The Twelve Cities

It strikes me that, if we have the 12 Caesars dictating what 'proper' Roman collectors must own, we also should have a list of twelve Greek cities that right thinking Greek collectors feel obligated to own. Some should be very important to history and at least one should be rare and not so significant. I could not run what I considered a proper list of cities but had no trouble with twelve categories allowing any South Italian city to fill the Magna Graecia slot.

I'll start off proposing a few and ask anyone who is interested to propose additional cities. Coin Talk only allows ten photos per post so you can't show twelve coins all at once. I'll also ask we not repeat cities already posted previously in this thread. The idea here is not to show every coin we own or coins from rare cities that made no difference to the world fifteen minutes after they existed. What are the indispensable cities for a collection of Greek cities? Can we pick just twelve? What cities belong in THE Twelve Cities?

Athens, Ar obol


Aigina, Ar obol


Syracuse, Ar hemilitron


Corinth, Ar drachm


Yes, I know I did not show tetradrachms. You can if your city made them.

 

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I'd say Alexandria should definitely be one of them.

Ptolemy II, Ptolemaic Kingdom
AR tetradrachm
Obv: Diademed head of Ptolemy I right, wearing aegis
Rev: ΠTOΛEMAIOY BAΣIΛEΩΣ, eagle standing left on thunderbolt, monogram in left field, shield in front of eagle
Mint: Alexandria
Date: 285-246 BC
Ref: Svoronos 574

 

Well, you two hit the big ones already .

How about Sparta... although I don't have anything from its heyday.


LACONIA, Lakedaimon (Sparta)
80-50 BCE
AR triobol, 2.29 gm
Obv: Head of Herakles right
Rev: Amphora; to each side, caps of the Dioscuri; all within laurel wreath
Ref: BCD Peloponnesos 868

It might be reasonable to include Olympia in the list.


ELIS, Olympia. 87th Olympiad, 432 BCE
AR hemidrachm, 16 mm, 2.7 gm
Obv: eagle, with wings displayed above, flying left, holding hare by its back and tearing at it with his beak
Rev: thunderbolt, with wings above and volutes below, within circular incuse; to right, A.
Ref: BCD Olympia -; BCD Peloponnesos -; SNG Copenhagen -; BMC -; Traité -; SNG Delepierre -; Pozzi -; Weber -; McClean -. The obverse type, combined with the form of the thunderbolt, with its broad, splayed wings, and the A on the reverse, is most similar to the stater of BCD 50.
ex Frank James Collection
ex Classical Numismatic Group Mail Bid Sale 81, 20 May 2009, lot 2216
ex BCD Collection (not in LHS or Leu sales)
ex Spink 90, 16 March 1992, lot 761 (part of)

 

Great thread @dougsmit

PELLA

Birthed the men who overthrew the known world.


Makedon Philip II Tet Pella mint LIFETIME 353-349 Zeus Horse star spearhd Le Rider 102

 

Samos might be appropriate for the list, although it's an island rather than a city.


IONIA, Samos
510-500 BCE
AR drachm, 13.7 mm, 3.2 gm
Obv: forepart of winged boar left
Rev: facing lion scalp with dotted square, within incuse square
Ref: SNG Cop 1673

 

I would add Miletos to the list.

 

@Alegandron is going to chime in soon with a protest about calling some of these places "Greek"

 

APOLLONIA PONTICA

APOLLONIA PONTICA
AR Drachm
OBVERSE: Gorgoneian facing with snakes for hair and a protruding tongue
REVERSE: An anchor flanked by letter A and a crayfish, which represents the minting city of Apollonia, the major fifth century BC Greek colony on the west coast of the Black Sea, modern Sozopol in Bulgaria
Struck at Apollonia 450-400 BC
3.13g, 14-15mm
BMC IX, Black Sea 150-151


APOLLONIA PONTIKA
AR Hemiobol
OBVERSE: Anchor, A in field
REVERSE: Swastika with two parallel lines in each quadrant
Struck at Apollonia Pontika, circa 500BC
.28g, 6.54mm
SNG BM 149; Moushmov 3146
ex. Aegean Numismaics

 

Susa might be a good inclusion for its prominence in several cultures over the course of ancient history.

 

I don't have any Greek coins so cannot add to that. But what about Rhodes?

 

LOL, no, can’t say Carthage.

Sure wish we could!

 

Another one for the list, despite it being an island rather than city-- Rhodes.

 

Not sure it fits the criteria of "Great" city, but there are several coins from Amisos, Pontos that I feel are pretty important and "must" haves:

Pontos. Amisos c 85-65 BC.
Bronze Æ, 30mm., 18,18g.
Helmeted head of Athena right,
helmet decorated with griffin /
AMIΣOY Perseus standing holding
harpa and head of Medusa, at feet,
body of Medusa, monograms to
both sides.VF Sea 1166-76

 

Great minds think alike

 

The semantics are tricky. What is "Greek"? Magna Graecia? Is the intent "12 Pre-Roman Imperial Cities of the Western Ancient World"? Adding a bunch of qualifiers to the title significantly lessens the oomph-- not as catchy as "The Twelve Caesars".

I'm going to vote Carthage in the list


ZEUGITANA, Carthage
early 2nd century BCE
AE 15-shekel, 45 mm, 95 gm
Obv: wreathed head of Tanit left
Rev: horse standing right, left foreleg up; Flying Spaghetti Monster solar disk with uraei above
Ref: Alexandropoulos J (2000) Les monnaies de l'Afrique Antique, 103; Müller L (1861) Numismatique de L'Ancienne Afrique, 131; Luynes 3782; Jenkins GK and Lewis RB (1963) Carthaginian Gold and Electrum Coins, Royal Numismatic Society, London, pl. 28 12

 

If no one's gonna show Rhodes, I'll proudly show my latest won prize (not yet received, fingers crossed I didn't initiate a jinx)...

Caria. Rhodes circa 88-84 BC. Kallixeinos, magistrate
Hemidrachm AR
14mm., 1,68g.
nearly very fin

 

Ampipholis
Heracles- Price 133

 

What about the Phoenician cities that helped flourish the Hellenistic civilization ?

 

..heck, the Greeks were omni city..for quite a spell...here's one of Pyrrhus in Sicily/ Syracuse 278-76 BC..^^

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodes#Archaic_Era
In 408 BC, the cities united to form one territory. They built the city of Rhodes, a new capital on the northern end of the island. Its regular plan was, according to Strabo, superintended by the Athenian architect Hippodamus.