Dionysos- simply beautiful face, but then my fantasy crumbled...

..advertisements..yeah, i guess that's what it is...i.e. "here's my coin and my business card", oh and btw, don't use my pic..hehe i only get on now by comments cause i but him on ignore..

 

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The stylized art on many of the ancient coins is amazing! Some of them transition to an assortment of lines and geometric shapes. Many of them would make great neon signs.

 

Yes!! Thanks, DR! That's exactly what that style Republican Roma portrait reminds me of... I just wasn't able to put a finger on it until now

 

Strange as it seems, Dionysos was depicted as a very masculine figure in early Greek coinage as shown in this tetradrachm from Naxos, c. 460 BC. He evolved into a very feminine looking figure as shown in this coin from Aeolis, Myrina, c. 160 BC. When I showed this handsome tetradrachm of Dionysos from Myrina to friends, 4 out of 5 thought it was a woman .

 

The large eyes, delicate chin, and jawline give a feminine appearance. The artist may have used a female model for the portrait—possibly his mother

 

I hate to see us referring new people to online auction results like those of CNG when they ask the inevitable beginner question, "What is it worth?" TIF gave a fine overview of the situation demonstrating the range of small differences in grade and great differences in style but even legitimate beginners tend to see the $1950 result where two well financed collectors butted heads rather than the boatload of more ordinary examples with the $150 to $200 estimates. We also need to remember that while CNG may sell a coin for a good price, the rest of us will receive considerably less.

I hate to see us beating up on someone for the watermark even though I agree they are a bad idea. Their appropriateness is seen differently in some fields, I suspect including Mr. Gardner's Wildlife Art group, than it is in the ancient coin circle. Rules of appropriate practices vary and I doubt he expected to get the response he did. I regret it when we drive off new people for the wrong reasons but I know we don't all agree on the definition of a new person we appreciate and one we 'Ignore'.

To me, this question sums it up. Adding a watermark to seller's images as if they were your own work is a despicable thing to do (this comes from someone with more coin images given free to the world than most). Why do we question that he did not take the photo himself? It is a decent but not exceptional image as good as many of us produce but not something likely to be stolen due to its high art value. We could use a few more people here who try to take decent coin photos and might help with a share of the load answering queries on photography.

Welcome to Coin Talk Ancients, Mr. Gardner, if you are still here.

 

Yes, and I apologize for making such a big deal about the watermark.

Also, as Doug pointed out, I should have added some commentary about the CNG prices.

1. CNG is an auction house. The prices realized don't reflect the buyer's premium, so the real price paid is higher than is shown.

2. The second coin shown in my post is an aberration in terms of cost. At least two bidders felt like they must have that coin and the price was driven up. (rather like the Heritage auction which closed last night... YIKES! What on earth happened there? $204K for this Hadrian Nilus aureus?! $36K for this Athens tet?! The Athens tet alone is worthy of its own thread for discussion of the price. Shades of "The Sheikh". Maybe someone who was in attendance can fill us in.)

3. A better to check for comparisons is ACsearch since they include a wide range of auction houses but you have to have a paid subscription to see prices realized.

4. You can browse Vcoins for similar coins to see current "retail" asking prices.

5. You can also check eBay although the number of fakes there make it tricky.

 

Thanks! My Hercules is played by Lou Ferrigno!

 

Welcome to the Ancients Forum, @Steven Michael Gardner ! Imagining the many hands that held and used the ancient coins is fascinating for me also.

 

I was watching this auction online since I had a bid on this very same Hadrian Nilus aureus, hoping to sort of catch it on the rebound...

Alas, I wasn't even close. My dealer agreed that prices in this auction were much stronger than anyone could have anticipated.

 

Oops, I screwed-up again ! The figure on the tetradrachm from Myrina isn't Dionysos, it's Apollo. Duh. I shouldn't make these posts before morning coffee.

 

When the subject of Dionysus comes up the 1st thing that comes to mind is the famous medal created by Paul Manship in 1930, for the Society of Medalists. The medal is basically a protest against Prohibition in our country that repealed in 1933 with the ratification of the 21st Amendment. The inscription reads "Hail to Dionysus Who First Discovered the Magic of the Grape", & the reverse shows two baby satyrs crushing grapes. The obverse has a wonder portrait of Dionysus crowned by grapes. I bought this beauty a long time ago at auction.

 

Al, is that your coin?

 

Thank you all for your responses, this was my first post on this forum, all of the examples & comments have certainly taught me more about this image than I knew yesterday...
I am impressed at the artistic variety for this same image, masculine / femine depictions, abstract versions and one that brings to mind early VanGogh styles, some fantastic examples of this Greek god posted here..!
Ouch...
I'm sorry that the watermark disappoints the view for some, and as a self-serving advertisement for others, I don't particularly like doing it however it is my photo, my image and I am letting all know it is by the use of this mark, I do not have a website that sells coins, but do have a website, which it seems this watermark inspired a few to investigate, so I guess I have killed 2 birds with one distracting stone... Images are easily & readily copied and pasted on the internet for a variety of uses by others, and only my lawyer knows it has taken much expense & effort to protect what few images I have created as an artist and licensed as a livelihood for 24 years, so it's become somewhat of a reflex action to do so with most all things I post on the internet, and it at least makes whom ever work for it if they want to swipe these coin images for their own usage... You don't need to like it however I do hope that you understand now where I'm at, and why I do it...!