek inscription on the reverse of this coin shows that this is the "neo" or "new" agathodaemon serpent, or, in other words, the new good spirit (of rule by Nero).
Knew I had a few more. Hadrian (117 - 138 A.D.) Egypt, Alexandria Billon Tetradrachm O: AYT KAI-TPAI AΔPIA CEB, Laureate, draped, cuirassed bust right, seen from behind. R: L Δ_EK_ATOY Agathodaemon erect right at left, wearing skhent and enfolding caduceus, facing Uraeus erect left at right, wearing disk and horns, enfolding sistrum, their tails knotted together and holding a club erect. Alexandria Mint, 125/126 (Year 10) 10.6g 19.5mm Emmett 804 Dattari 1552; BMC 668; Milne 1164; Curtis 351; Demetrio 1247 Rare The Caluceus refers to Hermanubis, the Sistrum is a symbol for Isis and the Club refers to Harpocrates Antoninus Pius (138 - 161 A.D.) AE diobol EGYPT, Alexandria O:Laureate bust r., drapery on l. shoulder. R: Agathodaemon erect, crowned with skhent; in field, L-IE. issued 151-2 (year 15) 7.45g 23mm RPC Online 15718 (this coin), Dattari-Savio Pl. 162, 3066 (this coin). From the Dattari collection. From the Orfew collection, ex Naville 34 lot 281, 17.09.2017. Giovanni Dattari assembled what was undoubtedly the best ever collection of Imperial-era Alexandrian coins in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; see Lucia Carbone, “Giovanni Dattari and His Fabled Collection of Alexandrian Coins,” ANS Journal (Issue 2, 2018), pp. 6-27.
