My foray into Greek coins continues with this silver obol from the ancient city of Miletos, in the region of Ionia (in Turkey). I had wanted one of the earliest Greek coins for a decent price and of the several I found this one was the best of the bunch (I have a couple of Kyzikos silvers but they are slightly younger than this type). While the lion is off-center, the head still remains on the flan, which is what saved this one from being rejected (some others had the lion a little more centered but more worn and with not as much detail). There are three major varieties of this type, which this page does a great job in detailing. Mine seems to be the first and earliest variety, from about 525-494 BC. The reverse depicts some sort of floral, star, or sun pattern. I like the idea that the website puts forth that a sun pattern on the coin might represent Apollo (patron god of Miletos), so I am inclined to believe this is what it is on the reverse. More info on Miletos here. May sound pretty silly but it was after watching 300: Rise of an Empire one night (wasn't the first time I saw it though) that made me want a nice coin from this era. I know its a flashy and rather fictionalized portrayal of the events of the Persian invasion of Greece in the early 5th century, but it was still able to give me a boost in interest in ancient Greek coins Miletos, Ionia AR twelfth-stater Obv: Forepart of lion left, head turned Rev: Floral, star, or sun pattern in incuse square Mint: Miletos Date: 525-494 BC (approx.) Ref: SNG Cop 952 Size: 8 mm, 1.17 gr (If the wrinkles from the background are distracting I apologize. My black backgrounds are objects I usually have laying around nearby, and this one didn't seem so bad from a distance. Last time I'll be using this one!) Map showing the location of Miletos and the silting up of the immediate area over the ages: Greco-Persian Wars, 500-479 BC (Miletos was under Persian control ) : Please post your coins of Miletos, lions, and/or Apollo if you'd like!
Indeed, very nice! Ionia, Miletos AR 6th century BC Lion right, roaring head turned back left/ star and pellets 9mm .9g
Congrats Jango ... wow, you're a long way away from Ostrogoth-Land!! I have one of these as well ... the coin-type is a definite winner (congrats again)
Awesome Mr. Knight! One of my favorite cities. Birthplace of Thales. Miletos, Ionia. 1/12 AR stater. Late 6th Century B.C. Obv: Forepart of lion, head turned r. Rev: Stellate pattern within incuse square. 9-10mm, 1.2g. BMC 34.
Terrific posts everyone! It will always amaze me how the ancients were able to strike such tiny coins with so much detail....
Nice write-up... and I love MAPS!!! Great Ionia-Miletos... these coins are very cool, and swept me into collecting some Greek too (although I do not have a huge amount of them...) They are small, it appeared the Greeks did not have too many pouches, purses, or pockets at that time... so I understand they were Mouth-money!!! Iona-Miletos Late 6th C fine lion Iona-Miletos AR Obol Late 6th C fine lion
I like to think I'm just on a business trip, will be back home soon You could say they... put their money where their mouth is... Cool coins all and thanks for posting!
These are nice little fractionals, full of history, and you can find nice ones for not too much of an outlay. Here's one of various I've had...
I love these. I couldn't resist this one at $26. (The unnecessary plastic was my later addition, and cost more than the coin itself.)
Yes @lordmarcovan ! I just like the coin so much that I have to be sporting it. Its my Visigothic tremissis of King Sisebut (612-621 AD). You can read all about it here . Just a quick deviation from the OT to show you the reverse as well:
OK, now... WOW. That's what I'm talking' about!!! And back on the topic of these Miletos lions, I was always struck by how handsome and sophisticated the stellate design of the reverse was, in comparison to the punches done on other archaic coins. Its easy to forget how early these things are. I guess Asia Minor was "where it was all happening" in those days, huh? This makes me want another archaic issue, even if it's teeny-tiny like these. My current holdings extend no further back than the 2nd century BC, since I sold that Miletos piece above a few years back.
