Rays of beauty

I have no write up to show at the moment, but just a beauty to share, one of the few additions the last months. I like to collect coins from the Greek islands, and this didrachm from Rhodos showing a beautiful radiate head of Helios will fit just right in my collection.


Islands of Caria, Rhodos. Rhodes. Circa 250-229 BC. AR Didrachm. Mnasimachos, magistrate
Obverse: Radiate head of Helios facing slightly right.
Reverse: Rose with bud to right; MNAΣIMAXOΣ above, P-O flanking stem; to left, Athena Nikephoros standing left.
Reference: Ashton 208; HN Online 395; HGC 6, 1439.
6.70g

Please share your beauties of Rhodos and coins featuring Helios!

 

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Nice coin!

My only example, a tetradrachm, ca. 229-205 BC.

 

Here's my Rhodes drachm. In a perfect world, it would be a tetradrachm but I've never succeeded in finding one this artistic. The style of this example shouted out to me, and, in many ways, it's even more of an artistic accomplishment considering its size:

 

Excellent style and centering.

 

My favorite coin is usually the one I am holding, somehow I keep going back to this one. In hand more silver than gold and the blue is very prominant.


Rhodes
Coin: EF Silver Drachm
- Radiate head of Helios right
ΑΝΑΞΙΔΟΤΟΣ P O - Rose with bud, snake on omphalos in left field
Mint: (190-170 BC)
Wt./Size/Axis: 2.55g / 15mm / -
References:

• Jenkins 1989, 15
• HGC 6, 1457
• BMC 247

 

That's a splendid coin you've shown. I especially like the Athena Nikephoros in the field. A very nice detail!

My hemidrachm isn't as nice, but it's from Rhodes and I find the gaff hook fieldmark interesting:

Caria, Rhodes, hemidrachm, ca. 205–190 BC, magistrate: Gorgos. Obv: head of helios facing r. Rev: ΓOPΓ[OΣ]; rosebud and ethnic R-[O]; in field l. gaff hook. 10mm, 1.09g. HGC 6, 1454. Ashton: The Coinage of Rhodes (2001), no. 304 (p. 109); SNG Keckman I 585.

And here is another coin from Rhodes, this time in beautiful but from a much later date:

Knights Hospitaller (Order of S. John) at Rhodes, under Raymond Bérenger, AR Gigliato, 1365-1374. Obv: + F RAIMUNDVS BERENGERII D GRA M; Grand Master, wearing cloak with Maltese cross on shoulder, kneeling l. in prayer before patriarchal cross set on steps; arms of Raymond Bérenger to r. Rev: + OSPITAL ♣ S • IOhS • IRLNI : QTS • RODI •; cross fleury with arms of the Knights Hospitaller at the end of each arm. 28 mm, 3.64g. Ref: Metcalf 1208–1210; CCS 22.

 

I have two very different coins of Rhodes to show today. My didrachm of 304-167 BC(?) came from a Stacks/Coin Galleries auction in 1990. It was one of my first coins costing over $100. I have seen coins with style both better and worse but I found this one acceptable and strongly suspect that it will be my only large silver coin of this city.


The second is an AE27 from 167-88BC. Helios has turned to face right but the reverse is quite similar. There are several other AE coins from the later period that appeal to me so I can hope to add variety.

 

(Barely remembers to wipe drool from chin before speaking), says, "Cool coin!"
Man, I need a didrachm from Rhodes. But I'll settle with this cutie for now:

 

Very nice new addition. Here's my only coin from Rhodes:



Rhodes, circa 88-84 BC, AR Drachm (16 mm, 2.58 g), 'Plinthophoric' coinage, Maes, magistrate. Radiate head of Helios to right. Rev. ΜΑΗΣ / P - O Rose with bud to left; to right, headdress of Isis; all within incuse square.

 

I bought this coin (my only one from Rhodes), even though it has a small flan missing some of the design, because I thought the face of Helios on the obverse was quite appealing. Perhaps because it's a three-quarters view rather than facing more to the front: I find some of the latter to be rather crudely done.

Islands of Caria, Rhodos, Rhodes, AR Didrachm, ca. 340-316 BCE. Obv. Head of Helios facing slightly right, hair parted in center and swept to either side / Rev. Rose with bud to right and grape bunch to left [stem connecting bud to rose on right is off flan, as is “E” beneath grape bunch on left], POΔION [RODION] above, all within incuse square. Ashton 98 [Ashton, R., "The Coinage of Rhodes 408-c.190 BC" in Money and its Uses in the Ancient Greek World (Oxford, 2001), pp. 79 - 115, pls. 6.1 - 6.6.], HGC 6, 1433 [Hoover, Oliver D., Handbook of Coins of the Islands: Adriatic, Ionian, Thracian, Aegean, and Carpathian Seas (Excluding Crete and Cyprus), 6th to 1st Centuries BC, Vol 6 (Lancaster/London, 2010)]. 16 mm., 6.55 g., 12 h.

 

Everyone needs one of these. That's a super example, congrats! I like it when you can see the pupils on Helios.

 

Congrats on the acquisition, @Pavlos! It looks like a very nice example. I still don't have one. I'd like one in high relief, preferably with little wear on the nose, but these are qualities that seem hard to judge just from photos.

 

A didrachm with an interesting control mark


Rhodes AR Didrachm. Circa 250-229 BC. Mnasimachos, magistrate.
Radiate head of Helios facing slightly right / MNAΣIMAXOΣ, rose with bud; Athena Nikephoros in left field, P-O across fields, all within incuse square.




and a crazed looking Helios :



Rhodos, Rhodes AR Drachm. Circa 88/42 BC - AD 14. Basileides, magistrate.
Radiate head of Helios facing slightly right
P-O, rose seen from above; ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΔΗΣ above, corn-ear below

 

A nice addition. Here is my sole coin from Rhodos. Though it's much smaller and lighter than yours, you can still see and appreciate the details on this 8 mm coin.

GREECE, Anonymous. Denomination: AR Hemidrachm, minted: Rhodos, Carian isles ; 125-88 BC
Obv: Radiate head of Helios 3/4th to the right
Rev: Ρ - Ο ΓΟΡΓΙΑΣ Rose with bud to the right, below the sun, all within incuse square
Weight: 0.8g; Ø:12mm. Catalogue: Jenkins, Rhodian 147. Provenance: Ex T. Nuij; acq.: 05-2020

 

Great tetradrachm! I remember that coin going for a very low price, a bargain for that awesome looking Helios.

What an excellent style portrait @AncientJoe! The tetradrachms are indeed not that artistic. Only the old-style tetradrachms are of absolutely wonderful style, and they tend to go for quite some money!


Nomos AG, Auction 6, lot 94 (60,000 CHF)

Lovely, I like the blue toning.

Thank you! You have a nice hemidrachm and that Knights Hospitaller coin is very interesting. Rhodos has a rich history, in all time era's.

Both very nice coins, today 100$ would be considered a big bargain for that coin. I like the style a lot, but indeed the large silver coins (and even the smaller ones) tend to go for quite much at auctions. The last coin is also from a interesting time period during the time of Mithradates VI.

Thank you @Ryro! Your drachm is very cool, there is so much variety in the Rhodian coinage. Looking forward to your next one

Great drachm @Shea19! We got the same one.


ISLANDS OFF CARIA, Rhodos. Rhodes. Circa 88-84 BC. Drachm (Silver, 16 mm, 2.08 g, 11 h), 'Plinthophoric' coinage, Maes, magistrate. Radiate head of Helios to right. Rev. ΜΑΗΣ / P - O Rose with bud to left; to right, headdress of Isis; all within incuse square. HGC 6, 1461. Jenkins, Rhodian, Group E, 246. SNG Keckman 686.

Lovely coin @DonnaML! An example to be proud of.

Thank you Sev! and awesome example yourself. You know which one I miss? Your awesome engraved tetradrachm

Thank you @zumbly. Full noses are hard to find yes! They tend to wear first. My didrachm example has luckily a full nose, but I have another drachm with a flat nose, but the upside of it, is that it is a plate coin.


Rhodos AR Drachm. 88/42 BC-AD 14. Magistrate Phainilas.
Obverse: Radiate head of Helios facing slightly right.
Reverse: Rose, seen from above; ΦAINIΛAΣ above, P-O across field, akrostolion below.
Reference: Ashton/Weiss, The Post-Plinthophoric Silver Drachms of Rhodes 330 (this coin).
Ex. Hirsch Nachf. 162, München 1989, Nr. 288.

Great coins! We got the same didrachm!

Very interesting coin @Roerbakmix. Looking at the crude style and the very low weight, I am pretty positive this is a pseudo-Rhodian coin imitating the legit Rhodian coins of the magistrate Gorgos. Your coin would have been minted in an uncertain mint in Thessaly, used to pay Cretan mercenaries during the Third Macedonian war.

 

Thank you @Pavlos, this is very interesting information. I'm not really knowledgeable about this period and would greatly appreciate if you could share some background information!

 

@Roerbakmix I did a write up about these coins some time ago: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/rhodian-imitations-during-the-third-macedonian-war.336069/

My example is ofcourse from a much nicer and official style, featuring it's own magistrate. Yours is from the imitative series, imitating a Rhodian magistrate.
See here other pseudo-Rhodian coins imitating Gorgos: https://www.acsearch.info/search.ht...s=1&thesaurus=1&order=0&currency=usd&company=
I must say, yours is one of the crudest I have seen, which makes it even cooler in my opinion.

If you want to go deeper into this topic, I recommend these two papers:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/42668786?seq=1
https://www.jstor.org/stable/42668125?seq=1

 

The second is an AE27 from 167-88BC. Helios has turned to face right but the reverse is quite similar. There are several other AE coins from the later period that appeal to me so I can hope to add variety.
View attachment 1184958 [/QUOTE]

This coin series is a large module bronze of Rhodes as per Richard Ashton:Rhodian Bronze Coinage and the Siege of Mithradates VI, NC 2001 available on JSTOR. This paper was the model and inspiration for my extension of Isiac symbols on other coins of this time period being anti-Mithradatic.

 

Thank you, @Pavlos for the excellent information. I'll look into it, and add the info to the description of my coin.

 

Nice coin @Pavlos - great addition to the collection.