Log in or Sign up
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
A Strange Athens Imitation
>
Reply to Thread
Message:
<p>[QUOTE="GinoLR, post: 8345962, member: 128351"]There is no serious reason to attribute the OP coin or this coin to Lihyan. Dealers often call "Lihyan" any kind of crude imitation of Athenian owls, just because they look crude. But serious attributions cannot be made just because of a vague feeling.</p><p>The kingdom of Lihyan was an Arab kingdom of the 6th to 3rd c. BC, its political and religious centre was the oasis of Dedan (today's al-Ula in Saudi Arabia), and in the 4th c. BC it probably extended to all North-Western Arabian peninsula. It is known from texts (such as the Old Testament) and inscriptions in Dadanitic script mostly found around Dedan and nearby Hegra. Nobody knows what happened to this kingdom from the 3rd to the 1st c. BC, all we know is that the Nabataeans seized control of Hegra under Aretas IV (9 BC - AD 40).</p><p>The first Lihyanite coins were drachms imitating Athens, of very good Greek style, but bearing on Athena's cheek the Dadanitic letter dhal : [ATTACH]1480345[/ATTACH] . </p><p>[ATTACH]1480343[/ATTACH] </p><p>This letter exists in no other script than the Dadanitic script, these coins cannot be older than the late 5th c. BC, thus the attribution to Lihyan is sure 100%. Other more stylized drachms are known, still with the same dhal but a bit lighter: the local style evolved very fast in the 4th c. BC. </p><p>[ATTACH]1480344[/ATTACH] </p><p>Tetradrachms are known with exactly the same style: the owl's body is parallel with the vertical sides of the incuse square, the olive-sprig is in the middle of the left field (and not in the upper-right corner). The main difference is that on tetradrachms there is no letter on Athena's cheek but a crescent, or a double-crescent.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1480346[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>In the late 4th c. or early 3rd c. BC these tetradrachms with one or two crescents were minted in bronze. Hundreds have been found in Hegra, some specimens in Petra, Dedan, al-Bad (Madian), Aynuna, Tayma, Dumat al-Jandal, even one in Babylon! </p><p>[ATTACH=full]1480347[/ATTACH] </p><p>The evolution of the Lihyanite coinage can be followed from coin to coin, from the first silver imitative drachms of the early 4th c. BC to the later extremely stylized bronze coins of the 3rd to 1st c. BC. At one moment, in the 3rd or 2nd c. BC, Lihyanite coins were overstruck on Egyptian Ptolemaic coins (bevelled edges, central hole), like the contemporaneous proto-Nabataean coins (Athena and Nike).</p><p>We can see that Lihyan coinage was something coherent, and not any kind of coin crudely imitating Athenian owls. The imitation of Athenian coinage was wide-spread in the whole Middle-East and South Arabia, and we do not need to attribute all of them to Lihyan.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="GinoLR, post: 8345962, member: 128351"]There is no serious reason to attribute the OP coin or this coin to Lihyan. Dealers often call "Lihyan" any kind of crude imitation of Athenian owls, just because they look crude. But serious attributions cannot be made just because of a vague feeling. The kingdom of Lihyan was an Arab kingdom of the 6th to 3rd c. BC, its political and religious centre was the oasis of Dedan (today's al-Ula in Saudi Arabia), and in the 4th c. BC it probably extended to all North-Western Arabian peninsula. It is known from texts (such as the Old Testament) and inscriptions in Dadanitic script mostly found around Dedan and nearby Hegra. Nobody knows what happened to this kingdom from the 3rd to the 1st c. BC, all we know is that the Nabataeans seized control of Hegra under Aretas IV (9 BC - AD 40). The first Lihyanite coins were drachms imitating Athens, of very good Greek style, but bearing on Athena's cheek the Dadanitic letter dhal : [ATTACH]1480345[/ATTACH] . [ATTACH]1480343[/ATTACH] This letter exists in no other script than the Dadanitic script, these coins cannot be older than the late 5th c. BC, thus the attribution to Lihyan is sure 100%. Other more stylized drachms are known, still with the same dhal but a bit lighter: the local style evolved very fast in the 4th c. BC. [ATTACH]1480344[/ATTACH] Tetradrachms are known with exactly the same style: the owl's body is parallel with the vertical sides of the incuse square, the olive-sprig is in the middle of the left field (and not in the upper-right corner). The main difference is that on tetradrachms there is no letter on Athena's cheek but a crescent, or a double-crescent. [ATTACH=full]1480346[/ATTACH] In the late 4th c. or early 3rd c. BC these tetradrachms with one or two crescents were minted in bronze. Hundreds have been found in Hegra, some specimens in Petra, Dedan, al-Bad (Madian), Aynuna, Tayma, Dumat al-Jandal, even one in Babylon! [ATTACH=full]1480347[/ATTACH] The evolution of the Lihyanite coinage can be followed from coin to coin, from the first silver imitative drachms of the early 4th c. BC to the later extremely stylized bronze coins of the 3rd to 1st c. BC. At one moment, in the 3rd or 2nd c. BC, Lihyanite coins were overstruck on Egyptian Ptolemaic coins (bevelled edges, central hole), like the contemporaneous proto-Nabataean coins (Athena and Nike). We can see that Lihyan coinage was something coherent, and not any kind of coin crudely imitating Athenian owls. The imitation of Athenian coinage was wide-spread in the whole Middle-East and South Arabia, and we do not need to attribute all of them to Lihyan.[/QUOTE]
Your name or email address:
Do you already have an account?
No, create an account now.
Yes, my password is:
Forgot your password?
Stay logged in
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
A Strange Athens Imitation
>
Home
Home
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Activity
Recent Posts
Forums
Forums
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Posts
Competitions
Competitions
Quick Links
Competition Index
Rules, Terms & Conditions
Gallery
Gallery
Quick Links
Search Media
New Media
Showcase
Showcase
Quick Links
Search Items
Most Active Members
New Items
Directory
Directory
Quick Links
Directory Home
New Listings
Members
Members
Quick Links
Notable Members
Current Visitors
Recent Activity
New Profile Posts
Sponsors
Menu
Search
Search titles only
Posted by Member:
Separate names with a comma.
Newer Than:
Search this thread only
Search this forum only
Display results as threads
Useful Searches
Recent Posts
More...