Ancients => a couple of wee lil' dolphins (500 BC)

This is now my "2nd oldest coin" (my Lydia AR Siglos, with the Lion & Bull is slightly older) ...

Oh, and I realize that this coin has some porosity issues, but in this particular case I think the surface flaws look kinda cool ... enjoy!!




ISLANDS off THRACE, Thasos
AR Sixteenth Stater – Hemiobol
Circa 500-480 BC
Diameter: 8 mm
Weight: 0.56 grams
Obverse: Two dolphins swimming in opposite directions; pellets around
Reverse: Quadripartite incuse square
Reference: Le Rider, Thasiennes 9; HGC 6, 337
Other: toned, light porosity

 

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Not bad for a guy on the wagon. It had to have mammals, right?

Actually, I'm envious, so don't listen to Mister Crab (me) who's still sittin' on that mean 'ol wagon.

 

I agree about the porosity - it doesn't detract from the eye appeal at all. It's a wonder they weren't constantly losing those little coins. Or maybe they were...

 

I don't consider this look 'porosity'-- it's old metal crystallization, which can be an interesting look in itself.

Thumbs up, nice catch!

 

Cool coin, never seen the type before. Like the toning too.

 

Very nice specimen! Mine is only .4g but has one dolphin. Defective? It seems too heavy to be half of yours. Do you have a reference? I am away from books for a week.

 

Well Bing, the whole story goes a bit like this:

There I was, livin' large and spendin' coin-cash like it was water!! (good times, right?)

Ummm and then unfortunately, I was e-mailing my buddy (Batman) and asking his advice on one of the CNG-coins that I bid-on, when my lovely wife came downstairs to see how I was doing ... stupidly, I didn't panic and I didn't close-down my e-mail ... instead, I confidently stated what I was doing ...

=> well in hindsight, it is always better to panic and close-down your e-mail when you're discussing buying ancient coins!! (who knew? => lesson learned) ...

Bottom-line => this coin and the next coin that I'm about to post are my last two purchases until the new year (and beyond?!!)

So, that was a couple of weeks ago => and today these coins have finally come to auction and "oh boy, I won!!" .... so again, sadly, these are the last couple of stevex6 beauties for a while!! (*sigh*)

 

Thanks for the compliment, Doug ... oh, and thanks for posting your "one-dolphin" example (awesome/interesting) ...

Ummm, I was unsure what you were wanting, but I did find a CNG link that shows several examples (note, if you click-on the tabs above, you can see coins that were sold in their "shop", on their electronic auctions and on their fancy printed auctions ... there are definitely more "two dolphin" examples ... again, your "one-dolphin" is pretty awesome)

http://www.cngcoins.com/Search.aspx...R_TYPE_ID_3=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_2=1


=> oh, and as per usual => you got me thinking about the seller's description (it seems that my example is probably an "obol" rather than a hemiobol?) ...

 

100% correct, TIF => Crystallization Rocks!!

 

Hey sisters and bros => please feel free to use this thread as an outlet to post your super-cool archaic "incuse coins" (we haven't had that theme for a while, eh?)

here ya go ... I'll start ya out:

Lydia AR Siglos (my "oldest" coin)





.... 560-510 BC

 

Well OK, I'll play . I was going to wait until this arrives but I can post it again later with better pics.

Steve, after our recent conversation I decided to find one of these for myself. A reasonable example came up for auction last weekend and the bidding was not insane. Yay!

I wanted one for several reasons.

a. It's a monkey. The only monkey on ancient Greek coins.
b. It is now my smallest coin. At 0.26 gm it is 365 times lighter than my Carthage 15 shekel and at 5 mm is 9.6 times smaller in diameter than my largest Ptolemaic bronze.
c. It's a freakin' monkey. No other reasons are required.

The only way it could be better would be if it were a winged monkey, but those only exist in The Wizard of Oz. *

Note to Doug Smith: I am 99% sure that in this sentence, using the past subjunctive "if it were" is correct.

Edit: Whoops, this one isn't incuse. But it is ancient and cool so I knew you wouldn't mind.

 

ahahaha => just jokes, TIF => this is similar to the coin that you e-mailed me about => the good ol' monkey!! (it's gorgeous, congrats!!)

... I hope to score a cool monkey-coin in the future!! (well played, Sister Awesome ... well played!!)

 

HA! Good one, SteveO

 

I like this one much more

 

ATTICA, AEGINA AR Stater
OBV: Sea-turtle (T-backed); head in profile
REV: Large square incuse with skew pattern
480-457 BC
11,96g, 20mm
SNG Cop 507
Ex CNG

 

Thasos AR Drachm
OBV: Naked satyr running right carrying struggling nymph
REV: Quadripartite incluse Square
463-411 BC
3.40g, 15.9mm
Sear 1748

 

AEOLIS, KYME AR Hemiobol
OBV: Eagle's head left, KY to left (M beneath the head, nearly off flan)
REV: Quadrapartite incuse square of mill-sail pattern
450 BC
.46g, 8mm
SNG Cop 32

 

THRACE, ABDERA AR Tetrobol
OBV: Griffin springing left
REV: Magistrate's name around linear border, within which head of Hermes l., caduceus before; all in incuse square
411-385 BC
2.780g
May 279

 

CARION ISLANDS: RHODES AR Hemidrachm
OBV: Radiate head of Helios 3/4 facing
REV: Rose with magistrates name above, caduceus left all within incuse square
167-88 BC
1.6g; 12mm
Sear 5065v

 

THRACE Cherronesos AR Hemidrachms
1. OBV: Forepart of lion right, head turned back
REV: Quadripartite incuse square, pellet and bunch of grapes in sunken quarters
400-350 BC
2.37g, 12mm
BMC 11


2. OBV: Forepart of lion right, head turned back
REV: Quadripartite incuse square, a pellet in each of the two sunken quarters
400-350 BC
2.16g, 12mm
BMC 8


3. OBV: Forepart of lion right, head turned back
REV: Quadripartite incuse square, dot VE monogram & lizard
400-350 BC
2.40g, 13mm
SNGCop 830