How many Ancient Greek Cities can we get?

I saw some threads about how many Roman provincial coins can we cover, and all the Roman Imperial coins. But unfortunately there is not such a thread about Ancient Greek coins. So, I decided to open one for this, lets see how many cointalk members will participate!

I have made an excel sheets with most of the Greek poleis that existed, I know this are not all because there are some of these more obscure places in Thrace, Sicily etc. Examples are Kentoripai and Orthagoreia. There are approximately around 1200 Greek poleis and around 500 poleis in the spreadsheet, that already shows how many poleis there are that many people probably never heard of!

In the excel sheet I keep track of all the cities that are owned by cointalk members and it would be great when I also have to add any cities I do not have in the list yet but cointalk owners do own coins from, this means it are coins from the more unknown/obscure places.

Excel sheet with Ancient Greek cities in alphabetical order.

Post your coins with description and optionally a map of the Ancient Greek city the coin comes from! Let's do this using the alphabet, starting with all cities starting with the letter A. Every 3 days I will make a comment for the next letter. If you have missed a letter (because the 3 days were not enough) then just place it anyway, that is not a problem. If the coin has an unknown mint city, then place it using the first letter of the region (for example Rhodos, Aegina, Lesbos).

After we have went through the alphabet, everyone can post coins regardless of what the first letter of the city is, for example when you got a new addition, in this way we can keep the thread alive and increase the amount of cities!

If the coin comes from an Ancient Greek city in a time period where it is part of a Roman province, it can not be posted (as it is a Roman provincial coin then).

If something is unclear or should be corrected, let me know! I hope everyone will enjoy this thread

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I will start!


Ambrakia, Epeiros
Kingdom of Epeiros. Pyrrhos. Bronze coin (297–272 B.C.)
Obverse: Laureate head of Zeus Dodonaeus left.
Reverse: Thunderbolt; above: B, below: ΠYP monogram; all within oak wreath.




Alexandria, Egypt
Ptolemy VI-VIII Bronze Coin (Ca. 180 B.C. -145 B.C.).
Obverse: Diademed head of Zeus Ammon right.
Reverse: ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ, two eagles standing left on thunderbolt, wings closed, cornucopiae in front.


Antioch on the Orontes, Syria
Antiochos IV Epiphanes Egyptianizing series (175 B.C. - 164 B.C.)
Obverse: Wreathed head of Isis right.
Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIOXOY ΘEOY EΠIΦANOYΣ, Eagle standing right on thunderbolt.

 

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Fun! How did you create your list? Were you able to find such a list or did you have to piece it together from Wildwinds and other sources?

Wow, there are ~88 "A" cities, including 13 Apollonias!

Apollonia, Illyria

ILLYRIA, Apollonia
c. 1st century BCE
AR 15 mm, 1.25 gm
Obv: AI-NEA; fires of the Nymphaeum of Apollonia; dotted border
Rev: AΠOΛΛΩ-NIATAN, lagobolon; dotted border
Ref: BMC 44; Maier 121

Apollonia Pontika, Thrace

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

 

How do you want to handle coins issued by regions but with the actual mint city unknown? For example,

Aegina

ISLANDS OFF ATTICA, Aegina
456/45-431 BCE
AR stater; 20mm, 12.32 g
Obv: land tortoise, head in profile, with segmented shell
Rev: large square incuse with skew pattern
Ref: SNG Delepierre 1774ff; BMC Taf. 24.11

 

I found 2 list but some cities I also added manually, and some locations as well.

Good question, if the coin has an unknown mint city then the first letter of the region is fine, I will edit this in the thread. I can imagine that mostly islands have unknown mint city, for example Rhodos and Lesbos. Btw this coin is beautiful!

 

I assume we are going alphabetically and not in order by city on the list... then Athens is fair game?!

 

Just alphabetically, don't mind the list for the order! It is just to record how many coins from Ancient Greek cities we can get here on cointalk.

I didn't know you have a slabbed coin I thought everyone here on cointalk freed their coins from the slabs. Still an amazing beauty though! and big compliments on the new style coin as well.

 

Alright, that's quite an ambitious undertaking!

I am game and can contribute a shabby but mind-bogglingly rare type from Alexandria Troas. Although it didn't get much love last time I expressed my geeky fascination for it, here it is again:


Civic issue, Alexandria Troas, Roman Empire (province Asia), AE22, ca. 251–260. Obv: CO ALE[X TRO], turreted, draped, cuirassed bust of Tyche right, behind her, vexillum inscribed CO AV. Rev: [CO]L AV[G] TR[OAD], statue of Apollo Smintheus standing on short column facing, holding patera over lighted tripod left and bow, tree (?) right. 22mm, 4.41g. Ref: Bellinger –, SNG Copenhagen –, SNG von Aulock –, BMC –, RPC IX, 492.

It might be necessary to add cities to the list when we arrive at the respective letter (Perge in Pamphylia, for example).

 

CILICIA, Aigeai. Circa 160-130 BC. Æ 18mm (5.51 gm). Turreted head of Tyche right / Horse's head left; For type, see; SNG Levante 1639 = Bloesch 34 (this coin); SNG France 2283; SNG von Aulock 5442. No monograms visible here

 

THRACE, Ainos. Circa 464-460 BC. AR Diobol (1.04 gm). Head of Hermes right wearing petasos / A-I, caduceus; all within incuse square. May 34 (A19/P-); McClean 3810 (same obverse die).

 

Here's one from Aspendos

 

Akanthos, Macedon. 470-390 B.C. AR Tetrobol (2.5 gm). Obv: Forepart of bull, l., head reverted to r. Rev: Quadripartite incuse square
SNG ANS 30 ff.

 

In my defense I bought it in the slab and just haven't had the courage to take it out. I will probably leave it in though for the time being.

Last year @Severus Alexander threatened to gift me a hammer for Saturnalia in order to free her!

Thanks for the cudos @Pavlos . Great thread idea. I'm betting this thing takes off!

 

Just did a write up on this one even if this isn't a concrete location for it.

Antiochus I
Mint: Ai Khanoum aka Alexandria on the Oxus
281 to 261 BC
Obvs: Beardless head of Heracles right wearing lion skin headdress.
Revs: Humped bull walking right.
16mm, 2.99g
Ref: SC 441.1; HGC 10, 187(R3)


Antiochus Hierax
Mint: Alexandria Troas
AR Tetradrachm
242 to 227 BC
Obvs: Diademed head of Antiochus Hierax with prominant cheekbone.
Revs: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ on r., ANTIOXOY on l., partially nude, with slight drapery on thigh, Apollo seated l. on omphalos, testing arrow and resting l. hand on grounded bow that has pellets that symbolize the handle. Horse symbol in exergue and two control monograms in left field.
29x30mm, 16.35g
Ref: Sear GCV 6919, SC Vol.1 877.2


Alexander II
Mint: Apamea on the Orontes
AE 18, Serrate
125 to 123 BC
Obvs: Head of young Dionysos r. wearing ivy wreath.
Revs: BAΣIΛEΩΣ AΛEΞANΔPOY, Tyche standing left with right hand on tiller and holding cornucopia. Control mark above cornucopia
18mm, 6.1g
Ref: SNG Isr.312.2367, SC 2242.3c


Alexander III
Mint: Arados
325 to 323 BC
AR Tetradrachm
Obvs: No inscription. Head of Herakles right, clad in lions skin.
Revs: AΛEΞANΔPOY, Zeus seated left holding eagle and staff. AP monogram in left field.
25x27mm, 17.20g
Ref: Price 3424


Alexander I
Mint: Ascalon
Year 164, 149/148 BC
Obvs: Head of Alexander right.
Revs: BACIA on left, AΔEΞ on right, Asphlaston between. Mintmark ACK outter right, year ΔΞP outter left.
12x13mm, 1.31g
Ref: SC 1849.1

 

Aspendos, Pamphylia; 4th Cent. B.C.; AR Stater (10.9 gm.). Obv: Two wrestlers of the early, and very rare, "Belt Wrestlers" variety, three letters in field: (?) to l., H below and between wrestlers, and X to r. (the only clear depiction of this letter on examples I have seen, and undocumented in the major references), all within a dotted circular border. Rev: Slinger advancing r., about to discharge his sling; triskeles to l. and ΕΣΤ to r., all within a dotted circular border. Vente Publique 32, 20 Oct 1966, no. 134; Giessener Münzhandlung 102, 24 May 2000, no. 291.

 

Alexander III, The Great; 336-323 B.C. AR tetradrachm (16.9 gm). Arados mint, 236/5 B.C. Obv: Hd. of Herakles r. wearing lion’s skin headdress. Rev: ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ. Zeus std. l. on backless throne holding eagle in r. hand & scepter in his l. To left, palm tree. “AP” monogram below throne. In ex., date: Year 24. Price 3371. Rare. Sixth known example of this date.

 

MYSIA, Adramytion. Orontes. Satrap of Mysia, circa 357-352 BC. Æ 12mm (1.15 gm, 5h). Laureate head of Zeus right / Forepart of Pegasos right. Troxell, Orontes 2; SNG France 1163-4 corr. (legend; Lampsakos).

 

Lysimachos; 305-281 BC. AR Tetradrachm (17.3 gm, 32mm, 12h). Abdera mint. Struck 297/6-282/1 BC. Obv: Diademed head of the deified Alexander III of magnificent style and detail. Rev: Athena Nikephoros seated left; head of griffin left to outer left, monogram to inner left. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ to r., ΛΥΣΙΜΑΧΟΥ to l. Thompson 70; Müller 126. VERY RARE.

 

Great coins so far, thank you for your participation all, I hope you enjoy this. @PeteB A lot of coins, very nice!

I noticed we are still missing a quite common city, Amphipolis!

 

My favorite A city is Akragas in Sicily. They made dekadrachms that sell for ridiculous numbers and this silver litra which is 1/60 as large. This one has the legend in boustrophedon - AK left to right to the right of the eagle and RA retrograde to its left.


Akragas issued a number of interesting bronze denominations some of which are clearly marked in value compared to the silver. This tooth shaped trias is clearly marked with four dots making it 4/12ths of a litra. It uses the same eagle and crab types but these are less clear on the cast tooth coins.


Later, standard format bronzes include this three dot tetras (3/12ths litra) showing the eagle feasting on hare and adding a shrimp under the crab.


I really do wish I had a dekadrachm to share but it is not to be.