LEAD SLING PROJECTILES WITH POMPEYS NAME ON IT??

There's a seller on Ebay offering sling bullets with.. you guessed it... the names of famous Roman and other commanders on them... i am from Missouri.. but i don't believe it! what's your thoughts on such items? He also has some with Hannibals name on them..>< i can't say it's 100% not possible.. but.....i'm hard to convince on some things.

 

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Is it possible? Definitely. Would I buy one off ebay from a seller I know nothing about? Heck no.

It is well known that Greek and Romans would carve into their sling bullets. Perhaps the most famous is the Greek one in the British Museum with Dexai carved into it meaning "catch" or "take this". Others have been found with things like "For Pompey's Backside". There is a nice article on it on the military history blog: https://militaryhistoryblog.wordpre...f-inscribing-lead-sling-bullets-in-antiquity/.

 

well thank you very much Whiz.. i'd never heard of such, but that's no indication it ain't so.. i will check that link out! fanks!

 

huh... well i'll be damned! i may not buy everything right off the bat, but experience has taught me also not to dis it...case in point

 

Yep its docunented and possible.
But yeah, you're right. If I was to buy some it wouldn't be from ebay.
I did recently see some for sale but do not recall where. Vcoins maybe?

 

they are interesting pieces of history these artifacts.. i learn something new everyday

 

Yes they do exist and are often found in large quantities. A few years back some Spanish sellers on ebay were selling fake bullets as authentic claiming to be from the battle of Munda and legion 13 or inscribed with CNMAC for Pompey. These are commonly faked and those in particular had one side that was flat where as they should be pyramidal on both sides.

 

I am well versed in these and in fact have about 50 or so of them. The vast majority of them are not inscribed, but many are:

FERI POMP (Strike Pompey)
PET CVLVM OCTAVIA (Attack Octavians A-hole, implying his troops were retreating)
FVGITIVI PERITIS (Perish in Your Flight)
DEXA (Catch!)

Many are also inscribed in Greek or with thunderbolts, legion numbers etc.

Those inscribed CN MAG do exist, but as already pointed out they are heavily faked. Below is a link to a site which discusses them in good detail (make sure to go to page 2):

http://www.collector-antiquities.com/real-or-fake/roman-lead-slingshot.html

So, genuine examples are out there. Are they from Munde? While most of them on the market are indeed from Spain (mine all came from a friend who lives there and bought them locally), the site of Munde has never been found or confirmed but there are some sites which are likely. So, they could be, but its just a guess. I like sling bullets for a few reasons, but I love those which show impact damage (yes, genuine examples are frequently flat on one side). Anyone with an interest in Roman weapons or equipment should get a copy of M.C. Bishop & J. C. N. Coulston, Roman Military Equipment, From the Punic Wars to the Fall of Rome. Sling bullets are illustrated in figure 27, numbers 1 to 5.

Do you have a link to the auction? I can tell you if its real or not.

 

i tried to upload it but it doesn't allow for some reason. the sellers name is euergetes

 

Here is the link:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/euergetes/m.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1

Right off three are very obviously fake, just by the patina alone. The last, listed as Carthaginian (mis-attributed of course), well, possibly genuine. The patina is closer to genuine, the letter properly formed but sloppy and too thick. Bottom line I think all are fake, the last perhaps cast from a genuine example.

To give some context in 2003 I was selling uninscribed smaller examples for $20, a couple years later $35 for larger heavier pieces.

 

thanks for your input Ken..yeah, i would be skeptical anyway esp. with no returns. i learned that these things do exist today, but i'm still from Mizzoura

 

My sister, who lives there, calls it "misery".

 

yes, i believe you were telling me about her awhile back.. she was a professor right?

 

My sister who lives there is in misery when the Cards are not playing well. They are playing "only" 500 ball, so I console her by reminding her how well the Astros are playing.

@gregarious
I have a couple of Ken's sling bullets. They are interesting to hold in your hand. I checked his V Coins store and he does not have any listed, but.... there are two by other sellers on V-Coins. One is a Provenance: Kenneth Dorney piece.

 

haha!..few things here are more important than "how 'bout those Cards"... thanks for the tip on the slingers rr

 

if they are all fake IMO he probably isn't intentionally selling them as fakes... I haven't bought anything from him, but I remember a few months ago, he was selling a bunch of large Ptolemaic coins, mostly with provenance from good auctions sites, CNG, Roma etc..

 

i'm sure he's not doing it with intention of fraud. i was just skeptical of the dang thangs period...when i 1st saw it, i thought of the father on SNL selling the bill for the last supper

 

I thought on e-bay, everything can be returned, especially if it is not as represented.

 

well kentucky, they (ebay) will give your money back, if you can prove what you bought isn't what its supposed to be, i.e. have an expert look @ it.

 

Not sure you even have to do that...e-bay is favorably slanted towards buyers.