Old is the coolest thing.

Wonderful examples posted!

These coins have an important historical context, that of the rivalry between the Achaemenid Empire and Athens and Greece in general. The fifth century BC saw the conflict between Persian kings and Athens culminate in two invasions by Persia into Greece, both ending in defeat. Then, during the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) Persia was more than happy to provide funds to Sparta which helped turn the tide against Athens, ending in the fall of that city in 404 BC.

Here's my siglos, a fairly typical coin.

Persia, AR siglos, Darius I to Xerxes I, 485-420 BC.
Carradice Type IIIb
5.49 grams



And for Athens:

Athens, archaic owl, circa 480 BC. Minted around the time of the second Persian invasion.
17.5 grams




Athens, tetradrachm circa 450 BC. An early standardized classical owl.



Athens, standardized classical tetradrachm , 440-404 BC. From Roma E-Sales 68, lot 302.
17.23 grams



Athens, Plated Tetradrachm, circa 406-404 BC.
Sear 2535
13.80 grams



Sparta did not issue coins, however an ally, Syracuse did as did Corinth and other city states.

Syracuse, tetradrachm, Second Democracy, 466-405 BC. From CNG eAuction 518, lot 31.
Boehringer 670 (V338/R457); SNG ANS 220
16.92 grams

 

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Nice picture

 

Those are some beautiful coins and the history behind them is equally intriguing to me. Thank you for sharing.

 

Careful. I was a happy and satisfied US coin collector for half a century. Looking at the history these ancients folks show and are able to espouse about these coins caused me to venture over to the dark side a bit….. And my checking account has suffered as a result.

 

LOL...I think they also have cookies.

 

LOL...I knew it.

 

Is that candy Bing? hmmm.

 

That’s a great looking piece @MaryContrary

 

Thank you. You know I was given all of my coins by a lawyer I worked for over a decade ago. He left them to me when he passed away. They hold a very sentimental value to me. He was always bidding for them on ebay and I had to help hide them from his wife because she would get mad at him. lol He really had a heart of gold and he knew I was the only one that found them fascinating.

 

That was very nice of him!

 

Yes, but I would gladly give them back to have him here again. I do look forward to sharing more of my coins here and learning about them.
I'm very grateful for my new friends.

 

I have in a junkbox two more sigloi (that's the plural of siglos). I just took the pictures with my smartphone, so please excuse the mess

1) a fourrée



Achemenid Empire, siglos. AR (fourrée) 14-15.5 mm, 4.83 g
Obv.: Persian king or hero in kneeling-running stance right, holding (...) and bow
Rev.: Irregular punch?
Carradice type IV? 4th c. BC

I wonder if the reverse is just an irregular punch or if there is something else...


2) an imitative siglos



Imitation of Achemenid siglos. Debased AR, 14-16 mm, 3.97 g

Obv.: Persian king or hero in kneeling-running stance right, holding spear pointing diagonally downwards and bow.
Rev.: Schematic Persian king or hero?

It's not bronze, but it seems to be a much debased silver. I don't know what it is, I've never seen a coin like this one. If somebody knows... many thanks in advance!

 

Wow...those certainly are interesting...I would love to hear what my new friends have to say about them.

 

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

 

BTW, a fourree is an ancient 'fake' coin that is still ancient, but was faked back when the original was circulating. Usually copper with a silver coating.

 

Now THAT is something I find truly interesting. Thank you for that explanation. That is very cool.

 

When you ask questions. We all learn. And boy I need some spelling learning as well

 

Too good... Collecting ancient coins is a secret and somehow shameful perversion. Imagine that, ladies : your nice husband you've been married with for 40 years has always been hiding from you his terrible secret: he liked... old... (wait what?) coins! He was what profilers call a... "numismatist"! Pretending he had to work late in his office, he switched his browser to private and surfed on ebay or vcoins or even bidded on online auctions. Of course you sometimes noticed bizarre expenses on your bank records, but it did not alarm you: you thought a successful man like him probably had some young mistress, men will be men, mid-life crisis you know...

I have been collecting coins when I was younger, but I quit many years ago. I had seen too many people sink into depression, sometimes commit the irreparable when they realized their Didius Julianus was fake or their Athenian tetradrachm an imitative issue. I remember my first meeting at Coin Collectors Anonymous. "Hi, I'm Gino" - "Hello Gino!" they said - "Today, I haven't bought a single coin for a month!" - "Bravo, Gino! Let's celebrate! Has everybody brought his own booze?" and we had such a good time... Of course I had to call a taxi to come home, but I was feeling so liberated from my shameful addiction!