Coin #2 - Guess the CTer 2021

Welcome to Round 2 of Guess the CTer 2021. For the latest updates on the game, to check what other coins have been posted and to review the clues to the possible prizes please check out the master thread.

[Ancients] Guess the Cointalker 2021 (Master Thread)

Coin #2

Sicily, Syracuse
Agathokles
AR Tetradrachm, minted in Africa or Sicily, struck ca. 317-289 BC
Dia.: 26 mm
Wt.: 17.19 g

Why I Added the Coin to my Collection
The dies used to make this coin represent one of the two styles of this type struck under Agathokles of Syracuse. This style has an obverse portrait that is very different than what was seen previously on Syracusan coins. One theory is that this style was struck in Africa to pay mercenaries when Agathokles invaded the territory of Carthage. Some of the references mention that this style is artistically inferior to the other style of the same design but I think this style is both elegant and original.

Agathokles has been described as the last larger than life king of Syracuse so I’m happy to have a coin so directly associated with his exploits. This coin also has a provenance going back to 1931 which is a nice bonus.

How the Game Works
I have enlisted the participation of four well known CoinTalk members (plus myself). Each of us has submitted a photo of a coin that we have never posted to the forum along with a brief description of why we included the coin in our collections. See below for the list of members who have agreed to participate.

@Parthicus
@Curtisimo
@Cucumbor
@bcuda
@Theodosius

The goal of the game will be for members to try and match each coin with its owner (one of the 5 members listed above). There will be a separate thread for each coin posted every 3 days and each thread will produce a winner. The winner’s name will be chosen at random from the participants in the thread but you can earn multiple chances to win based on the following rules.

1. Guess who the owner of the coin is and give a reason why you think that. (Ex.: I believe that this coin belongs to Curtisimo because he once gave himself a concussion trying to skateboard down a half pipe without ever practicing.) This is the minimum requirement for entry into the drawing. You must post a comment for your guess to be counted. Please include a reason with your guess.
2. Anyone who posts a photo of an ancient coin along with their guess (related or not) will receive an extra chance to win.
3. Anyone who gives a particularly well thought out or amusing reason why you guessed a certain person will receive an extra chance to win.
4. Anyone who guesses correctly will receive an extra chance to win.
5. Anyone who is a young numismatist (age 18 or younger) will receive an extra chance to win. If you are a YN please say so in your entry post.

In total there can be up to 5 chances to win for each member in each thread!

A Note to the Volunteers
If you would like to follow along with the results of the poll feel free to vote for yourself or at random.

A Note to Poll Voters
The poll option is intended just for fun. To have your guess counted you MUST comment in the thread.

 

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This is Curtisimos coin, I think. Reason: He’s a rascal, and I’m clueless.



Syracuse, Sicily, time of Pyrrhos. 278-276 BC. AE 23mm. Head of Herakles left, in lionskin headdress / ΣYΡAKOΣIΩN, Athena Promachos advancing right, brandishing spear and shield; wreath in left field. SNG ANS 846.

 

Wow !
Nice coin style and long provenance. A keeper for sure

Q

 

Now the participants are playing mind games too. I’m lucky if I’m not 0/5 when it’s over.

 

If the last two years are any indication the volunteers had more fun playing mind games on the players than they did in trying to privately guess the ones that aren't theirs (the volunteers only know their own coin). Good times

 

A very nice coin of Syracuse! I've done a bit more work with my predictive bot, disciplining its unsupervised approach, feeding it a couple of Pythons and making the objective function a bit more subjective. Its inference engine is still fueled by past posts from the 5 esteemed CT members as its primary input, with some random nudges to avoid local minima. The estimated probabilities of ownership for Coin #2 are:

• 61.3% probability @Theodosius
• 26.6% probability @Cucumbor
• 2.1% probability @Brian Bucklan

Clearly still some improvement to be made in the coming days. However, with complete confidence, I selected @Theodosius as the owner of Coin #2. I will add to the thread, this coin minted in Sicily about 100 years later.
Sicily, Katane, circa 204-187 BC, AE
Obv: Janiform head of Serapis; three monograms around
Rev: KATA-NAIΩN, Demeter standing left, holding grain ears and torch
Size: 12.36g, 21mm
Ref: Casabona 10; BAR Issue 9; CNS 14; HGC 2, 619
Notes: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

 

@Theodosius mainly because I have no clue what so ever

 

I'm betting @Curtisimo on this one, because he cares about firsts (like me!), style matters to him but not as much as it does to Theodosius, he cares about history and provenance, wouldn't be bothered by the slightly worn obverse die, and buying this coin would have motivated him to launch the game so he could show it off.

Awesome coin, whosever it is!!

Earlier Syracuse ( Hieron I tet, 478-467 BC):

 

Oof..........
First off... This is an absolutely STUNNING coin. The bust on the obverse is beautifully engraved. That coupled with a Nike reverse makes it an absolute winner in my book!




Now....for who owns this amazing work of art...
I will vote for @Cucumbor . Why???? Why Not?
I've seen some of of Cucumbor's posts in the past and there have been some exquisite artistry displayed in the coins posted. That's not to say that the other contestants don't have beautiful coins...I'm just gonna go with my gut on this one and keep my fingers crossed.


For a coin, I will add my coin from Hieron II, minted not too long after OP's coin.


Syracuse, Sicily
Hieron II
274-216 BC
AE 19
Obverse: Diademed head of Poseidon left
Reverse: IEΡΩNOΣ, tripod flanked by dolphins; AY monogram below

 

A teriffic coin!

This has to be @Curtisimo . Most others would post such a piece on CT immediately after having it in hand – only he would keep it a secret for the sake of this game. Also, he has great taste in Greek and Roman silver, and this therefore is a coin right up his alley.

Another, much less spectacular coin from Syracuse:

Sicily, Syracuse (under Hiketas), AE22, 287–278 BC. Obv: [ΔIOΣ EΛΛANIOY]; head of Zeus Hellanios, laureate, l. Rev: ΣYPAK[OΣION]; eagle standing l. on thunderbolt, with wings displayed; monogram to l. 22mm, 9.94g. Ref: CNS II, 157 DS 112 R1 4 (p. 304); HGC II, 1448.

 

Awesome coin, though this time the challenge to identify its owner was far trickier; while there were no language clues like in the last entry, I am still relatively confident that this coin belongs to @Curtisimo - I feel like that the way the description was written follows his usual type of writing, and I also believe that the reasonings behind the acquisition (the historical significance of the style and the provenance, in particular), follow his kind of collecting style.

I don't have anything close to it neither in geographic location nor in time period, unfortunately, so here's a coin that has a winged Victory on the reverse, at least:

Valerian II (255-258), Antoninianus, Samosata mint.
Obverse: P LIC COR VALERIANVS CAES, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust, seen from behind;
Reverse: VICTORIA PART, Victory standing right, presenting wreath to Valerian II, holding spear;
RIC 54

 

I have to go with Parthicus. I believe he collects coins of this quality and era, but other than that it is a pure guess.

SICILY, SYRACUSE, HIERON II
AE19
OBVERSE: Head of Poseidon left
REVERSE: IEP-ONOS, ornamented trident of Poseidon
Struck at Syracuse, Sicily 275-216 BC
6.5g; 19mm
SG 1223

 

I guess I might mention that I am proud of my Sicilian heritage, and I recently posted about a coin of the Normans of Sicily:
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/al-malik-ghulyam-al-thani-king-william-ii-of-sicily.371111/

And I sometimes go months between buying a new coin and posting about it here. Just wanted to let everyone know.

 

My guess: Theodosius.

I may be new to this game, but I'm not new to the mind-games that are played here.
So, here's what happened: Curtisimo and Theodosius colluded. They took a coin of Theodosius in a style Theodosius would like, then deliberately made it look like a coin of Theodosius, guessing that no one would guess something as obvious like Theodosius. So, naturally, it's a coin of Theodosius. Unless I'm wrong, and it is a coin of Theodosius.

Another famous Syracusan (from Corinth), this one more of a democrat:

Timoleon and the Third Democracy.

 

I'm guessing @Theodosius . With my in-depth research I discovered he has some very nice Greek coins (in spite of his username). In spite of my username, I have this:


17.02 grams. It is a lot like the OP coin and has the same attribution. Ergo, the OP coin belongs to @Theodosius !

 

This beauty is so obviously the coin of Syracuse obsessed(!!!) @Theodosius posting a little snack (little to he is MASSIVE to me) to to throw us off the sent left by his fabulous artistic appreciation

Oh, and an A-got-to-sneeze in beautiful bronze, I got us covered

Agathokles
from Syracuse on Sicily Ae-20mm 295-289 BCE.
Av. head of Herakles right
Rv. Lion walking right, above club
quality is very fine with a brown patina, weight is 6,61gr.
SNG ANS 737
Former: cichosgladiator11

 

It is a coin toss for me between @Curtisimo and @Theodosius ... so, I FLIPPED my Agathokles and it came up TAILS... FULL of BULL... I pick @Theodosius !


Sicily Syracuse
317-289 BCE
AE 23 Hemilitron
Agathokles
Kore
Bull Dolphin Left

 

Are you saying there is some connection between me and bull!

Could be...

 

It is fun to push the mind-play back onto the Players.

 

I'll join in the Curtisimo guessing group because this is the second coin and that is when I predict that he would put in his entry. That is not the best reason I could invent but it is what you get this time.
This Artemis / thunderbolt AE22 is also Agathokles. It was purchased from Ed Waddell in 1988 back when he actually had two digit coins. If it had been struck evenly, I could not have afforded it