Hello ladies and gentlemen, I bought a Ariobarzanes I Philoromaios budget drachm as I wanted one of this type. While trying to attribute it (I have not studied these series so far) I see that the distinctive elements are the monogram in the left field and the date. Checked the Wildwinds page and it appears the monogram is the VAT type - found 3 times on the page and with attribution Simonetta 38d On my coin the date in the exergue is off the flan, however the Wildwinds examples with this monogram have KH date, but on my coin this does not seem the correct date? From what I can distinguish, the date starts with a Z but this is not an option as inexistent. AΛ perhaps?! If somebody has deep knowledge regarding Ariobarzanes I Philoromaios and can clarify, I would be grateful.
Hi @ambr0zie. I'm no expert, and svessien already beat me to it. But, sometimes the RY is spelled backwards. Not twenty-seven, BZ, but seven-and-twenty, ZB. As in this case. This coin illustrates the point nicely. It's regnal year 14, but spelled ΔΙ, instead of ΙΔ. not my coin. Edit: if the first number on your coin is a Z, then it should be RY 27, not 28.
@svessien, could you please post the other pages from the catalog? Monogram seems corresponding only to 28 - KH
Really glad to help. I think I got the Simonetta book in a large lot many years ago, sometime around 2010. As my interest hasn’t reached the Cappadocian kingdom yet, it has remained in the shelf, neatly wrapped in the rice paper it came in, all these years. I have looked at it and wondered if I should buy some Cappadocian silver coins, just to put it to use, but that hasn’t happened yet. Today the book was useful for the first time, and that made me happy.
I am even happier Today I participated in an auction where the main goal was hit&run. I managed to buy this Cappadocian and a Parthian drachm. Plus several snacks. I think I will post some coins very soon, as I am happy for some snacks I had in mind and I will also have them in my album
Nice. It is one of the coins I see in almost all the auctions so I decided to get one myself, in a tight budget as I like them, but not enough to pay more than 20 EUR for one. The main issue was the complete attribution, and this was quite problematic until @svessien and @Ignoramus Maximus helped.
I won mine with 15 EUR + fees. I wanted an example of those but this was my limit - 20, let's say 25 EUR, being fully aware that the coin will not be superb with this price constraint. From pics, my coin was harshly cleaned, it's quite worn (Athena's head ... is no longer there) + poorly centered. Your coin is much better, Charles.
I want to chime in with a big, hearty thank you for sharing that Simonetta book. Thank you @svessien ! I have five low-grade drachms of Ariobarzanes and I've had only a semi-successful time attributing them. But with those images from Simonetta you shared, I have been able to nail 'em all down (I think so, anyway). I'll spare the Forum the whole plug-ugly line-up, but here is one that was a problem for me, what with the date being off the flan. Thanks to those Simonetta images, I could add a date based on the monogram type (and this is somewhat like the OP posted by @ambr0zie). This could be a fourree, I suppose, but I am thinking this is planchet laminations: Cappadocia Drachm Ariobarzanes I Philoromaios Year KH (28) (68/67 B.C.) Diademed, elderly head right / BAΣIΛEΩΣ AΡIOBAΡZANOY ΦIΛOΡΩMAIOY around Athena standing left, holding Nike, spear and shield, AI-like monogram in left field, [KH in exergue]. Simonetta 38a. (3.79 grams / 16 mm ) eBay Jan. 2018 $15.50 Attribution Note: AI monogram can be Simonetta 38a or 38e. Since 38a has more of a serif on the I, that is what I went with here. KH only date listed for this monogram. Thanks again, @svessien - I couldn't have done it without you (and Simonetta).
I bought two on the same day at a show because they seems worth the price but later sold the lesser keeping the above 40c (or close). One was enough for my interest level. You can't specialize in everything (can you?). I don't see any listing as conclusive for the OP coin or mine to the point I believe the book had one from the same die. Such listings are rarely complete. New things have a way of turning up after a book is published. The one I sold seems to be a 44c. I assume it went via JAZ or AMCC so may possibly be in CT hands.
Thank you, @svessien - I think you covered everything in my small collection with this post - but I will keep you in mind for any future Simonetta needs!
Hmm. You made me look over mine again. I thought I had a Simonetta 44a, based on my do-over using @svessien posts above. But I got it wrong - there is a straight-barred A (44c) and a bent-barred A (44a/b). Yours seems to have a straight bar 44c in that second one, as you correctly attributed. This one of mine also has the straight-barred A-Gamma, 44c. But it seems to have an extra loop on the upright leg of the gamma (for "P" or an "O" I'd guess) - I don't see this on on the Simonetta posted, but it must be close as it has the "Λ" date in the exergue...the mystery (or my confusion) continues. Cappadocia Drachm Ariobarzanes I Philoromaios Year Λ (30) (66/65 B.C.) Diademed, elderly head right / AΣIΛEΩΣ AΡIOBAΡZANOY ΦIΛOΡΩMAIOY around Athena standing left, holding Nike, spear and shield, ΓA-P (?) monogram in left field, Λ in exergue. Simonetta 44c variation? (4.00 grams / 16 mm ) eBay Oct. 2013 $16.51 Attribution Note: Simonetta 44a has a gamma with a bent-barred A. Simonetta 44c has a gamma with a straight-barred A. Neither one has the extra loop on the inside upright of the gamma like this one; for a P or O, presumably. Both have Λ in exergue for date. I certainly don't specialize in these, but I really like the type, and they are often for me affordable. And the portraits are terrific - Ariobarzanes seems so weary, yet wary. Or sluggish? "...Cappadocians fighting consistently against Roman forces sent to assist Ariobarzanes. He did not himself enjoy the highest martial repute, considered 'quite sluggish' (segnis admodum), an impression reinforced by his coin-portraits." Richard D. Sullivan, Near Eastern Royalty and Rome 100-30 BC https://www.google.com/books/editio...barzanes+portrait&pg=PT59&printsec=frontcover
