I've been intending to share this piece for a little while now. The obverse shows a Horse running left, with the palm frond of victory below, and on the reverse the first three letters of the horse's name: Eustolos, "the Ready." This piece led me to a fascinating article by Toynbee discussing the names given to animals in the Roman period. Overall, we know more names for Roman horses than any other animal - no doubt because of their love of racing! Second place goes to dogs, but I do not know of any tesserae naming man's best friend. ROME PB Tessera (16mm, 2.00 g) Horse running left; palm below ЄVC (Eustolos) Rostovtsev 819; Rostovtsev & Prou 517; BM 1612-3; Kircheriano 1573-6; Toynbee, “Beasts and Their Names in the Roman Empire,” pl. VI, fig 18 Ex Artcoins Roma 23 (17 February 2015), lot 583 The reverse appears to bear the name of the horse, Eustolos, “the Ready.” Toynbee records 417 horse names, far more than any other beast, noting only a few dozen names for dogs, mules, bears, and other animals.
Awesome!! ... wow Ardy, that's a fantastic animal-tessera!! (jealous) Sadly, I don't have any dog examples, nor do I know their names ... Ummm, but as you probably already know, I only have the one PB Tessera example from a fairly recent CNG auction (I love this coin => it rocks!!) EGYPT, Uncertain, PB Tessera 2nd-3rd centuries AD Diameter: 15 mm Weight: 4.82 grams Obverse: Head of Serapis right, wearing calathus; uncertain object before Reverse: Griffin seated right, resting right paw on wheel Reference: Milne –; Dattari (Savio) –; Köln Other: 5h … even gray patina with a spot of green, minor surface cracking => man, ya gotta love dem gryphons, eh?
Yup, I cataloged that coin! You probably dont know/care, but your coin is notable due to its unusually thick fabric. This suggests that it does not belong with the group of Antinoöpolis-area tesserae common on the market today, and in fact originates from elsewhere in Egypt.
Interesting ... tell me more, my CNG friend (if you ever find a spare sec, then PM me with any info) Oh => and I still wanna know what that "smoke-ring" thingy is in front of Serapis' portrait!!
