What better way to say hello

than with a beautiful Kabeiros from Birytis?




I've perused the forums for a few years but mostly have found my community at the local FUN shows and /r/AncientCoins subreddit.

I wanted to join here and get to know a few of you as this forum seems to be very active and full of coin sharing and research.

My collection spans the Greeks and the Romans but I have a love for the obscure places in the Ancient world like Birytis and if there's an Ammon on it (Pitane I'm talking to you) then even better!

Anyway, Hello.

 

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hello and welcome to CT...

 

Hello, glad to have you with us! That's a really nice Birytis bronze. By way of welcome, here's another Greek bronze from Troas, and with Ammon on it as per requested .

TROAS, Thymbra
AE17. 5.0g, 16.9mm. TROAS, Thymbra, circa 4th century BC. SNG von Aulock 158; BMC Troas pg. 89, 4. O: Head of Zeus-Ammon left. R: ΘΥ, star of eight rays; HP monogram below.

 

Yes, welcome here.

 

Thymbra is one of the coolest I've researched. Supposed second gate of Troy and vanished at around 400 B.C. according to my notes. Thanks for sharing and nice to meet you!

Here's my counterpart.



Troas, Thymbra 4th c B.C.
AE 15mm 4.8g VF
Obv: head of Zeus-Ammon left, bearded and horned
Rev: star ΘY between rays
BMC Troas page 89:3

 

Welcome @Lane Walker ! I, too, lurked for some time before signing up. Even then, I did not post for a long while. I agree: among all the other forums, this appears a much livelier place. Although I love detail and explanation, I also really enjoy the levity and comaradarie exhibited here!

Hmmm. I have SEVERAL obscure niches that I collect. As a general approach, I focus mainly on the Roman Republic and those entities that interacted with them...
EG: Samnium, Capua, Carthage, Etruria, etc. etc. that have some "different" History or critical juncture in Human History.

Here are a couple Etrurians:


Etruria Populonia AR 1 As 0.60g 10.0mm after 211 BCE Male Head L - Plain Rev Vecchi 3 68-70 HN Italy 181 EXTREMELY RARE


Etruria Populonia AR 5 Asses 3rd C BCE 2.0g Young Hd L V behind HN 173 Vecchi Rasna III 52 Vecchi Etruscan 91.6 ex NAC 29 No 9 RARE

 

I find the Kabeiros to be a fascinating choice for their coinage. Even the information around the deity seems scarce much less the mystery of why Birytis was so determined to get their point across with nearly the same type for so many years. On that note would be it safe to say 'for centuries' since there are so many examples on the market?

 

Welcome to CT! I do not have any Ammon but here is a 3rd century G-man Antoninianus:

 

Hi! Welcome to the ancient forum with the mostest Looking forward to seeing more posts from you.


MYSIA, Pitane
AE, 4th-3rd c. BCE
9 mm, 0.64 gm
Obv: Head of Zeus Ammon right
Rev: ΠΙΤΑ; Pentagram, branch in center
Ref: BMC 5-10 var. (pellet in center)

 

Stunning! Thanks for sharing.

Did you happen to pick this up a show or on vcoins?

 

Welcome @Lane Walker ! I look forward to your contributions on the Forum!

 

Thanks! It's a gorgeous little coin and I have a fondness for Zeus Ammon and his various syncretic representations

That one came from a German auction house. Pecunem auction 19; Gitbud-Naumann. Gitbud and Naumann have subsequently split. Naumann continues to have auctions and they can be found on biddr.com.

 

Welcome. That's a great coin- very nice surfaces unlike my example, below. I also enjoy the coinage of Birytis:

 

If you like Kabieros, one of our former members has a fabulous example for sale on eBay (he's selling his entire collection).

Here's the auction house picture of the coin from when he bought it:


ISLANDS off IBERIA, Ebusus. Æ Quarter Unit
2nd century BC
Diameter: 17 mm
Weight: 3.28 grams
Obverse: Squatting Kabeiros, holding hammer and serpent
Reverse: Bull butting left
Reference: ACIP 719; SNG BM Spain 318-21

I just checked and it looks like the coin is still available through his eBay dealer. I have been very tempted...

 

Hello @Lane Walker ! That's a great looking chunky bronze coin ya' got there.

 

I can toss out a Zeus Ammon... with a Multi-Colored Dream Coat...


KYRENAICA Kyrene Æ25 9.6g 250 BCE Diademed Zeus-Ammon r - K-O-I-N-O-N; Silphium plant; monogram SNG Cop 1278 BMC 16-19
Ex: @John Anthony

 

Would love to peruse -- what UserID? (As a rule I never spend more than $50 on anything E-bay related but this is the first time someone has been referred) -- can you vouch?

 

And with a Silphium plant! I've been really hunting for a good example of the Silphium plant. Thanks so much for sharing. Vcoins, Auction, Show?

 

I'll PM you the info. Absolutely trustworthy dealer and consignor-- Steve a long-time buddy for many of us here and his e-Bay dealer also posts here occasionally. Many of us have been buying up Steve's coins. However... this Ebusus is not an inexpensive coin... I'll also see if I can pull up the auction listing from when Steve bought it.

 

Welcome to CoinTalk @Lane Walker ! It was about a year of lurking before I became an active participant. Looking forward to seeing more of your collection!