Ancients => today is my birthday => post your "three oldest coins"

Yah, from the sounds of it, I'm not the oldest dude on this site, but at "51" I'm certainly no longer a Spring Chicken (although I feel pretty damn spry at the moment!!)

So, since I'm now old as dirt, I thought that it might be fitting to post our three oldest coins (maybe this gesture will make me feel relatively young?)

Thanks gang ...

Cheers

Lydia AR Siglos
560-520 BC
Diameter: 15.6 mm
Weight: 4.9 grams
Obverse: Confronted Lion & Bull
Reverse: Two incuse square punches




ISLANDS off THRACE, Thasos
AR Sixteenth Stater – Hemiobol
Circa 500-480 BC
Diameter: 8 mm
Weight: 0.56 grams
Obverse: Two dolphins swimming in opposite directions; pellets around
Reverse: Quadripartite incuse square




Island off Thrace, Thasos, AR Archaic Stater
525-463 BC
Diameter: 21.5 mm
Weight: 8.6 grams
Obverse: Satyr carrying off a struggling nymph, who raises her arm in protest
Reverse: Quadrapartite incuse square




=> yup, "everybody has three oldest coins" ... so lets' see 'em!!

 

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Happy birthday! I need to go looking at the ages of my coins....

 

Congrats on being "51".

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY lil brother. And for sure you are far from the oldest on this forum. You are only a quinquagenarian. There are a few of us sexagenarians and I do believe a small minority of septuagenarians.

Here are my oldest three:

ATTICA, AEGINA AR Stater
OBVERSE: Sea-turtle (T-backed); head in profile
REVERSE: Large square incuse with skew pattern
Struck at Aegina, 480-457BC
11.96g, 20mm
SNG Cop 507


MYSIA AR Hemiobol
OBVERSE: Forepart of running boar left, tunny fish behind upward REVERSE: Head of roaring lion left within incuse square, star above Struck at Kysikos, 480-450BC
0.41 g, 9.5 mm
Sear 3850


AEOLIS, KYME AR Hemiobol
OBVERSE: Eagle's head left, KY to left (M beneath the head, nearly off flan)
REVERSE: Quadrapartite incuse square of mill-sail pattern
Struck at Aeolis, 450BC
.46g, 7mm
SNG Cop 32

 

=> ahaha, thanks Aidan ......

... and yah, as you'd probably expect, I'm pretty sure that not a lot of people thought that I'd ever make it this far far!!



POST YOUR COINS!!

 

Happy Birthday ancient one!

I'm not far behind you...I hit the big "Five-Oh" next month.

 

Here's my oldest coin posted in your honor Steve.

MF Servilia 1; Roman Republic BC 136
Silver Denarius; 21mm/3.9 g
OBV: Head of Roma
REV: Dioscuri Galloping in opposite directions

 

sweet lookin' coin, Bannon (thanks for posting ... and thanks for the birthday wishes)

Cheers

 

Oh, sorry big-bro => thanks for everything (you rock)

 

Yah, I think that archaic coins are my favourites ... man, they just seem so manually intensive, ya know?


... imagine some dude, 2500 years ago, "pressing/punching" some metal into a mold (and then amazingly, somehow this home-made gem falls into my modern-man possession ... it's mind-boggling!)

NOTE => but even if you don't collect old Greek coins, I still wanna see your three oldest Romans!!

=> so please post 'em up, coin-comrades!

 

Teos, Ar Drachm, Circa 540-478 B.C.
Obv:– Griffin with curled wings seated right, forepaw raised
Rev:– Rough quadripartite incuse square
Minted in Teos, Ionia. Circa 540-478 B.C.

Weight 5.68g. Size 16.44 mm




Sicily, Leontini, Silver Obol. 476 - 466 BC.
Obv:– Facing lion's scalp
Rev:- LE-ON, Barley grain
Minted in Leontini, Sicily. 476 - 466 BC.
Reference:– Boehringer, Münzgeschichte 19; SNG ANS 216 (litra).



Thessaly, Larissa, Drachm
Silver Drachm
Obv:– Youth wrestling or restraining bull, both to right, cloak and petasos flying out behind.
Rev:– LAR/ISAI, bridled horse galloping right, all in incuse square
Minted in Thessaly, Larissa from 440-400 B.C.
Reference:– SNG Oxford - (vgl. 3865). SNG Cop. -.

 

Wow Martin, sweet examples ... I love all three (I have a Teos Griffin as well => great coins) ... man, I'd love to snag one of those bull-rasslin' coins!!

... thanks for posting, coin-bro

 

Zeugitana, Carthage. Circa 300-264 BC. AE 20mm. 5.5g

OBV: NO LEGEND: Wreathed head of Tanit left.

REV: NO LEGEND: Horse's head right.

REF: SNGCop 169

This is my oldest coin at the moment.

 

Spain, Corduba, AE Semis, 2nd Century BC, 3.7g, 18mm

OBV: Head of Venus right.

REV: Eros standing left.

REF: Unknown

This photo would not display as a full image.

 

Alexander Jannaeus, Hasmonean AE Prutah. 103-76 BC, 2.6g, 15.59mm

OBV: Three lines of Hebrew text inside wreath.

REV: Two cornucopias, pomegranate between them.

REF: Hendin 1145.

 

Happy birthday, Steve. May you have many more years and just as many coins or more!

 

Happy Birthday Steve (again... )

My 3 oldest (I think )...

Ionia, Teos AR Stater
(510-500 BC)
Obv.: Griffin seated right, raising forepaw.
Rev.: Quadripartite incuse square.
Balcer group I; SNG Copenhagen - SNG Boston 1939; Sear 3512.



Islands off Attica, Aegina AR Stater
(500-480 BC)
Obv.: Sea turtle.
Rev.: Incuse pattern.



Attica, Athens AR Tetradrachm
(454-415 BC)
Obv.: Head of Athena right in crested Attic helmet decorated with three olive leaves above visor and spiral palmette on bowl, wearing round earring and bead necklace.
Rev.: Owl standing right, head facing, olive sprig and crescent moon behind, AOE before.

 

Happy B-day Steve!

Carthaginian, 300s BC


Carthaginian, 200s BC (this one I'm looking to sell)


Macedonian, 323 BC

 

wow, thanks gang => you guys have great "stuff"

... thanks for posting, brothers (and thanks for the b-day wishes)

Cheers

 

I do not feel comfortable saying which are my three oldest coins since so many are dated with such a wide spread of years. Also, I'd rather show three old coins that Steve or someone has not already shown in a nicer example. (My bull and lion is a dog.) Therefore here are three oldish coins:

Kroton stater 510-480 BC. This is later style but I do not own one of the super thin coins that came first.

Lete 1/8 stater 530-480 BC. These are the little brothers of the Thasos stater Steve showed. I don't know if he is on his way to pick up his nymph or running away after the fact.

Phocaea, Hemihekate (1/12th stater), late 6th century BC. I never show this big fellow because his little brother is my 5mm, .01g smallest coin which I show too often. At 1.3g it is just too big to be of interest. The only reason someone would want a coin that big is to show off.


A story: I volunteer at an elementary school. A while back a father from Afghanistan showed up with two boys to register while he was attending a long term class at the local military base. They had medical papers but had to send back home to get the required birth certificates. Meanwhile the boys were placed in 1st and 3rd grades based on the father's saying they were 6 and 8. When the certificates arrived, we learned that in his country a person's age is given as the year in which they are rather than our way of telling the years they have completed so a person at birth is in his first year so is considered to be one. The boys were, in US terms, 5 and 7. I understand there are several other countries that look at it this way. I do not know how Rome counted things. If Romans counted things that way, Steve would now be journeying in his 52nd year. Why do I mention this? The answer is the coin of Julius Caesar below. Mine is a lousy fourree but I now suggest Steve start a year long quest for one of these in solid silver and pleasing appearance. Behind the head of Venus is the numeral LII (in that period L was often an inverted T). 52 was Caesar's age when the coin was issued c.48 BC. It may take a while to find just the right coin but be sure to get one with a good clear numeral:
http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?similar=207601


Happy Birthday, Steve, I hope I look as good as you do when I am your age!