The Magical Mystery Macedonian Helmet Tour is waiting to take you to a place nobody knows of

The title really says it all. This is a post of a coin from a place nobody knows exactly where it is, or should I say was, most say Macedon due to the helmet... but all the find spots tell us Thrace. As well, Pliny the elder and Strabo say it WAS in Thrace. However, nearly all auction listings still have it as Macedonian
So, where in the world was this what's it called place?

This was the city of Orthagoreia. Likely created by Philip II while he waged his Thracian wars in the 340s BCE Hence the Macedonian helmet on the reverse and Apollo of the obverse.
So, we are pretty sure it was in Thrace. However, Thrace having been a HUGE plot of land kinda makes it easy to close your eyes and place your finger somewhere on a map, slam it down and say, "Huzzah! I've found Orthagoreia!"
Now, if the Greeks thought of the Macedonians as their uncivilized brothers, then they thought of Thrace as their crazy second cousin who hopefully is NEVER let out of jail The Thracians were known to be huge, fierce, battle worn, untrustworthy, uncivilized, barbarians! Huh, those are the same descriptors below my picture in my high school year book

(I'm NOT messing with that dude!)

So, where in Thrace? Sadly, the ancients disagree. Fortunately, we do know a large quantity of bronze issues of Orthagoreia appeared in the excavations at Maroneia, S. Psoma devoted a chapter of her work on the coin finds of Maroneia to review the totality of evidence on the city (Psoma, Maroneia, pp. 193–204). Which means they were either in close proximity or traded with this area.

The city was likely abandoned due to its location not being ideal after Alexander the Great had conquered and Hellenized Europe and some of Asia making the trade routes change.
On to the coin!
Really pleased with that patina (duh) and the detail of both Apollo (woman want him, men want to be him) and more importantly the helmet

THRACE, Orthagoreia. (Likely under Philip II)
Circa 340s-330s BC. Æ (10mm, 2.52 g, 1h). Laureate head of Apollo right / Macedonian helmet facing; star above. Psoma, Maroneia M165; HGC 3.1 (Macedonia), 602. VF. Purchased from Savoca December 2021
See Psoma, Maroneia, pp. 193–204, for the reassignment of Orthagoreia from Macedon to Thrace.

Man those Macedonians had some gnarly and intimidating helmets as well as shields!


Here's one from the side view from Philip V and Perseus:

Time of Philip V and Perseus. Ca. 221-168 B.C. AE unit (17.1 mm, 6.07 g, 12 h). Uncertain Macedonian mint. Macedonian shield, star with spiral arms in center boss / M-K, ΔONΩN, Macedonian left facing helmet with cheek guards, BA monogram below. SNG Alpha Bank -; SNG Cop -; McClean 3666. VF. Rare.

A near mint state issue purchased this year:

Time of Alexander III – Kassander Uncertain mint in Macedon. ( Circa 325-310 BC).
AE Bronze (16.8 mm., 4,6 g ).
Macedonian shield with thunderbolt on boss / Macedonian helmet, decorated with laurel wreath, thunderbolt below. Price 416. very fine. Purchased from Lydia Numismatics July 2021


Tryphon taking it to a while new level of intimidation:

Tryphon, Diodotus
Antioch, 141 BCE, AE 18mm, 4.7g
Obvs: Head of Tryphon right diademed.
Revs: BAΣΙΛEΩΣ TPYФΩNOΣ AYTOKPATOPOΣ, Spiked Macedonian helmet. Grain to left
Order # G 139
SC 2034.2b Ex:Savoca

The Romans would mock this helmet after the capture of Philip V with this satirical RR version:

L. MARCIUS PHILIPPUS. Denarius (112 or 113 BC). Rome.
Obv: Head of Philip V of Macedon right, wearing diademed royal Macedonian helmet with goat horns; Roma monogram to upper left, Φ to lower right.
Rev: L PHILIPPVS .
Equestrian statue right; mark of value in exergue. Crawford 293/1. VF 3.99 g. 19 mm. Ex Numismatik Naumann
Purchased Jan/2021

Of course there were many helmets in Greece. Here's a recent two for one with Athena on both sides:

LYCIA. Xanthos. Hemiobol or Tetartemorion (0.6 g. 10 mm.) (Circa 410-400 BC).
Obv: Helmeted head of Athena right within dotted border.
Rev: Helmeted head of Athena left within dotted border.
SNG von Aulock -; cf. BMC 109 (Obol). Toned.
Good very fine.
Purchased from NBS November 2021


So, let's see those helmets, shields are always welcome, coins from lands unknown and or lost to time or whatever keeps your skull from being cleaved!

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Nice selection of helmets, @Ryro. Those Macedonian helmets are fascinating. I always wonder how come they have so much features on the top. Maybe they are mostly for cavalry units, and the commanders need to see where the soldiers are from far away.

On the other hand, I find the Corinthian helmet a very cool-looking design.

 

Yes. Always wear protection.

Here are two for the collection, although not Macedonian. Whoever the warrior on the reverse may have been, the helmet suggests he meant business.

FWIW: the pic doesn't do the coin justice. In hand it's brilliant with lovely deep toning.

Ares had all the advantages in combat: immortality of the Gods, a griffin for protection and a Corinthian helmet, just in case. Feels like overkill... Bruttium, the Brettii. ca. 215-203 BC.

(and is it just me, or does Ares look like Lemmy from Motorhead?)

Fortunately not enough to ruin the coin for me.

 

Enjoyable and informative write-up as always, @Ryro Below, you get three helmets on one coin, if you count the countermark.

1. Athena's Corinthian helmet, obverse.
2. Macedonian helmet in reverse field
3. Boeotian cavalry helmet (I guess) countermark, obverse.

This is a very common countermarked type, but there is frustratingly little information on them; if anybody knows anything, please share! I know lots of these are in Coin Talkers' collections:


Macedonia Kingdom Æ 16
Antigonos II Gonatas
(277/6-239 BC)
Uncertain Macedonia mint
Helmeted head of Athena right / Pan rt. erecting trophy; B[A] across, Macedonian helmet left, monogram between legs, [wreath right].
SNG Copenhagen 1205
(5.31 grams / 16 mm)
eBay Jan. 2019

Macedonia Kingdom Æ 16
Antigonos II Gonatas
(277/6-239 BC)
Uncertain Macedonia mint
Helmeted head of Athena right / Pan rt. erecting trophy; B[A] across, Macedonian helmet left, monogram between legs, [wreath right].
SNG Copenhagen 1205
(5.64 grams / 16 mm)
eBay Dec. 2018

Countermark: Boeotian cavalry helmet (?) in 5mm circle.
Note: Common countermark but rarely described; helmet comes from a nice example from Noble Roman Coins.

Like the Beatles' reference too. I was one of those kids who fell real hard for the Beatles when I was about 13 and remained annoying about it on through high school. Now I'm slowly watching Peter Jackson's Get Back and after an hour or so, I want to quit the Beatles. Still watching though.

 

Thanks everyone for your kind words and RAD helmets!
That is a BOSS CORINTHIAN HELMET on your Athena. Whenever I see your coins I think to myself, "So, that's why he's a @happy_collector !"
My tie in between yours and @Ignoramus Maximus is this Cilician Athena wearing her Corinthian helmet:

ain't that the truth. I could do a service announcement with my three boys to show the seriousness of this statement!
And your Lemmy...I mean Ares is magnificent. Look at the detail on that helmet
Here's my ace of helmets:



What the!?!? @Marsyas Mike you have 3! different helmet types on one coin. Now that's just super cool
Best I can do off the top of my head is the 2 (& a tripod cm). Athena's Corinthian and the dual horned one on the trophy:


And for fun, here's a facin' Thracian (see what I did there?) helmet:


And lastly, here's what kind of helmet the baby of Seleucis/Alexander/Dionysos would wear:

 

Nice @Ryro

 

Great write up as always @Ryro....Nice coins!
Here's some helmets..

 

No coin just this

 

Kingdom of Macedonia
Greek AE 1/2 Unit
Attributed to Alexander IV, 325-310 B.C.
Obv: Macedonian shield, with thunderbolt on boss
Rev: Helmet, between B and A
HGC 3.1, 956
Price 397
15mm, 4.4g.

 

Awesome write up @Ryro! Here's my favourite helmet:
It's Athena with a helmet decorated by the Skylla on a diobol. Sorry for the bad picture.

 

Hard not to drop this beauty that I just received in this totally featurable thread right here.
Imagine having 1, led alone 32,000, armed men wearing these things coming at you!?!


Me:


A few generations down the Seleukid line and we have:

Antiochos VI Dionysos. 144-142 BC. AR Drachm (16mm, 3.21 g, 1h). Antioch on the Orontes mint. Undated issue, struck circa 143-142 BC. Radiate and diademed head right / AΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIOXOY EΠIΦANOYΣ ΔIONYΣOY, spiked Macedonian helmet with cheek guards, adorned with wild goat’s horn above visor; TPY above helmet, monogram to lower right. SC 2003a; SMA –; HGC 9, 1037; Sunrise 209. VF, toned. Very rare. Purchased from Savoca Jan 2022

 

Great job @Ryro
At first thought you bought a Tryphon Drachm

 

Yours is a beauty in the guise of a BEAST
My first thought seeing the reverse as well!
LOVE everything Tryphon:

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/di...-ancient-fail-o-king-tryphon-the-soft.344555/

It's the Tryphon tets that I've been eyeing
But due to the extreme bad aceness of the eye catchability of the coin they always skyrocket at auction (I'm all in. I got this. Somebody else was willing to pay more.)

 

ALEXANDER III
AE Half Unit
OBVERSE: Gorgoneion in the center of a Macedonian shield
REVERSE: A Macedonian helmet; caduceus and NK monogram flanking below (Struck under Nikokreon)
Struck at Salamis mint. Struck under Nikokreon 323-315 BC
4.9g, 15mm
Price 3162