This new Roman Provincial coin arrived from Ken Dorney today. I really love the coloring -- a green and red patina. It's from about 251-260 AD, and is an example of what used to be called "pseudo-autonomous" coins, a term now apparently considered inaccurate and obsolete, at least for coins from this period. John Melville Jones's Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins prefers the term "quasi-autonomous," and I've also seen the term "colonial civic" used. Anonymous colonial civic issue, AE 23, 251 - 260 AD (Trebonianus Gallus to Valerian I), Troas, Alexandria Troas Mint. Obv. Draped bust of Tyche right, wearing mural crown, vexillum inscribed CO AV over right shoulder, CO ALEX TR / Rev. Horse (of Erichthonius?)* grazing to right, COL AVG, TROAD in exergue. RPC IX Online 505 (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/9/505); Bellinger A486 [Alfred A. Bellinger, Troy, The Coins (Princeton 1961)]; BMC 17 Troas, 46 var. [diff. legends]; see also id. 45, 47-50 var. [Warwick Wroth, A Catalog of the Greek Coins in the British Museum, Vol. 17, Troas, Aeolis, and Lesbos (London 1894)]; SNG Copenhagen 108-113 [Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Copenhagen, The Royal Collection of Coins and Medals, Danish National Museum, Part 20, Troas (1945)]. 23 mm., 5.80 g. Ex: Pars Coins; Ex: Kenneth W. Dorney. * See BMC 17 Troas at xviii, citing Cavedoni (Spicil., p. 151) for the suggestion that the grazing horse, first depicted on the coins of Alexandria Troas ca. 300 BCE, is one of the horses of Erichthonius, father of Tros, after whom Troas was named. (Thanks to @Roman Collector for giving me a clue as to the identity of the horse, in this old thread: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/th...oins-of-alexandria-troas.351717/#post-3937346 .) The legends on coins like this vary widely in minor ways; the legends on RPC IX 505 happen to match the ones on my coin exactly (see link above): (The dies are also similar to the ones used for my coin, but I don't think they're an exact match.) If you like, please post your Roman Provincial anonymous pseudo-autonomous quasi-autonomous colonial civic coins, wherever they're from, and/or your coins of any type from Alexandria Troas.
@DonnaML ,Cool horse with great chestnut coloring! Alexandria TROAS RI Valerian I 253-260 CE AE 20mm Alexandria Troas mint Horse Grazing
And it's complete with a green head and mane! I don't think you'll find too many of that color combination in real life, outside the Emerald City.
Nice one, Donna. I have an Alexandria Troas from about the same era featuring Tyche, but with a different reverse, Marsyas: Alexandreia, Troas Æ 22 Pseudo-autonomous (Gallienus era c. 253-268 A.D.) CO ALEX [TRO], Turreted, draped bust of Tyche r., vexillum w. CO/AV behind / COL AV[G] TROA(C?), Marsyas standing right on pedestal, wine-skin over shoulder, right hand raised. Bellinger A497 var. (with CO ALEX TRO on obv.); SNG Cop 103 var (ditto) SNG von Aulock 1463 var (ditto) (4.41 grams / 22 mm )
That's a lovely example of that coin type, @DonnaML . I'm glad you found my thread about the horse type of Alexandria Troas entertaining and useful. I like these colonial civic coins of this city. Here's my latest acquisition. It features Apollo Smintheus. Apollo Smintheus features prominently in the city's mythology. Unfortunately, it's not exactly FDC. Time of Valerian I to Gallienus, AD 253-268. Roman provincial Æ 23 mm, 5.60 g, 6 h. Troas, Alexandria Troas, AD 253-268. Obv: CO AL[EX TRO?], turreted and draped bust of Tyche, right, with vexillium inscribed AV/CO over shoulder. Rev: COL AVG TROAD, Apollo Smintheus, in himation, with quiver at shoulder, standing right, holding in right hand a patera over flaming tripod; in left, bow. Refs: BMC 17.13, 38; cf. Bellinger A470-71; cf. RPC IX 523.
My example retains many marks from pre striking flan adjustment and has quite different legend placement..
Well, that Apollo Smintheus of RC's rang a bell - mine is a bit earlier: Caracalla Æ 23 Alexandria, Troas (c. 214-215 A.D.) [IMP] M AVR ANTONINVS PI[VS?], laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r. / COL ALEX AVG, statue of Apollo Smintheus standing right on plinth, holding patera & bow; lighted tripod-altar right. (8.67 grams / 23 x 22 mm ) Attribution Note: Cf. Bellinger A293; Cf. SNG Cop 136; Cf. SNG von Aulock 1472. Ref. from Agora Auction No. 73, Lot 138 March 27, 2018
Some time ago we had an interesting discussion about Alexandria Troas coins, it was in December. I think we decided that the horse on the coin wasn't just grazing, but it was finding something - a spot where one could found a new city, a polis. The horse is looking ever so much as smiling upon its find as a horse can do - it does on your coin, @DonnaML : not just quietly eating grass, but stretching out its neck to designate that very spot. It was @Jochen1 who mentioned this. Take a look at this coin of Gallienus and his merry horse. That's not grazing, but striking oil!
Yes, I saw that -- it's quite interesting. On mine, the horse already has in its mouth whatever it found. I hope it tastes good!
Nice red-green coin, here's a gold-green variant. To your point about legends I wasn't able to find this exact match in RPC - maybe I just missed it. I had better luck finding it in BMC Troas linked below. Troas, Alexandria Troas, Circa 2nd-3rd centuries AD, AE Obv: ALEXA TRO, turreted head of Tyche right; vexillum inscribed in two lines behind CO/AV Rev: COL AVG / TRO, horse grazing right Ref: BMC Troas p. 16, 58
A beautiful green-ish horse, @DonnaML! Mine is a chestnut and much smaller as well as older: Troas, Alexandria, AE10, ca. 3rd–2nd c. BC. Obv: laureate head of Apollo l. Rev: horse grazing l.; AΛE above; control mark (grain of wheatß) between horse’s leg; thunderbolt in exergue (off flan). 10mm, 0.77g. Ref: SNG Copenhagen 81–82; BMC 8–9. And here is a Roman provincial from Alexandria – it is ugly but rare: Alexandria Troas, Roman Empire, civic issue, AE22, ca. 251–260. Obv: CO ALE[X TRO], turreted, draped, cuirassed bust of Tyche right, behind her, vexillum inscribed CO AV. Rev: [CO]L AV[G] TR[OAD], statue of Apollo Smintheus standing on short column facing, holding patera over lighted tripod left and bow, tree (?) right. 22mm, 4.41g. Ref: Bellinger –, SNG Copenhagen –, SNG von Aulock –, BMC –, RPC IX, 492 (this is the third example known, all from the same pair of dies).
Reviving this old thread to show off my latest from this city. It was formerly in @jb_depew's collection, who sold it to me via a @John Anthony auction. It's tiny, but the best I've ever seen of the type. Troas, Alexandria, 3rd-2nd c. BC. Greek Æ 13.5 mm, 2.20 g, 11 h. Obv: Laureate head of Apollo, right. Rev: AΛEΞAN above horse grazing left, monogram beneath, thunderbolt in exergue. Refs: Sear 4028; BMC 17.10,18-20; SNG Cop 81-82; SNG von Aulock 7546.
