First Greek Coin, Appolonia, Illyria. Need some help with ID.

OBV: MENIΣKOΣ, cow standing right, looking back at calf suckling to left, Nike flying above, fulmen in ex.

REV: Double stellate pattern within double linear square with sides curved inwards. NOΣ (left)

REF:

This dealer had a large lot of these coins and I asked him if I could get one of those. He said later on after he sells some lots of these coins. Well, 6 months later he offers this coin for $25 and I can reserve too. Probably will be getting around Christmas time.

This coin will be my very first Greek coin and I'm struggling with the coin. I've looked through tons of coins for Appolonia Illyria and didn't find a match at Wildwinds, found some very close on acsearch.info.

It's also confusing, some people say the name above bull is moneyer, some say magistrate. Forget trying to get the reverse for now.

 

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I don't have any of these, and you've already done more research on them than I have, so I'm afraid I can't help with the exact attribution. I will say, however, that it's a very nice example of the type, and congratulations on your first Greek. Good choice!

 

Congrats on your first Greek, Gil... nice one. I haven't looked at these types, so unfortunately can't be of help.

 

http://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=221584

 

Thanks Ardatirion. Believe it or not, I narrowed it down to that ID while discussing it on Facebook in a coin group. Was about to post it here but yeah it is Illyria, Dyrrachium not Appolonia, Illyria as I first thought.

 

Congratulations Gil. Here is mine:

ILLYRIA AR Drachm
OBVERSE: MENISKOS, cow & calf, Nike flying above with wreath, thunderbolt in ex
REVERSE: DYR KAL LW NOS around double stellate pattern Dyrrachium 70-60 BC
3.22g, 17mm
Ceka 322

 

Very nice Bing. The reverse needs to be rotated with NOΣ to the left.

 

Very nice Gil, i have a couple of these and i never know which way the reverse go's.

 

Thanks Eng. Yeah, these coins are so confusing to me, it's crazy.

 

This is the sellers image from when I purchased it in 2012. I guess I should try taking my own pics, especially since I hate that red background.

 

Does this look any better?

 

Much moar better!

 

Better than my first (and only) Greek, great looking catch!

 

Nice addition.

 

I assume you got yours from the same fellow as mine.

At least yours has a closer ID, dont have much with mine.


Apollonia, Illyria, Greece, (200 - 80 B.C.)
AR Drachm
O: APIΣTΩN (moneyer), cow left, head turned, suckling calf right.
R: double stellate pattern within double linear square with sides curved inward.
3.2g
17.5mm

 

I agree, a nice first Greek. I remember my first, it was a Seleukid bottlecap, Antiochus VIII. I bought it for $15 from an Edward Waddell catalog in 1987. I still have the coin and the catalog.

 

This thread has shown just how hard it is to find these centered. The CNG example is rather better than most (as we would expect). My first (upside down reverse for the right thinkers among us) loses the two more important sides of the reverse leaving the question of which city unanswered. You might expect it to be in this list:
http://www.beastcoins.com/Greek/Illyria-Apollonia/Illyria-A-D.htm
Can't win them all.

This one seems a lot more clear so it should be easier to find but there seem to be a lot of these and I do not have the reference to cover them. The combination of lots of varieties and poor centering makes this a difficult specialty (and one I have avoided).

 

Very cool addition ... ummm, I have a couple of choice examples (one is a brockage error ... gawd, even I'm getting sick of seeing them!!)

 

Send it my way little brother. I promise not to show it for a while.

 

cool gg, one of them will be on the top of my hit list for 2015 (it was on it for 2014, just didn't pan out).

yours is well centered, i want a pretty much complete cow and calf.