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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;TIF, post: 4799485, member: 56859&quot;]Many times a coin catches my eye because of something interesting about its looks.&nbsp; Maybe it has fine artistry.&nbsp; Maybe it&#039;s a type I haven&#039;t seen before.&nbsp; Maybe there&#039;s just something about it that warrants a second look or an in-hand look.&nbsp; The latter is the case with this coin.&nbsp; The first couple of points may apply too <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1165514[/ATTACH] </p><p><b>PONTOS, Amasia. Geta (Caesar, 198-209)</b></p><p>Dated CY 208 (208/9)</p><p>AE, 31 mm, 16.73 gm</p><p>Obv: [Π?] CЄΠTIMI ΓЄ[TAC + illegible under bust] sandwiched between dotted borders; bareheaded, draped and cuirassed bust right</p><p>Rev:&nbsp; AΔ CЄV ANT AMA[illegible] / ЄT CH; Altar of Zeus Strateus, surmounted by eagle standing facing, head left, wreath in beak, with wings spread; tree to left.</p><p>Reference:&nbsp; <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=ob0WAAAAYAAJ&amp;pg=PA1&amp;source=gbs_toc_r&amp;cad=4#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://books.google.com/books?id=ob0WAAAAYAAJ&amp;pg=PA1&amp;source=gbs_toc_r&amp;cad=4#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false" rel="nofollow">W. H. Waddington, Recueil général des monnaies grecques d&#039;Asie Mineure, Volume 1, Part 1, p. 40, #96</a> (variant; obverse legend and style; reverse legend)</p><p><br /></p><p>Coins from Amasia with the Altar of Zeus Strateus reverse have been shown a few times on CoinTalk but I wouldn&#039;t say they&#039;re a frequent guest.&nbsp; The coins don&#039;t seem to be rare per se, just scarce on CT.&nbsp; Not sure why.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>This one caught my eye because of the lovely portrait, the unusual slant of the altar, and one more very specific thing that really piqued my interest.&nbsp; Something I hadn&#039;t seen before on an ancient coin.&nbsp; On medievals, yes, but not ancient.&nbsp; See it yet?&nbsp; No?&nbsp; I&#039;ll give you a minute.</p><p><br /></p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p><br /></p><p>The obverse legend is <i>sandwiched between two dotted borders <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie12" alt="o_O" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></i>.&nbsp; I&#039;ve not seen this before.&nbsp; Have any of you seen an ancient coin (provincial) with this arrangement? <font size="3">(Do you even care?)</font> I like it.&nbsp; There are only a few of these Amasia Geta altar coins in ACsearch and none have the legend sandwich.&nbsp;&nbsp; There are a few on Vcoins right now too.&nbsp; No legend sandwiches there either.</p><p><br /></p><p>Also, the sloped altar is puzzling.&nbsp; Looking through all Altar of Zeus Strateus (or Stratios) coins in ACsearch and other places, I see none like it.&nbsp; The reverse looks like it may have been double-struck (look at the legend at ~10:30-12:00).&nbsp; Could the slanted altar top be due to an oblique strike?&nbsp;&nbsp; Seeing the coin in hand, I don&#039;t think that&#039;s the explanation for the slanted altar top.&nbsp; Honestly, I&#039;m not sure what to make of it and haven&#039;t examined it thoroughly since I received it just last night, plus I haven&#039;t thoroughly explored online information.&nbsp; I haven&#039;t even gone to my storage locker to dig through my numismatic books.&nbsp;&nbsp; I haven&#039;t spent much time trying to discern and decipher the legends, which clearly vary from the auction listing and Waddington entry.</p><p><br /></p><p>And the Altar of Zeus Strateus... who?&nbsp; What?&nbsp; Where?&nbsp; I&#039;m not finding any mentions of this altar in the area where the coin was struck.&nbsp; I found mention of and ruins of one in Greece and in a different part of Asia Minor.&nbsp; Who decided the altar on this coin was of Zeus Strateus, and why?&nbsp; (It is entirely possible that this question might be answered by one of many books in my storage locker, or by a more concerted effort at internet research <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie87" alt=":sorry:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.)</p><p><br /></p><p>That&#039;s why I&#039;ve posted so few coins this year.&nbsp; I buy them, have grand plans to research them for a writeup, but end up with more questions than answers and no time to pursue it further.&nbsp; I show them to friends in private messages but never get around to posting them on the public board so this time I&#039;m forcing myself to not wait until all loose ends are tied up neatly.</p><p><br /></p><p>...</p><p><br /></p><p><b>To sum up:</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>Here&#039;s a cool coin I bought!&nbsp; <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></b></p><p><br /></p><p>...</p><p><br /></p><p>Opinions, answers, and additional questions are welcome.</p><p><br /></p><p>Oh, here&#039;s a quickie in-hand video.</p><p><br /></p><p>[MEDIA=youtube]2IYZVbfcD6Y[/MEDIA][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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