Helmet without a head

A while ago we had a good thread on helmets:

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancient-helmet-types.297306/

Of course, very many ancient coin types have helmets on some god, emperor, or personification. This one is different for depicting a helmet alone:


AE. 20-19 mm.
A Corinthian helmet right (no one wearing it)
Oval Celtic shield. Reference works say "METAM" above [To me, the "T" looks more like an "M" or perhaps the "T" has huge vertical serifs down to the baseline. What letter is it really? A sideways sigma for the "S" in Mesembria? Because the reference works do not have better examples, that's my guess.]
BPIANΩN below (left-to-right, which inclines me to orient the reverse this way, as opposed to the long axis of the shield up, which some references do.)
Mid third-century BC, according to Stancomb.

Mesembria, Thrace (Black Sea Area)
SNG BM Black Sea 276v (their helmet is left, not right)
SNG Stancomb 229-230
SNG Copenhagen 658.
Sear Greek --. BMC Greek Thrace --.
Those examples are in significantly lower condition than this one.

I'm sure some of you have the silver facing helmet type from Mesembria. Show Us! Or, show any helmet-without-head you have.

 

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Great helmet.

 

I approve of this coin.





I don't have a helmet without a head, but here is some armor that doesn't have a body or isn't part of a trophy display.




Magnesia, Ionia. c. 400 BC

Obv. Laureate head of Apollo left. Rev. Cuirass, M - A in fields. SNG Kayhan 393. 7 mm 0.5g

 

4 BCE-CE 6
Herod II Archelaus, Herodian Kings
AE prutah 2.63g - 16mm
Obv: Grape bunch on vine with a small leaf
Rev: Crested helmet; caduceus to lower left.
Reference: Hendin 1196

 

Tryphon, Diodotus
Mint: Antioch
140/139 BC
AE 18
Obvs: Head of Tryphon right diademed.
Revs: BAΣΙΛEΩΣ TPYФΩNOΣ AYTOKPATOPOΣ, Spiked Macedonian helmet. AΣ left
18mm, 4.36g

 

With and without head:


SICILY, Himera. AR litra
430-420 BC
11 x 12 mm, 0.68 gm
Obv: bearded and helmeted head right
Rev: Corinthian helmet right
Ref: SNG Lloyd 1029
ex CNG Sale XXV, lot 71, 3/24/93
ex CNA II, lot 31

 

Carthage Iberia
218-208 BC
AE 13 1/4-Calco
Barcid Military Mint
2nd Punic
Tanit
Helmet

 

The control-mark of this series is a helmet:


Roman Republic Æ quadrans(22.9mm, 9.66g). Anonymous(Helmet series), 206-195 B.C., Rome mint. Head of hercules right; behind ••• /Prow right; before, sow; above, ROMA; below, •••. Crawford 118/4; Sydenham 272c
Ex RBW Collection, ex Goodman Collection, CNG 45 lot 1286.

 

From my half coin collection, Cr 181/1, halved, caps of the dioscuri.

or seller's pics

 

I sold a very crisp example of one of the OP types to jwt recently. Since he hasn't posted it yet, I'll do the honors...

 

This helmet may be difficult to see. Sometimes instead of countermarking with a single die against a flat surface a pair of small dies are used. In this case a coin of Alexandria Troas was overstruck with a small helmet/gorgoneion pair.


Alexandria Troas, AE16 3.96g 261-246 BC
Bear head right / ?LE?A? horse countermarked or overstruck with 7mm helmet within circle of dots/gorgoneion
Host coin looks like CNG e-95, lot 40, of Alexandria Troas.
Reminds me of CNG 61, lot 264.

 

@John Anthony, the coin you posted has a "T" that look like a "T". One of the Stancomb coins looks very much like mine (not like a "T"), and the other Stancomb coin and the SNG BM coins are both obscure at that letter. It yours were the only example, the decision it is a "T" would be clear. With the other examples, I wonder what was intended.

Maybe someone on the list knows enough Greek to explain why a coin from the city we call Mesembria would have a legend beginning "METAM".

 

Compare unsold Lot 11 to the one above that JA did sell.
https://www.cointalk.com/conversations/jas-private-auction-94.212824/

I never could bring myself to putting it in my collection either. Even I have some standards.

 

Now that's surprising!

 

Looking through the coins of Mesembria, I see the ethnic MEΣAMBPIANΩN as often as METAMBPIANΩN. Sometimes both versions occur on the same type. The sigma and tau were obviously interchangeable - was the T spelling part of a Thracian dialect? Perhaps the T and S were pronounced the same way? Like the soft T sound of the S in Castilian Spanish? Just ideas.

 

It looks like T/Tau but it is the archaic letter Sampi. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampi

 

@Ed Snible, that's it! Thank you!

 

That's a nice looking coin!

 

Well I'll be darned. Thank you!