When I am able to find a really nice coin it is always wonderful waiting for it, opening up the package, admiring the coin, checking it off, comparing it to photographs of others etc. But at some point the coin goes in the collection, it is no longer the new coin and it is on to the next one. Since the major focus of my collection is Roman imperial coins attribution is not really an issue. But I also buy greek bronzes in group lots and in most instances these come without attribution. This is when the real fun starts, as it sometimes requires going through books, databases - and sometimes - in fact often - despite doing this for over 26 years - I am simply stumped - nothing. One coin had taken two years and then - boom - not even searching for an attribution I open a book on the Lindren collection and there it is - I think that one was a city in the Peloponnese. Other coins simply defy attribution despite hours and hours of "fun." It is only when I am at the end of my proverbial rope that I ask for help on this site. And it has been enormously helpful - somehow I had purchased a group of medieval Bulgarian coins that I did not know were Bulgarian medieval coins, posted the coins here and the response was instant and spot on impressive. The coins that are listed below are among the most frustrating since part of the inscription is visible - when this happens usually "Greek Coin Inscriptions" works but even that source is not foolproof. These do appear to be typical Greek tiny bronzes since the flans are unusual with each having a flat side and a rounded side - this should be indicative of... somewhere - but not Troas which was another suggestion. Persian did not pan out either. I thought perhaps Thracian tribal, but I have a couple of books and that doesn't seem correct. I know I should clean them better but soaking in oil doesn't seem to work anymore, and I am reluctant use a tool I just purchased -- a modified small drill with attachments that supposedly work on coins. I had previously posted others of this type which I believe were Thracian tribal but these appear to be from elsewhere. I am reasonably certain these were found in or near Bulgaria many many years ago. I have no idea why I only posted four coins and one of them is repeated twice. This one - easy right given all the letters - and what appears to be Zeus - except no luck. There are also a few with an amphora on one side and nothing discernable on the other - Nagidos? The flan is not correct, though.: I have six of these and am as close to attribution as when they were purchased over five years ago.
I think I have the answer - and it is something I had addressed in a previous thread. I have two books: "Contributions to the Study of the Earliest Anepigraphic Coins Minted in Southeastern Thrace"by Stavret Topalev, Peter Balabanov and S. Stoyanov, and the other is a very lengthy title " and "Contributions to the Study of the Early Thracian Tribal Coinage and its relations to the Odrysians and Odrysian Kingdom During the 6th - 4th Century BC." Like many books on ancient coins the readership of these books is probably confined to a small number of researchers. But the books are fascinating and reflect careful comprehensive work. There is some similarity in the books to the types I put up as well as a few I gave away. The lettered coins appear to be of Seuthes I, an Odrysian ruler. Other I have with an amphora are also likely or possibly Odrysian - I wonder if there is a way to contact the authors of the books. I had some other coins that I thought were Odrysian but I thought these were more likely Greek despite the odd flans. You have to be detective to solve these mysteries. I am definitely not 100% sure about these as they do not look completely like the coins in the books but who is to say the books are complete? Also these need to be cleaned better but that is going to be difficult. Anepigraphic = without lettering or inscription.
