I am happy to have made some really good and what I believe will be life-long friends here on CoinTalk. One of these friends (who would rather remain unnamed) surprised me with a Saturnalia gift! Though they could not have known it when they sent it this coin arrived at a perfect time to really cheer me up during a tough week. The amazing gesture also helped get me into the holiday spirit in which I had been somewhat lacking . Included with the gift was a Christmas card with a very thoughtful note which I have decided to display on my Lego Colosseum… of course. I will have to pay the thoughtful gesture forward with a giveaway game of some kind... I will have to give it some thought Okay... the coin! Islands off Caria Rhodes AR Hemidrachm, struck ca. 166-88 BC Dia.: 13.5 mm Wt.: 1.2 g Obv.: Head of Helios right Rev.: P-O to either side of rose, ϺΑΗΣ above, crown of Isis at lower right, all within incuse square Ref.: BMC XVIII 268-270 (Var. Hemidrachm) Some notes on the chronology Around 166 BC the Rhodian economy was dealt a severe blow when the Romans designated Delos as a free port under the control of Athens and stripped Rhodes of its control of of several cities on the mainland. The Romans did this to punish Rhodes for its lukewarm support for the Roman cause during the Third Macedonian War against Perseus V. The result was that the international trade of Rhodes was severely curtailed and soon after it stopped producing tetradrachms. To compensate, the Rhodians had to reform their drachms and fractional coins for use in trade because the mint had allowed the weight of these smaller coins to fall below the standard over the previous decades. In order to distinguish the new, heavier, drachms and fractions from the debased coins the traditional ¾ facing bust of Helios was replaced with a profile view as shown on my Saturnalia gift. In around 88 BC much of the Greek east rose in revolt in support of Mithridates VI of Pontus against the Romans. Rhodes remained loyal to Rome and even used its navy to help Sulla’s legions reach Asia. In gratitude, the senate restored much of Rhodes mainland possessions and the island saw much renewed prosperity. As a result Rhodes once again reformed its coinage. In this way we can surmise that the above coin was struck between 166 BC and 88 BC under the magistrate ϺΑΗΣ (MAES). The Acropolis of Rhodes – The likely location for the mint that struck this coin Some notes on the coin I think it is interesting that these coins return to the type of incuse punch for the reverse that you typically see in archaic examples. I wonder what the reason for this development was? One other fun note about this coin is the interesting control mark on the bottom right of the reverse: the Crown of Isis. Isis played a prominent role in Egyptian mythology and under the Ptolemaic dynasty she was especially important. At the Ptolemaic temple of Isis at Philae she is shown as the protectress of Egypt. Rhodes historically had a special connection with the Ptolemies dating back to 305 BC when Ptolemy I rescued the city from a siege and earned the name “Soter” by why of gratitude from the Rhodians. One wonders if the control mark is a sign of this continued goodwill. The Crown of Isis: Left – Isis and Horus (7th century BC). Right – Isis and Seti I (13th century BC). (Wikipedia) Temple of Isis at Philae. Built under the Ptolemies (Wikipedia) Sources A Catalogue of Greek Coins in the British Museum: Caria, Cos Rhodes etc (Vol. 18) .......................................................... Please post your coins of Rhodes and / or anything else you feel is appropriate.
That's is a cool coin, That is great that there is some nice people out there. There is a few nice people on coin talk here that are sending me stuff. I will reveal who they are after I get the coins. The ways it happens is when you are not feeling good and it is around the holidays..... then someone is nice to you and that's gets you into the Christmas sprit. Congratulation's and have a merry Christmas.
Great coin @Curtisimo very generous cointalk members we have here! Also, interesting write up. I find even that the plinthophoric Rhodos coins are still artistic. Some hemidrachms by the way, were still being minted with the head of helios facing. However, they did have an incuse square on the reverse suggesting that the incuse square was introduced to show that the weight of these re-introduced drachms (and fractions) are of the same high standard weight of the Rhodos fractions from the 4th century, which also had an incuse square. Here and example of these high standard 4th century Rhodos coins with the incuse square: Rhodes AR Didrachm. Circa 340-316 BC. My Rhodos coin: Note the degraded weight of the late drachms with heliot facing and without incuse punch, just before the issue of the plinthophoric coinage. Rhodes AR Drachm. Circa 205-190 BC. Obverse: Facing head of Helios with flowing hair Reverse: Magistrate ΑΙΝΗΤΩΡ (Ainetor) above, P-O below, rose in bloom with side branch bud to right & butterfly to left. 2,28g; 15mm. Here my Lycian league coin which used the plinthophoric Rhodian standard, also with incuse punch. Very interesting that the change in coinage also spread to the mainland of Anatolia. There is convincing evidence that Rhodian and Lycian league's plinthophoric coinage circulated together, at least informally and they have also been found together in coin hoards. Masikytes, Lycia Hemidrachm - Lycian League (48–23 B.C.). Myra mint. Obverse: Laureate head of Apollo right. Reverse: M-A, Kithara/Lyre; serpent coiled around omphalos lower left; all within incuse square. 1.48g; 14mm.
Great coins and post @Pavlos . I really like that butterfly drachm! Great coin Doug! Thank you and merry Christmas to you too Noah.
That is a super Rhodes @Curtisimo. Here is the other side of my avatar. It looks a bit goldish in the photo. In hand it is more silver with blue and other highlights. A little kindness, out of the blue, perks you right up!
Love the Roses of Rhodes, beautiful new coin @Curtisimo - here is an art nouveau style issue: Rhodian Peraia, Carian Islands, AR Drachm. 3rd to 2nd century BC Head of Helios facing, with eagle standing right in front. / Rose with bud. Silver, 15mm, 2.1 grams
Thanks Pish and great coin. I especially love the toning. Thanks Mike. Whoa that's an interesting coin. It looks like the eagle is eating out of Helios's mouth.
