Ancients: Richmond show - part 1 - Sikyon

As advertised in Steve's next target thread, the Sikyon stater did come home with me. It will be a matter of opinion whether it is in the class of Steve's coin but this one is by far the best example 'for me' of any Sikyon I have ever seen. It has faults. The lion face of the Chimera is crowded by the edge of the flan and is a bit weakly struck. (-1) The goat head is similarly affected by the edge of the coin. (-1). The coin has scratches on both sides (-2) that appear to both be the Greek letter phi making me wonder if they are ancient graffiti. (+1) The one on the obverse is just under the E but is so faint that I need to reshoot it to get a better rendition for the inset on my photo. All this makes it a coin I might be able to pass up but this coin has an excellent rendition of the Chimera's tail. Few show anything to suggest the cutter even knew that a properly equipped Chimera had a serpent for a tail let alone the bearded face on this one. That is why I wanted this coin enough that I was only able to come home with eight coins rather than my usual 20 junkers. Certainly I wish I had a better lion face. The die had a great rendition of the goat but mine is weak on the front leg on the lion's shoulder. I would love to see a perfect specimen from these dies but certainly could not afford it. I need to research the significance of the legend on mine being SE while some are SI. There are many variations with minor types and letters in the fields but I do not know how to date specific coins. Post your Chimera coins, please.

Sikyon, Sikonia, AR stater 360-330 BC



There are 7 more coins from today but this is my top dog.

 

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I look at ancient graffiti as a +. A nice looking coin Doug!

 

It's a beautiful piece of coinage. +1000

 

Here's my chimera (Ex. ForvmAncientCoins) with quite a few differences from your example:

 

Congratulations on your purchase, Doug! The serpent's head really is fabulous-- haven't seen one with such an accurate chimera tail/serpent.

 

Yeeeehhaaaaaa!!!

=> Wow, that's a great example!! (I remember you telling me in an earlier thread that often the "tail/snake" is quite difficult to find ...

=> so yeah, wow that new coin has a great snake!! (I'm totally jealous of your coin!!)

Oh, and the fact that you apparently have "6" more, makes me pee my pants with jealousy!! (well done coin-comrade ... very well done!!)

 

In particular this is a great lion head. I also like the ones with N in the reverse field since there are small coins with I making me suspect that the stater was rated at 50 units while the 'hemidrachms' were 10. Collectors force Athenian denomination names on other Greek coins when we don't know the true system. They made these for quite a few years and I'd love to see a study on the details explaining the differences.

 

Man, I'm amost embarrassed to show my humble example ... well, not really ...






=> holy frick => I love 'em all!!

... my God, coin collecting rocks, yes?!!

 

Nice coins Doug and AJ.

 

Ditto here, but I'll show mine anyway:

 

Those are some awesome Greek coins.

Doug congrats on the big score.

 

Doug => sure, I'm gonna give you full-points for your snake, but your artist was a bit of a disappointment, yes?

=> sadly, your lion and your dove are not exactly up to snuf?

 

ahahaha => oh, and you do realize that the only reason I would ever write that crap, was because you have told me to write that type of stuff ... right?

=> I love your new coin!!

 

Someday I'll find just the right one for the TIF Collection. Nice coins, everyone! Something to love in each of them.

 

My lion could be better but I'm still in the running for best goat. Note that the Steve and AJ coins are the same variety with wreath and N.

 

you rock, Doug (thanks for your coin-help)


=> honestly, you are the only reason that I have "any/all" of my coins!!

 

I changed the left insert with added contrast to make the faint phi show better.

 

wow ... apparently you "really" want this coin to succeed!!

Okay, what is the RHS scratch all about? (is that a counterstamp?)

 

I have no idea. It could be the mark of an owner at some point. I'd prefer that it would be an owner in the 4th century BC but will never know. I saw the phi on the reverse and the dealer lowered the price in keeping with the damage. The same shape damage on the obverse makes me think that it was not damage but an intentional mark. IMHO, damage with intent from the time the coin was circulating is more acceptable than damage from poor handling, digging carelessly or other modern explanations. The obverse phi is so faint no one in their right mind would notice it but I took its picture again to get it clear. I'd like to know why someone scratched both sides and what phi meant to him.

 

Hmmm? ... that is a real mystery, eh?

Oh, and just in case there was some sort of mis-understanding ...

=> Doug, I love your new snake-tail coin (I'm totally jealous!!)