A nice "turreted" bust of the city goddess- She's got the whole City on her head

I recently added this fun provincial bronze from Laodicea, which has a great bust of the city goddess Tyche wearing a fairly elaborate “turreted” crown. Turreted crowns depict the city walls or towers on top, and city goddesses are often shown wearing this kind of crown to symbolize their protection of the City and their associations with its fortunes.

While some turreted crowns show more vague outlines of the city walls on top, I was especially drawn to this coin because it shows a nicely detailed city "landscape" on top of Tyche's crown...definitely an impressive piece to wear on top of her head!



Antoninus Pius, Syria, Laodicea ad Mare. AE Diassarion (26 mm, 13.18 g), circa 142-143 A.D., ΑΥΤΟ ΚΑ ΤΙ ΑΙ ΑΔΡ ΑΝΤΩΝЄΙΝΩN CЄ Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Antoninus Pius to left, seen from behind./ Rev. IΟYΛΙЄΩΝ ΤΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΛΑΟΔΙΚЄΩΝ / KΡΑ / YP Turreted and draped bust of the city-goddess to left, wearing bunch of grapes. RPC IV.3 online 8589.

If you look at the close-up below, I can make out a city-gate with a full door, multiple walls, and a large watchtower all on top of her head. And if that wasn’t enough, she is also wearing an earring made from of a bunch of grapes, along with a nice necklace (I think Tyche may have over-accessorized a bit for this outfit)



There were several different variations of this general type struck under A. Pius from this mint, which all show Tyche wearing this kind of elaborate mural crown (some actually even have a lighthouse as part of the crown). I’ve wanted one of these from this mint for a long time, so I was very happy to win this one....definitely a fun addition to the collection.

Please share your “turreted” busts, mural crowns, depictions of city goddesses (with or without the City on their head), coins with crazy headgear, or anything else relevant!

 

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i love and want one of those!...but so far, whoever bid against me wanted one worse......great coin!

 

What a lovely coin, with such delicate engraving for the reverse!



Here's my example of Tyche.

 

Shea19, Great score ! The engraving on Tyche is stunning . I scored a beauty last year pictured below .


Seleukis & Pieria, Seleukeia. Obverse: Turreted head of Tyche facing right. Reverse: Thunderbolt placed on stool with inscriptions, all within a wreath. Dated Year 18 (92/91 BC). AR Tetradrachm: 34 mm, 15.00 gm, 12 h.

 

That's a great Tyche @Shea19 !

My example of Tyche looks more like scaffolding

 

it might be a portcullis like the coin below--

 

It's beautiful! I recall seeing a few of these on CT and always admire them. Yours is particularly graceful. I didn't notice the grape clusters before .

 

I have a similar Antonine piece (A. Pius) which is patinated...some scratches on the reverse (ancient) and nice obverse countermark...my portrait is right-facing whilst yours is to the left...

Antoninus Pius, Laodicaea ad Mare
Obverse: Portrait of AP right
Reverse: Portrait of Tyche left, with city represented on her head

 

Here is a solidus of Theodosius I the Great with a mural crown on Constantinopolis.

 

What amazing detail in your beautiful provincial
Though not as detailed mine does have the ability to stare into your soul:

 

Nice, but this is actually a modern replica, showing the roller coaster at Coney Island, with the lower part of the Parachute tower on the left (front of the crown). And if you look real close, through the coaster superstructure, you can just make out the horses on the steeplechase ride. I'm surprised they didn't include part of the boardwalk!

 

PHOENICIA ARADOS
AR Tetradrachm
OBVERSE: Turreted, veiled, and draped bust of Tyche right
REVERSE: Nike standing left, holding aphlaston and palm branch; in left field, ZOP (date) above Aramaic B above ΘЄ; all within wreath
Arados CY 177 (83/2 BC)
14.91g, 27mm
Duyrat 3536–49; HGC 10, 72; DCA 772
Ex JAZ Numismatics

CILICIA, KORYKOS CITY COINAGE
AE 19
OBVERSE: Turreted head of Tyche right; A behind. Circle of dots
REVERSE: ΚΩΡΥΚΙΩΤΩΝ, Hermes standing left, holding caduceus, ΕΥ/ΕΠΙ/ΕΡ in left field
Struck at Cilicia 1st century BC (100-30 BC)
5.87g, 19.42
SNG Levante 792; SNG France 1075

P. FURIUS CRASSIPES ROMAN REPUBLIC; GENS FURIA
AR Denarius
OBVERSE: Turreted head of Cybele (Tyche) right, behind, foot pointing upwards, AED.CVR behind head
REVERSE: Curule chair inscribed P FOVRIVS; CRASSIPES in exergue
Rome 84 BC
3.88g. 19Mm
Cr 356/1c; Syd 735b

ALEXANDRIA TROAS CIVIC ISSUE
AE 19
OBVERSE: CO-L TRO, draped and turreted bust of Tyche right; vexillum behind
REVERSE: CO-L AVG, TRO in exergue, eagle standing right on the forepart of a bull
Struck at Alexandria Troas, Third Century AD
5.06g, 19mm
SNG Cop 117

ALEXANDER TROAS CIVIC ISSUE
AE25
OBVERSE: COL ALEX TRO, Turreted & draped bust of city goddess or Tyche right; vexillum behind
REVERSE: COL AL [EX TRO], Horse feeding right, tree behind; beside the horse, a herdsman wearing chlamys, holding pedum in right hand, standing right
Struck at Alexandria Troas, 250-70 AD
5.6g, 24.9mm
BMC 52

PHILIP I
AE30
OBVERSE: AVTOK K M IOVLI FILIPPOC CEB, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right
REVERSE: ANTIOCEWN MHTRO KOLWN D-E S-C, turreted & draped bust of Tyche right, ram leaping right above, star beneath
Struck at Antioch, 244-249 AD
30mm, 14g
BMC 528

 

Thanks Victor! I was hoping some of our late Roman specialists would weigh in, you really know your camp/city gates. It’s tough to tell if it’s that’s a portcullis (a word I just learned today), but you definitely could be onto something. Could also just be something ornamental on the door, but you may be right, very interesting observation.

And that’s a stunning reverse on your example, great coin!

 

That looks familiar... did you get it from a JA auction? I recall one of these from one of his auctions and remember either bidding or considering bidding. Nice coin .

That is a stunning "campgate"! Really outstanding in every regard. Wow!

 

Also from Arados (renamed Antiochia in Pieria by Antiochus I Soter, modern Arwad)

From ANA 2019 Chicago:
Tetradrachm Stephanophorus
Phoenicia, Arados, Year 181 = 79 - 78 BC
25 mm, 15.014 g
BMC 26.31.250; HGC 10, 72; Sear 5992;

Ob.: turreted, draped and veiled bust of Tyche, right
Rev.: ΑΡΑΔΙΩΝ, Nike standing left, holding aphlaston with right hand and palm with left; date ΔΠΡ (=181), Phoenician letter H and MΣ, all within wreath.

​

and from AMCC3 in a group of nine:

Æ Diassarion, Seleucis and Pieira, Laodiceia ad Mare, 143 AD (AЧP = 191)
24 mm, 7.62 g
RPC IV.3, 8560 (temporary) var., BMC Greek (Galatia) 74;

Ob.: (ΑΝΤΩΝЄΙΝΟС СЄΒ ЄV) (facing outward) laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Antoninus Pius to r. uncertain countermark at neck
Rev.: ΙΟVΛΙƐΩΝ ΤΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΛΑΟΔΙΚƐΩΝ AЧP (facing outward) - O/ΘƐ turreted and draped bust of Tyche wearing bunch of grapes

Anyone knows what O/ΘƐ means

​

 

Sidon Ar Tetradrachm 107-106 BC Obv Turreted and veiled head of Tyche right Rv. Eagle standing wings folded left. HGC 275 13.70 grms 29 mm Photo by W. Hansen With the disintegration of the Seleukid Kingdom many of the cities on the Levantine coast gained their independence and stated minting coins. This is a map I made up showing those cities and when they started with their autonomous coinage Not all of these mints used the image of Tyche however many did. What is perhaps just as interesting is that the old Ptolemaic standard survived not only the Seleukid conquest but became the standard for the now independent cities that had at one time owed allegiance to the Ptolemaic Kingdom. Most of these mints still used the Ptolemaic eagle reverse on their coins.

 

Love that type Shea19, and yours is a beauty. I have to get around to scoring one someday, hope as good as your one. Congrats.

 

I have a number of coins with a full figure of Tyche or Cybele or Italia wearing a turreted or mural crown, but not terribly much detail of those crowns can be seen. Here, however, are two coins depicting such a crown on a larger scale:

Roman Republic, Aulus Plautius, AR Denarius, 55 BCE, Rome mint. Obv. Turreted head of Cybele right, A. PLAVTIVS before, AE[D CVR S C] behind [portion in brackets off flan] / Rev. “Bacchius the Jew” [ = Aristobulus II of Judaea?], in attitude of supplication, kneeling beside saddled camel (dromedary - one hump) standing right, extending olive-branch with right hand and holding camel’s bridle with left hand, his cape flowing behind him; BACCHIVS in exergue, IVDAEVS on right. RSC I Plautia 13, Crawford 431/1, Sydenham 932, Sear RCV I 395 (ill.), Harlan, RRM II Ch. 18 at pp. 145-149, BMCRR 3916. 18x20 mm., 4.25 g. (Purchased from Harlan J. Berk, Ltd., 211th Buy or Bid Sale, May 2020, Lot 183.) [Footnote omitted.]



Anonymous colonial civic issue, AE 23, 251 - 260 AD (Trebonianus Gallus to Valerian I), Troas, Alexandria Troas Mint. Obv. Draped bust of Tyche right, wearing mural crown, vexillum inscribed CO AV over right shoulder, CO ALEX TR / Rev. Horse (of Erichthonius?)* grazing to right, COL AVG, TROAD in exergue. RPC IX 505 (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/9/505); Bellinger A486 [Alfred A. Bellinger, Troy, The Coins (Princeton 1961)]; BMC 17 Troas, 46 var. [diff. legends]; see also id. 45, 47-50 var. [Warwick Wroth, A Catalog of the Greek Coins in the British Museum, Vol. 17, Troas, Aeolis, and Lesbos (London 1894)]; SNG Copenhagen 108-113 [Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Copenhagen, The Royal Collection of Coins and Medals, Danish National Museum, Part 20, Troas (1945)]. 23 mm., 5.80 g. Ex: Pars Coins; Ex: Kenneth W. Dorney. [Footnote omitted.]

 

Great coin and post, @Shea19 !