Spooky Gorgoneion - Happy Halloween Everybody

This little Gorgon spoke to me yesterday at our local coin show. It’s a chunky little coin & the Gorgon has sharp teeth. I haven’t weighed it yet.
Wa-da-ya think?


THRACE, Apollonia Pontika
AR Drachm
450-400 B.C.
TBD grams, 12-14 mm.
Obv: Ancient Anchor with crayfish left and A right
Rev: Gorgoneion facing with menacing sharp teeth.
Grade: A good VF coin on a chunky flan with attractive toning. Rough edge at 6:00 encroaches on the Gorgon’s chin.
Other: S-1655. From Allen Berman 10/18.


Please post ‘em if you got ‘em. Let’s see some Gorgoneions & anything spooky or with sharp teeth.

 

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I don't have any but I really like yours. Definitely want to see some others

 

Fangalicious Gorgon and from a great dealer too! Congrats!

 

Roman Imperatorial, moneyer L. Plautius Plancus
47 BCE
AR Denarius, 3.79 gm
Obv: L. PLAVTIVS; facing mask of Medusa, serpents at either side of face; banker's mark on cheek
Rev: PLANCVS; Aurora flying right and conducting the four horses of the sun. Banker's mark in left field.
Ref: Plautia 15b Sear 429, Cr453/1b; Syd 959a.
formerly slabbed by NGC


THRACE, Apollonia Pontika
Mid-late 4th century BCE
AR drachm, 10 mm, 3.2 gm
Obv: Facing gorgoneion
Rev: Upright anchor; A to left, crayfish to right
Ref: Topalov, Apollonia p. 348, 11

 

My new Apollonia Pontika silver is a simpler anchor design because it is a 5mm 0.16g tetartemorion or 1/24 drachm. The reverse has a cross dividing into four segments each containing two parallel lines. Like Bing, I posted my anchor upside down but suppose I will get around to fixing that.

 

Great coins all.

 

Great Gorgon @Collect89 ... excellent teeth detail!

I just showed these in another thread, but I really enjoy Gorgons...


Indo-Greek Baktria Menander I Soter BC 155-130 AR Tet 26mm 9.6g Diad - Athena Alkidemos tbolt Gorgon shield SNG ANS 764-767



Pontos Amisos Gorgon Aegis-Nike AE21



MAKEDON Philip III Arrhidaios 323-317 BCE Æ 1-2 Unit 17mm 4.2g Miletos mint Makedonwn shield Gorgoneion - Helmet bipennis K Price 2064



SICILY Kamarina Æ Onkia 13mm 1.5g 420-405 BC-OLDEST Gorgon tongue - KAMA owl r lizard in claw pellet in ex SNG Münch 411



Ionia Klazomenai 480-400 BC AR Drachm Pentobol 3.5g 13mm Forepart winged boar r gorgoneion incuse sq Cf SNG Copenhagen 12 Rare


Etruria Populonia 3rd C BCE AR 20 As 8.1g Metus Blank HN 152

 

LOVE the new gorgeous Gorgon! She looks like a chunky lil monkey.
Here's some of my Gorgons...

PONTOS, Amisos
85-65 BCE AE 21
Aegis with Gorgon's head /
Nike standing holding palm.
(The last one is a pretty fun double strike)

Antigonos I
Monophthalmos
As king, 306/5-301 BCE. Æ
Unit (14mm, 4.4 g). Salamis
mint. Struck under
Demetrios I Poliorketes.
Macedonian shield, boss
decorated with facing
gorgoneion / Macedonian
helmet; kerykeion and
monogram to lower left and
right. Price 3159

Macedon Neapolis
424-350 BCE Hemidrachm
(Silver, 1.92 g 7).
Gorgoneion facing with
protruding tongue. Rev. N E
O Π Head of the nymph of
Neapolis to right, her hair
coiled around her head and
with a bun at the back,
wearing a plain necklace
with a pendant. Holed. SNG ANS
444 ff. SNG Copenhagen
227/8.
...most importantly HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

 

That's an cool Gorgon/anchor combo @Collect89 ...the type is still on my list. I don't have any prominent gorgons to show, so here is a spooky Phocas.

 

My favorite Gorgon, complete with little tongues on all the snakes:



And how about a little ghosting:


And top it all off with the sordid story of Edward Mordrake, complete with demon head:

 

@Finn235 I am curious what you think depicted in the Chach coin above. I have heard the obverse described as "Right three quarter bust, wearing odd headdress."

Do you see a depiction of Janus?
Or evidence of scalping?
Or a two-headed deity?

 

Nice gorgon @Collect89 , one of those drachms was my first ever Greek silver coin!

I have a Klazomenai gorgon that looks as though it was struck using dies cut by the exact same person that cut the dies for the great drachm @Alegandron has:


Klazomenai, Ionia, AR diobol 10 mm, 1.12 gr. 5th century BC (tetartemorion 0.18g). Apparently Medusa birthed the twin beasts Pegasus and Chrysaor ("Pigasus") from her neck after being decapitated by Perseus. Poseidon, the apparently inattentive father of these beasts did little to prevent Chrysaor from flying around ravaging the countryside of Klazomenai.

And here's the whole spooky coven of gorgons haunting my accumulation (the high-relief 500-475 BC drachm of Parion in center is pretty wild, and as I understand spawned Celtic imitations like the top left and right coins):

 

Fantastic coins everyone.


There is so much to learn from all these examples & then BAM, Plumbata posts a gaggle of Gorgons.


Edit to add: (or is it a tangle of Gorgons)?

 

.

 

Now, wouldn’t that be cool that our coins were sculpted from the same die-cutter!

 

I believe I have shown this before but Gorgons also come in large silver. Mine is an 18mm fourree stater of Neapolis, Macedon (500-450 BC) weighing 7.9g which is about 2g lighter than a solid coin would be. The silver is reasonably thick but chipped in places to reveal the core rather than wearing away on the high spots. They appear in big sales in high grade with some regularity.

 

My pictures are garbage, but in-hand it seems stylistically indistinguishable from your drachm, only smaller. I'm not sure how best to describe it, but the detailed "billowy" wings and other anatomical features seem to mesh perfectly with the aesthetic style of your drachm. Same hand and same personality as far as I can tell.

 

My Gorgon looks to be from the same mint as yours @randygeki! And both spook me out I just picked mine up in that last FRC auction and couldn't be more pleased. I was both thrilled and terrified when it (along with some beautiful new friends, hehe) showed up



MYSIA, Parion. ca. 480 BC. AR 3/4 Drachm (3.27 gm). Gorgoneion facing / Incuse with cruciform linear pattern and central pellet. SNG.Cop.256. SNG.BN.1349. Toned Crude VF, Scarce.