A Drachm by any other name....

Inspired by the Denarii thread, let's see one for history's second longest-lived coin denomination, the Drachm!

Drachms (from the Greek Drassomai, "To Grasp") were initially a 3-5g coin worth six obols, the number of bronze cooking spits the average man could hold in a closed fist. First introduced around 500 BC, they gained prominence with the rise of Athens, and became standardized at the Attic standard of 4.2 grams. Thanks to the dominance of the Seleucid Empire, the Drachm became the primary currency of the Parthians, and thereafter the Sassanians, Huns, early Muslims, and various Indian kingdoms. The last unambiguous minting of a Drachm was in about 14th century India, although it is a matter of scholarly debate whether the later Bull & Horseman coins would count, as the earliest Spalapati Deva types weigh as much as an Attic drachm.

So, let's see your drachms, whether Greek, Roman provincial, Celtic, Eastern, or Indian!

I'll get us started with a nice Alexander the Great, minted by Antigonus I Monophthalmus

 

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thought someone was going to start up a sestertius thread but this makes good sense to keep it in the AR genre. @Finn235 - your drachm has some nice relief to it!
AR Drachm 323 B v. Chr.
Calidad: vf | Abréviation
Catálogo: Müller 398 | Price 1356 | SNG.Copenhagen 881
Alexander III the Great, 336 &ndash 323 B.C.
weight 4,04gr. | silver Ø 17mm.
A lifetime issue of Alexander the Great.
obv. Head of young Herakles clad in a lion skin
rev. Zeus enthroned left, holding eagle and scepter, Demeter facing with two
torches on left side, monogram below seat, A&LambdaE&XiAN&DeltaPOY on the right side
Müller 398 | Price 1356 | SNG.Copenhagen 881
Vf
The Demeter in the left field balances the images of male power nicely. The monogram under the throne is
Delta Omiricon
which is an international music fraternity that Alex the great must have started back when? Who knew?
http://www.delta-omicron.org/home

 

Just two to get started ...


Cyrene, Zeus Ammon (Iota Alpha Delta in field) / Silphium (KY in field). 480-435 BCE. SNG Copenhagen 1177. ex NFA. 3.34 grams Attic standard.


Chalkis Euboia. Hera / Eagle killing Snake with Trophy to right. 291-271 BCE. BMC 50 plate xx.11 ex. Kern. 3.6 grams.

 

Alexander The Great, Macedonian Kingdom, (336 - 323 B.C.)
AR Drachm
Posthumous
O: Herakles' head right, clad in Nemean lion scalp headdress tied at neck.
R: ΑΛΕΞΑΝ∆ΡΟΥ, Zeus seated left, right leg drawn back, eagle in right, long vertical scepter in left, X within Ω left, KH under throne.
Mylasa mint 310-300 B.C.
4.1g
16mm
Price 2480


Tiberius & Drusus ( 14 - 37 A.D.)
AR Drachm
CAPPADOCIA, Caesarea-Eusebia
O: [TI C]AES AVG PM TRP XXXV, Laureate head of Tiberius right.
R: DRVSVS CAES TI] AVG F COS II R P, Head of Drusus left.
Caesarea in Cappadocia mint 33- 34 A.D.
3.47g
19mm
RIC I 87; RPC I 3622. Syd 46


Apollonia, Illyria, Greece, (200 - 80 B.C.)
AR Drachm
O: APIΣTΩN (moneyer), cow left, head turned, suckling calf right.
R: double stellate pattern within double linear square with sides curved inward.
3.2g
17.5mm


MOESIA. Kallatis 3rd - 2nd Centuries B.C.
AR Drachm
O: Head of Herakles r., wearing lion skin head-dress.
R: KAΛΛATIA. Stalk of grain and club above; bow in case with quiver below.
4.62 grams.
20 mm
SNG Cop. 176. SNG BM 202.

 

Nero and Divo Claudius, AD 54-69.
AR drachm, 19mm, 3.5g, 6h; Caesarea Cappadocia mint.
Obv.: NERO CLAVD DIVI CLAVD F CAESAR AVG GERM; Laureate head of Nero.
Rev.: DIVOS CLAVD AVGVST GERMANIC PATER AVG; Laureate head of Claudius right.
Reference: RIC 621From the Mat Collection.

 

I've unloaded most of my Parthian drachms over the past couple of years, but I've held on to some that are special to me, like the front-facing Phraates III I posted in Parthicus' thread a few days ago. Below are some of those that remain with me for the time being. The third down is an ex-David Sellwood Collection, which definitely qualifies it as a keeper in my book.

By the way, since this is a denomination-specific thread, here's a terrific site, with definitions of ancients-denominations. I've kept it bookmarked for some time:
http://www.ancientcoingallery.net/denominations

 

Forgot about mine.

Have many Sasanians, but will stick with these.



Orodes II (57 - 38 B.C.)
AR Drachm
O: Diademed and draped bust left, wearing medium beard.
R: Archer (Arsakes I) seated right on throne, holding bow; monogram below bow.
Susa Mint
3.5g
20mm
Sellwood 45.20


Vologases I (51 - 78 A.D.)
AR Drachm
O: Diademed bust left.
R: Archer (Arsakes I) seated right on throne, holding bow; monogram below bow.
Ekbatana mint
3.71g
21mm
Sellwood 70.13


HUNNIC TRIBES, Western Turks, Shahi Tegin (Sri Shahi) (After 679 A.D.)
Billion Drachm
O: Crowned bust right.
R: Fire altar flanked by attendants.
Uncertain mint in Bactria
28mm
3.2g
Vondrovec [Göbl, Hunnen] Type 236.

 

That link is exactly what I’ve been looking for. You rock.

Awesome coins all around. Unfortunately I don’t have any Drachms to show yet. Maybe after the NYINC show.

Happy New Year!

 

A selection of my favorite Indian drachms. The Indo-Greek kingdom flourished during the 2nd-1st century BC, and produced a large number of silver drachms minted to a ~2g weight standard that persisted until the post-Gupta era, or about 800 AD at the latest.

Menander I


Amoghabhuti (Kuninda kingdom)


Satavahanas, Yajna Satakarni


Western Kshatrapas, Rudrasena III

Gupta empire, Kumaragupta

 

Nero with Divus Claudius

NERO CLAVD DIVI CLAVD F CAESAR AVG GERMA
Laureate head of Nero right

DIVOS CLAVD AVGVST GERMANIC PATER AVG
Laureate head of Divus Claudius right.

Caesarea, Cappadocia

63-64 AD

2.95g

RPC I 3648; RIC 622.

From the collection of K.M. Germany. Ex-Roma E-sale 43 lot 334

Nicely centered drachm with double portraits of Claudius and Nero and full Latin legends.

 

Here are some of my favorite Parthian Mithradates II drachms (123-88 BCE). His beard and schnoz (nose) are always eye-catchers.

 

Let us not forget the large AE drachms of Alexandria. This is Caracalla and the most scarce of my drachms. Zeus LKB

 

Here's my Alexandria drachm of Antoninus Pius:


Antoninus Pius Provincial Bronze Drachm Sphinx (Alexandria)
Bronze, 33 mm, 19.60 gm, Catalog: Milne 2249
Struck: AD 153-154 Alexandria Egypt
Obverse: Laureate head left
AYT K T AIΛ AΔP ANTWNINOC CEB EYC (Augustus Caesar Antoninus Augustus Pius)
Reverse: Sphinx seated right, wings raised, left forepaw on wheel, modius on head
L to left, I top center, Z right (Regnal Year 17 - L=Year I=10 Z=7)

 

Antoninus Pius; Alexandria Harbor Scene. Alexandria, Egypt; dated 154/155 AD (year 18). Æ drachm (32 MM). Obv: Bust of Antoninus Pius, l. Rev: Isis Euploia standing facing, head left, three grain ears upward in right hand, reversed rudder in left; to her l., prow of galley with billowing sail, r., behind her, another similar galley to l. (neither visible in Emmett specimen); Euthenia reclining r. to her l and river-god Nilus holding rudder, reclining left on the right at her feet. Date “L – IH” across upper fields.

Reverse like Emmett 1589; Milne 2290 variant; BMC 1173 variant; Dattari 2899, but obverse bust left. Traces of drapery on obverse bust, so Dattari-Savio 8776. Probably from the same obverse die. As such, the second known variety.

 

..2 AR's and an Ae

 

Drachms say you, this just gives me an excuse to show off this again.

EGYPT, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius
Regnal year 9, 145/6 CE
AE drachm
Obv: laureate bust right
Rev: Roma seated left on cuirass, shield behind, holding Nike and parazonium; LENA TOV around.
Ref: Dattari 2794; Emmett 1644.9
Ex TIF Collection
Ex Robert L. Grover Collection of Roman Egyptian Coinage, previously held by the Art Institute of Chicago

 

A nice & hefty AE Drachm of Ptolemy IV. At 43mm and nearly 70g it's the largest coin I own, except for a Franklin Mint $5 for Panama.



Scale shot with a different coin of the same type that I sold a few months back

 

ROMAN - PRE-DENARII REFORM


RR Anon Ca 240 BCE AR Heavy Quinarius Drachm 16mm 3.0g Rome Helmet Hd Mars r - Horse’s hd sickle Cr 25-2 Syd 25 RSC 34a Rare


RR Anon AR Heavy Quinarius Quadrigatus Drachm 216-214 BCE Janus ROMA Jupiter Victory Quadriga LEFT Craw 29-4 Sear 35


ROMAN EMPIRE


RI Trajan CE 98-117 AR drachm Struck CE 114-116 Arabia Petraea Bostra - Camel SNG ANS 1158


BAKTRIA


Baktria Apollodotos I 180-160 BCE Square AR Drachm 20mm 2.4g Elephant Zebu SNG ANS 324-327


INDO-GREEK KINGDOM


INDO-GREEK KINGDOM Zoilos II Circa 50-40 BCE AR drachm 17mm 2.3g Athena Alkidemos l monograms Antony Actium SNG ANS 1654-1658


TARENTUM


Calabria Tarentum AR Drachm 18mm 3.1g 3rd C BCE Athena Corinthian Scylla OWL olive TAP ZOP HN Italy 975 Vlasto 1052


IONIA

Ionia Klazomenai 480-400 BC AR Drachm 3.5g 13mm Forepart winged boar r gorgoneion incuse sq Cf SNG Copenhagen 12 Rare


SASANIAN


Persia Sasanian Ardashir III 628-629 CE AR Drachm 36mm 3.85g Zoroastrian Fire Alter Gobl II-1 yr 2 Delta RARE


PARTHIA


Parthia Mithradates III 58-55 BCE AR Drachm 3.9g 20mm Rhagae mint star archer bashlyk throne bow Selwood 41-12


INDIA


India Gujarat Chalukyas Gadhaiya Paisa BI Drachm 4.6g 14mm 9th C CE Sun Moon Fire Alter Crescent

 

MAKEDON


Makedon Antigonos I Monopthalmus 319-305 BC AR Drachm Magnesia and Maeandrum Mint 3-9g 16-5mm Herakles lion-Zeus


EGYPT - PTOLEMIES


Egypt Ptolemy IV 221-205 BC AE 37mm 42g Drachm Zeus-Ammon Eagle Tbolt SV 974


KELTIC IMITATIVE


Celt Imit Philip II 2nd C BCE AR Drachm Zeus Horse pellet-in-annulet above Kugelwangel type- Danube Valley - Kostial 508 OTA 204


SOGDIANA


Sogdiana - Hyrcodes 3rd-4thCE AR Scyphate Reduced Drachm 12mm 0.56g Bukhara mint Male-Deity BMC Baktria p118


INDO-SCYTHIA


India Indo-Scythian King Azes I 57-30BCE AR Drachm

 

I don't really consider myself an active collector, but I have dabbled in Eastern/Persian drachms, which are usually quite affordable, thanks to outnumbering fractionals and tetradrachms considerably!

Parthian

Mithradates II

Vonones

Vologases VI, the last Parthian king


Sassanian

Ardashir I

Shapur I (One of my favorite ancients from an artistic standpoint)

Bahram II

Peroz I

Jamasp/Zamasp

Yazdegerd III, the last Sassanian Shah