Here is a remarkable coin with four [EDIT: five] types of seafood! 27 mm. Thick (5 mm). 23.84 grams. A hemilitra. Akragas in Sicily, c. 420-406 BC Eagle on fish, head back, screaming. Crab with eel in its claw, octopus below, conch shell, six dots [some off the flan to the right, for six onkia (among twelve in a litra)] Sear Greek --. Hoover Sicily 134. SNG ANS 3.1. 1030-1031. SNG Morcom 520 [EDIT: Conch is edible, so it is really five types of seafood, as pointed out below by @TIF and @Andres2] I would not say I collect Greek copper, but some appeal anyway. There have been a few good sale catalogs with collections that make excellent reference works. Post your coins from Akragas (Agrigentum) or with seafood (no dolphins!).
LOL, WOW! Zuppa di Mare!!! all on one coin! Yum @Valentinian I have the Onkia version... unfortunately, I have a FLY in my soup! Sicily Akragas AE Onkia 16mm 3.8g 425-406 BCE Eagle r fish fly - Crab conch SNG ANS 1062 var
Five types of seafood... who says that conch shell is empty? Conch meat is very popular: conch stew, conch salad, conch fritters, etc. Fun coin! I want one too
Congrats Valentinian, actually there are 5 types of seafood on the coin,if you include the tunafish on the obverse.
Great coin, I love the way the ancients glorified and obviously respected their food sources, I have a Hemilitra from the same period.
@Andres2, that example is wonderful--except for the Hoover coin it is far better than the published SNG examples I cited.
Wow... five types of seafood! I'm rather embarrassed that my tetras only has two (or maybe three) types and a superfluous bit of garnish. SICILY, Akragas AE Tetras. 9.97g, 20.6mm, SICILY, Akragas, circa 500-406 BC. CNS I 52. O: Eagle standing right, head lowered, on hare held in its talons. R: Crab; leaf above; below, three pellets and crayfish swimming right; mussel-shell (?) to right.
There are several types of Akragas coins I'd like to have but so far this mixed lot hexas is the only one: However, there is certainly no shortage of seafood in my collection BRUTTIUM, the Brettii 216-214 BCE Æ quartuncia, 13.5mm, 2.06 g Obv: head of Amphitrite left, wearing crab headdress Rev: crab; torch above, BPET-TIΩN above and below Ref: Pfeiler p. 33, 4a; Scheu, Bronze 51; HN Italy 1944; SNG ANS 123–4; SNG Lloyd –; McClean 1579 Sicily, Syracuse. Dionyisos I, tetras. Nymph / octopus Sicily, Syracuse. AE 13, c. 425 BCE. Nymph (Arethusa?)/hippocamp & octopus SICILY, Selinos c. 410 BCE AR litra, 11mm, 0.76 g, 1h Obv: nymph seated left on rock, right hand raised above her head, extending her left hand to touch coiled serpent before her; selinon leaf above Rev: man-faced bull standing right; ΣEΛINONTIOΣ above; in exergue, fish right Ref: HGC 2, 1229; SNG ANS 711–2 var. (ethnic); SNG Ashmolean 1904–5; SNG Lloyd 1270 var. (same); Basel –; Dewing –; Rizzo pl. XXXIII, 6. Good VF, dark iridescent tone, some porosity. Rare. ex MoneyMuseum, Zurich; ex Leu 79 (31 October 2000), lot 404. ARKADIA, Psophis 450-30 BCE AR obol, 10 mm, 0.69 gm Obv: forepart of Kerynitian hind right Rev: fish right, O above, archaic psi below, all within circle incuse Ref: BCD Peloponnesos 1680 (same dies). Rare. ex Frank James Collection ex CNG ex BCD Collection SICILY, Messana. AR litra. c. 420-413 BCE. Rabbit and cockle / MEΣ in wreath ISLANDS OFF ATTICA, Aegina. AR stater, c. 456/45-431 BCE. Tortoise / incuse. Turtle soup doesn't appeal to me though. CALABRIA, Tarentum 325-280 BCE AR litra, 11 mm, 0.56 gm Obv: scallop Rev: dolphin right, trident below (I think it might be a bunch of grapes) Ref: Vlasto 1530 (if grapes rather than trident, Vlasto 1527) freed from an NGC slab AEOLIS, Grynion (alt. spellings: Gryneion, Gyrnion, Grynium, others) 4th century BC Æ 17 mm, 3.7 gm Obi: laureate head of Apollo facing slightly left Rev: ΓΥΡΝΗΙΩΝ; mussel shell Ref: SNG Ashmolean 1445-6; SNG Copenhagen 202-4
Thanks, Valentinian, I never heard of the Hoover coin. Here's some seafood in the form of early cockle roman coins, so-called aes formatum.
Oliver Hoover is the author of the multi-volume series "Handbook of the Coins of ..." where "Sicily" is one volume among 8 already published among about 13 projected. It is published by and available from CNG. It is very thorough and most of those Greek coins you have that you can't find in any publication are probably in there. It is very well illustrated. If you collect Greek coins, I highly recommend it. It makes BMC Greek obsolete for the regions Hoover covers.
The Hoover books are awesome. Is there a list somewhere of what the other volumes will cover? I think it is odd that Volume 1 is not out yet, but 10 other volumes are... Crab boil time: SICILY, AKRAGAS AR Tetradrachm, 464-446 BC, 23mm, 17.08g, toned. Obverse: Eagle standing left with AKRAC ANTOΣ to the left and right Reverse: Crab. References: Lee GROUP. I; SNG ANS 964-80; Sear 741 I am afraid Amphitrite's hat has seen better days: BRUTTIUM. The Brettii. Quarter Unit, AE13, 211-208 BC, 2g Obverse: Head of Amphitrite left, wearing crab headdress. Reverse: BPETTIΩN. Crab; torch above. References: SNG ANS 123f. John
Sea turtles are about done nesting where I live. Most people don't consider them sea food though, unless you are a shark or seagull (for the hatchlings).
