Pontos, Amisos drachm: Hera & Owl

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by lordmarcovan, Dec 24, 2016.

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  1. willieboyd2

    willieboyd2 First Class Poster

    My neighbors approve!

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    This is my first Greek Owl from 2011:

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    Greek Attic Athens Classical Owl Tetradrachm
    Obverse: Head of Athena right with beaded necklace, three small upright olive leaves on front edge of Attic helmet
    Reverse: Owl leaning right, head facing, olive twig with two leaves and crescent moon
    Legend AOE (Ethnic legend)
    Silver, 17.18g
    Struck c. BC 430

    :)
     
    willieboyd2, Dec 28, 2016
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  3. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan 48-year collector Moderator

    @willieboyd2 - awesome Great Horned Owl pic- did you take it?

    Awesome Athenian owl, too. An example like that is probably in a pricerange beyond my usual territory.

    @PMONNEY - that's a cute little owl you have, too, with lots of character. I was unfamiliar with that type. I also like the bronze in your avatar. That's a great portrait.
     
    lordmarcovan, Dec 28, 2016
    #22 + Quote Reply
  4. Curtisimo

    Curtisimo the Great(ish)

    That's a beautiful example of a truly iconic coin. Athena is very well centered on the obverse as well. Nice!
     
    Curtisimo, Dec 28, 2016
    #23 + Quote Reply
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  5. Curtisimo

    Curtisimo the Great(ish)

    Nice coin lordmarcovan. It reminds me of the Katane Tetradrachm that every Ancient Greek numismatist covets :)

    I have a question for you about the excellent pictures of it you posted. How did you manage to get such good pictures without the unsightly white holders from the NGC slab? Is that Photoshop or did you take the pictures before you had it slabbed?
     
    Curtisimo, Dec 28, 2016
    #24 + Quote Reply
  6. PMONNEY

    PMONNEY Flaminivs

    Thank you for your appreciation. It seems that we are both owl-fans !
     
    PMONNEY, Dec 28, 2016
    #25 + Quote Reply
  7. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan 48-year collector Moderator

    Since I seldom show my coins to anyone in person and maybe 98% of my numismatic interaction takes place online, good photographs of my coins are absolutely essential to me. In the last three years I've become much pickier about that. (Besides, the coins stay in my safe deposit box, so most of the time I'm looking at the pictures rather than the coins themselves.)

    I buy my ancients raw and make sure I have good images of them before they're slabbed. "Unsightly white holders", indeed. Though I otherwise have little objection to NGC, I do hate those intrusive white prongs.

    I cannot claim credit for the photos themselves, since I'm still working up the learning curve on that. I stick to sellers who provide excellent photos.

    This Septimius Severus is the only ancient I purchased already in an NGC slab, but the seller fortuitously had provided a good enough set of preslab photos. (I have friends who help me with the Photoshop templates, since as of now I still lack the skills and software to do those myself just yet. I do have some rudimentary photo editing skill with simpler programs like MS Paint.)

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    On the topic of prongs, look how much more subtle and less intrusive PCGS's clear prongs are.

    This one was photographed through the plastic. The prongs are visible in the first image, but not distracting.


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    Last edited: Dec 28, 2016
    lordmarcovan, Dec 28, 2016
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  8. willieboyd2

    willieboyd2 First Class Poster

    The two live owls were in a tree near my place in October 2016 when I shot several photographs of them.

    Both have moved away, probably due to the relatively cold weather now.

    The one on the right reminds me of the owl on the US Panama Pacific $50 gold coins.

    :)
     
    willieboyd2, Dec 28, 2016
    #27 + Quote Reply
  9. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan 48-year collector Moderator

    "Templatized"!

    Thanks, @brg5658!

    Looks great, dunnit?

    [​IMG]
     
    lordmarcovan, Jan 5, 2017
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  10. MerlinAurelius

    MerlinAurelius Well-Known Member

    Beautiful!!! Can't wait until I get my first owl. Hope 2017 is the year.
     
    MerlinAurelius, Jan 5, 2017
    #29 + Quote Reply
  11. randygeki

    randygeki Coin Collector

    Oh yeah!
     
    randygeki, Jan 5, 2017
    #30 + Quote Reply
  12. Electron John

    Electron John Active Member

    Here is my first owl. I just bought it off an online auction today . Ended up having to pay $175 for it (after fees and shipping). I really like it despite the weak monogram (lower left of owl). Did I over pay much for it?

    Pontos, Amisos. Ca. 3rd-2nd centuries B.C. AR siglos (17 mm, 4.37 g, 12 h). Pontos, Amisos Ca 3rd-2nd centuries BC AR siglos.jpg
     
    Electron John, Mar 17, 2017
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  13. John Anthony

    John Anthony Ultracrepidarian

    In my opinion, you did not overpay. I was an underbidder on that coin, and I would have gone higher except I had a few other lovelies in my sight, down the road. I found this coin alluring because I like the somewhat ethnic renditions of Hera on these types and the thin, rather creepy owls you find on silver of Amisos. The coin has great centering and surfaces also. But hey, you can't win 'em all! Congratulations. :)
     
    John Anthony, Mar 17, 2017
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  14. Bing

    Bing Illegitimi non carborundum Supporter

    Bing, Mar 17, 2017
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  15. Electron John

    Electron John Active Member

    Sorry about that John. I like it for the same reason you noted. Hope you got some other great coins though.
     
    Electron John, Mar 17, 2017
    #34 + Quote Reply
  16. John Anthony

    John Anthony Ultracrepidarian

    Don't be sorry! Yes, I did win a few interesting pieces. Here's Gordian III on a bronze of Hadrianopolis with river god Hebrus reclining - a tough issue in any grade...

    107336LG.jpg

    Thrace, Hadrianopolis. Gordian III. A.D. 238-244. Æ (24 mm, 8.54 g, 6 h). AVT K M AN[T] ΓOPΔIANOC (AVΓ), laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Gordian III right / AΔPIAN-O-ΠO-ΛEITΩN, the river-god Hebrus reclining left on overturned vase from which water flows, holding reed and rudder. Youroukova 470 (V230/R456); Varbanov 3836. Brown patina, light porosity. Very fine.
     
    John Anthony, Mar 17, 2017
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  17. H8_modern

    H8_modern Attracted to small round-ish art

    I guess we were all in the same neighborhood today. I'd been wanting one of these and won this one at a decent price I think.

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    Sicily, Kamarina. Ca. 420-405 B.C. Æ tetras (14 mm, 2.64 g, 6 h). Head of Athena left, wearing crested Attic helmet decorated with wing / KAMA, owl standing left, head facing, grasping lizard in talon; ··· in exergue. Westermark & Jenkins 200; CNS 33; SNG ANS 1229. Brown patina. Choice very fine.
     
    H8_modern, Mar 17, 2017
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  18. John Anthony

    John Anthony Ultracrepidarian

    Great catch! They had a few really nice Kamarina owl/lizard bronzes. I think yours was the best of the bunch.
     
    John Anthony, Mar 17, 2017
    #37 + Quote Reply
  19. stevex6

    stevex6 Random Mayhem

    stevex6, Mar 17, 2017
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  20. DBDc80

    DBDc80 Numismatist

    good box of 20 choice...speaking of the box of 20...may we see them?
     
    DBDc80, Mar 17, 2017
    #39 + Quote Reply
  21. DBDc80

    DBDc80 Numismatist

    very nice coin....on my radar for purchases for sure
     
    DBDc80, Mar 17, 2017
    #40 + Quote Reply
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