Didn't have a Gorgoneion; I thought they are really scary, but I made up my mind, and decided to buy one, which came in the mail yesterday: AR Drachm, Mysia, Parion, 5th Century BC, ca. 500 – 475 BC. 12 mm, 3.86 g SNG France 5, Mysie, 1351; BMC (Mysia, Pl. XXI.6) 1; SNG Copenhagen (Mysia) 256; SNG von Aulock 1318; Asyut 612; Rosen 525 According to the VCoins website it is SNG France 137. I checked BnF and I think it is SNG France 5, Mysie, 1351 like this one: https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb41767378h Ob.: Anepigraphic. Facing Gorgoneion with protruding tongue. Rev.: Linear pattern within incuse square, pellet at the center Picture courtesy Herakles Numismatic Please share your scary Gorgoneion or anything related
Got a couple Alexander III of Macedon, AE15. Salamis Mint, Cyprus, struck c. 323 - 315 BC, Facing gorgon with lolling tongue at center of ornamented Macedonian shield with alternate 5 pellets and double crescents. / B-A to left and right of Macedonian helmet, caduceus below left. Price 3158
there is a winged gorgon head on the cuirass of Maximinus Maximinus II A.D. 309- 310 Ӕ follis 26mm 6.4g MAXIMINVS NOB CAES; Helmeted and cuirassed bust left, holding spear over his right shoulder and shield decorated with two horsemen with Draco standards riding to left, four enemies below them; on cuirass, gorgoneion; on helmet, Sol standing facing in quadriga, raising his right hand in salute and holding globe in his left, around, stars and crescent, crest ending in griffin. VIRTVS EXERCITVS; Mars standing front, head to left, resting right hand on decorated shield and holding spear in left; in field to left, lighted altar; B in right field. In ex. ANT RIC VI Antioch 125
APOLLONIA PONTICA AR Drachm OBVERSE: Gorgoneian facing with snakes for hair and a protruding tongue REVERSE: An anchor flanked by letter A and a crayfish, which represents the minting city of Apollonia, the major fifth century BC Greek colony on the west coast of the Black Sea, modern Sozopol in Bulgaria Struck at Apollonia 450-400 BC 3.13g, 14-15mm BMC IX, Black Sea 150-151
PISIDIA Selge 350-300 BC obol gorgoneion-Athena astragalus I have downsized my ancients collection to about 30% of what it was but this one made the cut. Not scary to me but Athena seems to be half scared off the other side.
@Bing yours is really frightening @TheNickelGuy it seems that it is the the gorgon who is afraid from Athena, or maybe perplex, Athena must have told her something ... and now she is leaving
THRACE, Apollonia Pontika. Mid-late 4th century BC. AR Drachm (3.06 gm; 15 mm). Facing gorgoneion / Anchor; A and crayfish under each fluke. SNG BM Black Sea 167; SNG Copenhagen 459. Skythia, Olbia. Circa 5th century BC. AR drachm, 16mm, 3.96g. Obv.: Gorgoneion. Rev.: Cruciform incuse square. Ref.: SNG Copenhagen 256. From the Depew Collection.
Thank you so much for sharing. Your second Drachm, also SNG Copenhagen 256, is very similar to mine. How does one know if it is Olbia or Parion? I searched for Parion, because it is the sellers attribution, but now I'm in doubt
Nice Gorgoneion coins! My favorite facing gorgoneion heads are on the early coins of Neapolis. A stony wide-eyed stare, wrinkled nose, toothy grin with a big tongue and protruding ears only Medusa could love. I wonder if people were afraid of these coins or at least didn't try to steal them. Here's my drachm: Macedon, Neapolis AR drachm 500-480 BC 4.08 g O: facing gorgoneion head R; quadripartite incuse square SNG ANS 422 I also like this less frightening version Motya AE: Sicily, Motya AE tetras 410-400 BC 7.19 g 22 mm O: facing gorgoneion head R: palm tree Jenkins CPS I pl 23,8; Calciati 1
For a long time I thought these came from Olbia, not Parion. I now believe these come from Thrace, perhaps Bizya, rather than either of those places. @cmezner you described your coin correctly. Everyone believes these come from there. It's not Parion, though. No examples have ever been found near the ancient site. I believe that Richard Payne Knight confused everyone by donating his examples to the British Museum and saying they were from Parion -- without evidence. THRACE. Biyza or the Asti? (AKA “Parion”). Circa 515-480 BC. 3.86g 13mm LHS Numismatik, auction 100, April 2007. Said to be ex Dr. Roland Maly, founder of Bank Leu, who received on 16 April 1968.
They are no longer considered issues of Parion. Modern scholarship puts them in Olbia. As you can see from Ed's post, Olbia is also debatable!
My apologies, but do you mean that Biyza or the Asti are known as Parion? The Drachm, Lot 292 at https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=367114 doesn't say THRACE. Biyza or the Asti. This is the description from acsearch: "Asia Minor Parion Estimate: CHF 550.00 Drachm (Silver, 3.86 g), early 5th century. Gorgoneion facing with open mouth and outstretched tongue. Rev. Curiously patterned incuse square. BMC 1 ff. Rosen 525 var. SNG Paris 1351. Of very archaic style. Nicely toned. About extremely fine. From the collection of R. Maly, received on 16 April 1968 as a gift from Hess AG who acquired it from R. Hecht." I found that at https://indico3.conference4me.psnc.pl/event/6/contributions/323/ you suggested a style much closer to the coinage of Olbia than Western Asia Minor. Topalov in "Urban Bronze Coins of Small Denomination from the Propontis Area" at https://archive.org/details/UrbanBr...rysianKings5th-4thCenturies/page/n69/mode/2up includes an Odryssian imitation and mentions Thracian coinage. But I can't find who says Thrace, Biyza or the Asti?
