I've been looking for these cistophoric tetradrachms for a long time, but non 'spoke' to me, or they were too expensive to justify the purchase. As part of my recent splurge, I finally bought it, even though I had this coin on my watchlist for nearly a year (probably the longest I've ever pondered over buying a coin, and luckily no one else bought it in the meantime, for a good reason). MYSIA, Pergamon AR Cistophoric Tetradrachm. 12.28g, 28.9mm, circa 180/167-133 BC REF: BMC 90, Kleiner-Noe series 11a, Pinder 84a. OBV: Cista mystica within ivy wreath. REV: Two serpents entwined around bow and bowcase; ΠΕPΓ civic monogram to left, race torch to right. I got it form @zumbly's store Minotaur coins. This is what it looked like, with patches of horn silver. Upon receiving the coin, I treated with sodium thiosulphate to remove the encrustations. I then looked to see if there are any die matches. I'm sure the later issues of these coins are so numerous that finding a die match is almost impossible. However, since this is an early type with specific elements like the torch and high details on the bow case and the snakes, I managed to find a double die match after examining hundreds of images on acsearch. I believe the coin below, sold by Heritage is a double die match. https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/g...ic16=ViewItem-Auction-Archive-JumpLot-081514# Please share you cistophoric themed coins!
I like the type. It's a little creepy (or better: slithery), but it is effectively illustrative of what went on within the famous temple in Pergamon. :-o And I love double-die-matches of high production volume types! I agree that the coins shown were struck by the same dies. (I have 2 pair in my collection of types which were issued in significantly numerous quantities, yet are double-die matched.)
Did the sodium thiosulphate treatment darken the coin to a copperish brown because there is a noticeable difference between the photos?
Yes, it usually leaves brownish-yellow layer, but I mostly clean it with sodium bicarbonate. Since I like the contrast it gives with this coin, I left it as is, also the image was taken under direct sunlight so the yellowness is more pronounced.
