Elis Stater with crystalized surfaces

Here is an interesting Elis stater with surfaces that are crystalized (or otherwise transformed) into a pattern that is apparent when magnified. I love coins from Elis and was excited to find this one.



Elis, Olympia. 110th Olympiad. 340 BC. AR Stater (11.76 gm, 24mm). Hera mint.
Obv.: head of Hera left, wearing ornamented stephanos.
Rev.: Eagle standing left, wings folded, within wreath.
Seltman, Temple 339 (dies FF/ιτ); BCD Olympia 155 var. (same obv. die, eagle right); BMC 133 (same dies); Jameson 1243 (same dies). Very rare.

This is a pretty big image, which helps to see the surface pattern. Not sure what the forum software will do to it.

Please post your coins from Elis or those with crystallized or otherwise interesting surfaces.

John

 

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Pretty coin all around.

 

Nice Olympic stater! Someday I hope to get that denomination for my Elis "set".

I like showing these to non-coin friends because they have at least heard of the place .

Steve is surely warming up his clicking finger. He loooooves his crystalized fractionals!

I too love coins of Elis. As for crystalization, it can be lovely in its own right. All of my Elis coins have at least some reticulation.

Olympic parade:


ELIS, Olympia. 87th Olympiad, 432 BCE
AR hemidrachm, 16 mm, 2.7 gm
Obv: eagle, with wings displayed above, flying left, holding hare by its back and tearing at it with his beak
Rev: thunderbolt, with wings above and volutes below, within circular incuse; to right, A.
Ref: BCD Olympia -; BCD Peloponnesos -; SNG Copenhagen -; BMC -; Traité -; SNG Delepierre -; Pozzi -; Weber -; McClean -. The obverse type, combined with the form of the thunderbolt, with its broad, splayed wings, and the A on the reverse, is most similar to the stater of BCD 50.


ELIS, Olympia. 95th Olympiad, 400 BCE
AR hemidrachm, 16 mm, 2.6 gm
Obv: head and neck of eagle right; F below
Rev: thunderbolt, volutes above, wings below, F-A across fields
Ref: BCD Olympia 85/84 (same dies); SNG Copenhagen 372


ELIS, Olympia. 103rd Olympiad, 368 BCE
AR drachm, 21 mm, 5.7 gm
Obv: head of Hera right, wearing pendant earring and stephane ornamented with palmettes with H-R-A inscribed between them, [F-A across fields]
Rev: eagle with spread wings standing left, head reverted
Ref: Pozzi 1846 (same dies); Jameson 1240 = Seltman pl. xii, 8 (same dies); BMC 91 (same dies); BCD Olympia 113 (same dies)


ELIS, Olympia. 107th-108th Olympiad, 352-348 BCE
AR hemidrachm, 14 mm, 2.4 gm
Obv: laureate head of Zeus right
Rev: eagle standing right, olive leaf before, F-A across fields
Ref: BCD Olympia 143-44; SNG Copenhagen 420; BMC 84; Dewing 1896; McClean 6637; SNG Delepierre 2158

And a couple of very reticulated coins:


MACEDON, uncertain
c. 500 BCE
AR trihemitetartemorion (trihemiobol), 6 mm, 0.28 gm
Obv: monkey squatting left
Rev: round shield or pellet within incuse square
Ref: "Uncertain Thraco-Macedonian Coins, Part II", Nomismatika Khronika (1998, Tzamalis), 67


IONIA, Klazomenai
499-494 BC
AR diobol, 9mm, 1.2 g
Obv: forepart of winged boar left
Rev: incuse square
Ref: Cf. BMC 9-10 (drachm); cf. Traité I 488 (drachm). VF, toned, porous. Very rare with boar left, apparently unpublished as a diobol

 

Very nice coins, TIF!

I love the monkey, those are pretty unusual on ancient coins.

 

Love all these coins!

 

The OP and TIF's posts are just wonderful!!! I'd love to own any of them!!!

I'm missing any 'Elis' types, but I believe these show some crystallization or at least some 'unusual' surface conditions (honest wear LOL):

Byzantion, Thrace, AR Tetradrachm, 240-200 BC.
Ptolemaic Kingdom, Alexandria, AR Tetradrachm,Cleopatra VII, 51-31 BC

 

Awesome John, just awesome!

 

@TIF Awesome photos!!!

 

Reticulation. I had to look that up. Great word!

That is an interesting phenomenon and I don't think you see it on Roman coins like you do Greek. I could be wrong with that. I used to own this Tetradrachm of Phillip II that had reticulated surfaces, and quite frankly, that is one of the things that really drew me to the coin originally. It reminds me of the surface of an old oil painting.

 

Simply beautifull! Like I said before, to bad they make them like that anymore, probably why we are collecting the ancients, for their sheer beauty, history and the knowledge we are looking at masterpieces produced so long ago....

 

You no longer own it??? Someone must have made you 'an offer you couldn't resist'....because it's a WONDERFUL coin. Hmmm, did a Mr. Corleone offer to buy it from you???

 

At a glance I thought it was a die match to mine but it's not. Very similar style though, and mine also has some reticulation.


KINGS OF MACEDON, Philip II. 356-336 BCE
AR tetradrachm. 24mm, 14.20 gm, 12h
Pella, 342-336 BCE
Obv: Laureate head of Zeus right
Rev: ΦIΛIΠ-ΠOY, youth, holding palm and reins, on horseback right, thunderbolt below, N in exergue
Ref: Le Rider 222-306. SNG ANS 385-95
ex Colosseo Collection

 

Nice example! I hope you keep it forever, I would. Great photography/description to....way better then mine.

 

Nice find Theo! I also like those finely-patterned surfaces you occasionally find on ancient silver.

 

I own no coins from Elis, and those shown are very desirable. I do own this Caligula with crystallized surfaces.

 

I sold 90% of my coins that weren't Roman Republicans, to free up resources for the RR monkey on my back! I've still got a handful of non RR that are special to me for one reason or another and I have kept.

 

I've thought about doing the very same thing. But thinking is as far as I've gotten.

 

Come to think of it, I've got a couple Elis issues too. I bought them for my kids because they happened to be in an CNG auction when we were on a trip that took us to Olympia. Being kids, they didn't really care about the coins or Olympia but I've kept them anyway because they are special to me.

ELIS, Olympia. 87th-90th Olympiad. 432-420 BC. AR Hemidrachm (2.60 g, 3h). Eagle standing right, head left, on prey; c/m to right of geometric pattern / Thunderbolt, with volutes above and wings below, within circular incuse. BCD Olympia 55.



ELIS, Olympia. 134th-143rd Olympiad. Circa 244-208 BC. AR Drachm (4.94 g, 7h). Eagle, with wings displayed above, flying right, holding hare by its back and tearing at it with his beak / Thunderbolt, with double volutes above and wings below; A to left, P to right. Elis Hoard group IV; BCD Olympia 258.

 

Bing, gee I really feel bad! I don't have any coins from Elis, or the Emperor Caligula! But on the bright side, getting pleasure from looking at yours and the rest of the gang.

 

My other stater of Elis that I posted before. This is supposed to be 1 of 3 known, the other 2 are in museums. This one has totally smooth surfaces I like to think came from a person carrying this coin as a keep sake from attending the Olympics, possibly as an athlete.



I also have a drachm:



I need to dig up the descriptions on these.

John