Calabria, Tarentum: AR Nomos. c. 281-272 BC, Gy-, Sostratos, and Poly-, magistrates; Vlasto 716

Like other aspects of these coins, I have noticed that the position of this hand also shows considerable variation, even when he is not holding anything. Sometimes, the hand (fingers splayed) is across the side of the dolphin, sometimes actually clutching the skin, or resting across the top (positions change), as in this example.

It is, however, easy to “see” him holding an object. A similar instance I recall is the Vima Kadhphisis tetradrachm on which Oesho/Shiva is sometimes misinterpreted as holding an “antelope/deer skin” (an attribute seen on gold coins) because of the way his hand rests on the bull’s hump.

 

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So it seems that the consensus is that the object I see is an optical illusion, created by what looks like an overlap with the dolphin's back. I should note that there is no such illusion looking at the coin in hand, even under a magnifying glass. Only in the photo.

 

He is actually holding a tripod. See https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/ge...hon_and_cas_magistrates_/1563005/Default.aspx

 

She's talking about the other hand, on the back of the dolphin

 

Ah yes, agreed. His hand is on the back of the dolphin, and he's not holding anything with that hand.

 

Correct. By the way, here are two different examples of the same type, Vlasto 666, currently for sale at VCoins, both of which show that the dolphin-rider holds nothing in that hand -- although the first one is somewhat susceptible to being interpreted with the same illusion as mine.




Interestingly, the price for the first one is £465, while the price for the second one is £1,800. I realize that the second one is in considerably better condition than the first, especially on the reverse, but should it cost almost four times as much? As I recall, I paid something a bit less than the price of the first one when I bought mine two years ago, and think it's at least as nice. I think the second one is overpriced.

Separately, I would love to have a Tarentum coin with the dolphin-rider holding a trident, and looked today at all the different examples available on both V-Coins and MA-Shops -- more than 40 of them in total. Frustratingly, on 100% of them, regardless of the price, either the tines of the trident or the nose of the dolphin, or both, are partly or entirely off the flan. Never mind the "Taras" reverse legend when there's supposed to be one beneath the dolphin -- it's present on only a handful. It really seems that the design was just too big for the size of the flans used.

 

Another new coin arrived today from the latest Nomos Obolos auction, and again I thought I would tack my write-up onto the end of an existing thread, which may not be current but was active as recently as last month.

Earlier in this thread, at https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ca...y-magistrates-vlasto-716.392920/#post-8207359, I posted my one Tarentum dolphin-rider nomos. For quite a while, I've been looking for a second example to buy on which Phalanthos (and/or the obverse figure) is holding something more interesting than the tripod on my first example, such as a spear or shield or trident. With the same caveat that both the dolphin and rider had to be completely on the flan. When I saw this one, which admittedly has a very similar obverse to my first coin (a youth crowning a horse) -- and is also smaller, since it's a "reduced standard" type -- but, on the other hand, not only shows the dolphin-rider brandishing a trident but also has a little owl in the reverse field and is in really nice condition, I couldn't resist bidding, and was lucky enough to win the coin.

Tarentum, Calabria. AR Nomos, ca. 272-240 BCE. Magistrates Sy… and Lykinos. Obv. Nude youth on horse advancing to left, crowning horse with wreath held in right hand, holding reins in left hand; to right, ΣΥ; below horse, ΛΥΚΙ/ΝΟΣ in two lines / Rev. Phalanthos [not “Taras”; see https://coinsweekly.com/and-this-is-where-aristotle-was-wrong/] astride dolphin to left, his back half-turned to viewer, brandishing trident held in right hand, chlamys draped over left arm; ΤΑ-ΡΑΣ beneath dolphin; in right field, owl standing to left, head facing.. Vlasto 836-841 [all same type] at p. 95 & Pl. XXVII [Ravel, O.E., Descriptive Catalogue of the Collection of Tarentine Coins formed by M.P. Vlasto (London, 1947, reprinted 1977)]; HN Italy 1025 [Rutter, N.K., ed., Historia Numorum Italy (London, 2001)]. 19.5 mm., 6.47 g, 12 h. (“Reduced standard” compared to larger size of earlier coins, beginning after arrival of Pyrrhus in Italy ca. 280 BCE.) Purchased at Nomos Obolos Auction 22, 6 March 2022, Lot 39.



If anyone has any dolphin coins from Tarentum that they haven't already posted in this thread, I'd love to see them!

 

Just read this thread today...

I have one of these Didrachms but the attribution I found at:

http://www.coinproject.com/coin_detail.php?coin=221643
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=32659
http://numismatics.org/collection/1944.100.3460 (no pictures are shown, only the description)
http://numismatics.org/collection/1997.9.154

is:
Vlasto 713; HN Italy 1001; SNG ANS 1, 1084 or 1085;

SNG ANS 1037 is a completely different coin

This is mine:
Period VII, The Pyrrhic Hegemony, AR Didrachm
Calabria, Tarentum 281 - 272 BC
20 mm, 6.564 g
Vlasto 713; HN Italy 1001; SNG ANS 1, 1084 or 1085;

Ob.: Naked warrior on horseback facing r., holding shield and two spears in l. hand and thrusting spear downward with r.; on the left outer side ΓY (engraver’s signature), ΣΩΣTP - ATOΣ (magistrate's names) in two lines below
Rev.: Taras riding on dolphin facing l., holding cornucopia in left hand, and Nike with laurel wreath in right; ΠOΛY to left, thunderbolt to right, TAPA(Σ) below

​

 

Calabria, Tarentum. AR Stater (20mm, 8.04g, 6h). Circa 465–455 BC. Obv: ΤΑΡΑΣ; Taras astride dolphin left, extending both arms, scallop shell below. Rev: Hippocamp left. Ref: Vlasto 134 (same dies); Cf. Fischer-Bossert 107; Cf. SNG ANS 840. Nice Very Fine, wonderful toning. Ex Christie’s (11 Dec 1992), Lot 607. Donation by Stanley D. Scott to benefit the renovation of the new ANS headquarters, Ex Gemini Auction V (6 Jan 2009), Lot 315.

 

Wow! Very cool.