Little Swimmer of the Aegean Sea

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by zumbly, May 13, 2017.

  1. zumbly

    zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

    The idea of Greek silver fractions that miniaturize larger, well-known coin types has always appealed to me because, well, who doesn't like Mini-Me, right :D? I was therefore really pleased to be able to capture this tiny turtle of Aegina a short while ago. I believe they come smaller than hemiobol size, but as it is this fella (all 7mm of him) is smaller than a button and twice as cute.

    Aegina - Hemiobol.jpg
    ATTICA, Aegina
    AR Hemiobol. 0.52g, 7mm. ATTICA, Aegina, circa 480-457 BC. SNG Cop 512-3; HGC 6, 453; SNG Delepierre 1521. O: Cutest little sea turtle ever. R: Large square incuse with skew pattern.
    Ex E.E. Clain-Stefanelli Collection

    And here he is swimming alongside his adopted mama :)... Aegina - Hemiobol with Stater.jpg

    Please feel free to share your Mini-Mes or turtles and tortoises of Aegina!
     
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  3. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    Wow, that denomination is tough to find and yours is adorable!

    I have the far more common obol and stater-- not really a Mini-Me set because one is a turtle and the other a tortoise. Looks like I need more coins :D

    tortoise stater:
    [​IMG]
    ISLANDS off ATTICA, Aegina.
    456/45-431 BCE

    AR stater; 20mm, 12.32 g
    Obv: land tortoise, head in profile, with segmented shell
    Rev: large square incuse with skew pattern
    Ref: SNG Delepierre 1774ff; BMC Taf. 24.11

    sea turtle obol:
    [​IMG]
    ISLANDS off ATTICA, Aegina.
    475-470 BCE

    AR obol; 0.97 gm
    Obv: sea turtle with single row of dots on back
    Rev: windmill-shaped incuse punch
    Ref: SNG Delepierre 1511; SNG Cop. 505
     
  4. Bing

    Bing Illegitimi non carborundum Supporter

    That is a little cutie @zumbly and I would like one (I used to have one of those tiny pet turtles when I was a kid a couple of centuries ago).
    ATTICA AEGINA aa.jpg
     
  5. zumbly

    zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

    Well, they're the same family, so I'd say it counts, but don't let me stop you from getting more coins :D.
     
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  6. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    Hey! Stop trying to sabotage my rationalization :D.
     
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  7. zumbly

    zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

    I did as well, and gosh, now that you've jogged my memory, it seems like an awfully long time ago too, if not quite a couple of centuries. I recall he really liked to eat chicken...
     
  8. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    CONGRATS Z, I like the fractionals!
     
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  9. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

  10. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    I had a couple as well. Not centuries ago, but this picture is from almost a half century ago (yikes! time flies).

    HoldingOurTurtles1970-MED.jpg

    Children of the forum (those of you under ~30 ;)): this photo is called a "Polaroid". I don't expect most of you to know what that is :D

    (A note regarding my ridiculous "jacket": it was a fringed top from a recent dance recital. I loved the way the fringe few around when I moved so I wore it frequently that summer :oops:)
     
  11. FitzNigel

    FitzNigel Medievalist

    Sure we do - this is how we shake it according to OutKast...
    (Just kidding - I grew up with Polaroids, and am also over 30...)

    Wish I had something to contribute, but nice looking turtles all!
     
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  12. zumbly

    zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

    What, no polaroids? ;)
    Ah, it's CT, we'll take anything...:D
     
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  13. Sallent

    Sallent Live long and prosper

    When I was a small child in Cuba my grandfather had a turtle named Elpidia which he had pulled out of a river as a baby turtle, and raised as a pet. Don't know what species it was, but that turtle lived in the backyard, with a plastic pond for swimming and a steady diet of raw meat, for around 40 years before it passed away. I doubt too many of those pet store turtles here in the US live to 40 years of age.
     
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  14. stevex6

    stevex6 Random Mayhem

    Z-Bro => congrats on scoring that cute lil' tortoise (winna-winna)

    I only have one tortoise ... it's a wee hemiobol as well (0.44 grams)


    CARIA, Idyma. AR Hemiobol
    5th century BC
    Diameter: 8 mm
    Weight: 0.44 grams
    Obverse: Land tortoise with segmented shell
    Reverse: Leaf, pellet
    Reference: SNG Ashmolean 228; SNG Kayhan 1627 = CNG 72, lot 803; Klein 522

    Caria Idyma Tortoise.jpg

    *edit*

    Oooops, apparently you want "turtles" ... I have a humble one of those as well (Yertle) ... Yertle is a nice big AR-Stater (
    Attica Aegina)

    turtle.jpg
     
    Last edited: May 13, 2017
  15. TypeCoin971793

    TypeCoin971793 Just a random guy on the internet

    I'm 20, and I've had my picture taked with a few polaroids. I also see them all of the time in antique shops (just in case you wanted to feel old. ;) ).
     
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  16. zumbly

    zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

    Polaroids or it didn't happen! :p
     
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  17. TypeCoin971793

    TypeCoin971793 Just a random guy on the internet

    I apologize. My typewriter does not upload photos very well. ;)
     
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  18. zumbly

    zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

    Yertle's a winner, as is that neat little Idyma tortoise with the leaf on the reverse.
     
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  19. John Anthony

    John Anthony Ultracrepidarian

    Great coin Z! I love the photo of baby swimming with mama!

    Yeah, it's depressing to go to an antique shop and find all the toys you played with as a kid: Polaroid cameras, tape recorders, typewriters, etc. Sigh.
     
  20. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    Not only see the TOYS, but the VALUE of those toys now! Cripes, if I would have saved even a FOURTH of my toys, I would be a millionaire now with the stoopid antique prices they have on some of the stuff! Matchboxes... ugh, how many did I buy, destroy (yeah, gasoline, kerosene, M-80's, pellet guns, .22's, etc.), and now find how MUCH they are worth... Oh, well, BIG fun then!
     
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  21. Sallent

    Sallent Live long and prosper

    Here's my first Polaroid, taken by US Immigration Authorities in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on November 29, 1995 (6 and a half months into my Guantanamo stay). I accidentally closed my eyes when they took the picture, so they let me have it as a souvenir.

    20170513_103752.jpg
     
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