Should I pull the trigger? A bit pricey or wait for one in better condition? I find the reverse pretty interesting - horse prancing, agathadaemon on its back...
You know, @ancient coin hunter , with all the pitting, pockmarks, and craters, the Moon still looks great! I like the coin... GO FOR IT!
Amazing imagery! I think this is the coin in @TIF ’s cute animated film which I cannot seem to locate
ancient coin hunter, I'm a style & condition freak, so I could never live with a coin like that unless I could get it dirt cheap. The coin is attractive except for the surface. If you like it & can justify the price go for it .
As far as the iconography goes, the horse may represent the god Khnum, a ram-headed deity of Upper Egypt, who sometimes was depicted as a horse, particularly in the cult center of Coptos. Khnum created man on a potter's wheel in one creation myth. There is an interesting text called the Oracle of the Potter in which the Egyptians witness the destruction of Alexandria (or the city of the belt-wearers, as it is termed) and a return of native rule (2nd/1st century B.C. provenance). Edit: link added https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_of_the_Potter
I did make an offer below the asking price which was rejected. Go figure. Since the asking price was above that for my Balbinus and Pupienus sestertii I'm just going to let it go...
@TIF ’s post was about the legendary Snake Cowboy what took down nem law breakers with nuttin but true grit and a trusty harse. https://www.cointalk.com/threads/so-these-exist-snake-cowboys.314032/#post-3041893 One of the three coins shown was an A. Pius like the OP. Go for it @ancient coin hunter . These seem to usually have condition concerns of some kind. I wouldn’t even want to see the price tag on a EF level piece if one even exists. The OP has great detail. I like it.
It's offered by Mr. High Rating/Low Price, so you know what kind of markup he has going. As you probably saw, it was unslabbed when it last sold for $42 in a Heritage auction (August 2017). Interesting that HA didn't bother to slab it. They tend to only forgo coffins when the coins are very low grade. However, this particular variety is hard to find in higher grade. HA had another one in the same year. Wish I'd seen that one. It's corroded and the usual form of horrible but less so than others, including mine. Speaking of, here's mine, a former Stevex6 coin so it has some sentimental value: EGYPT, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius Æ drachm (32mm, 23.0 g, 12h); RY 23 (CE 159/60) Obv: Laureate bust right, slight drapery Rev: Serapis-Agathodaemon serpent erect right on horseback advancing right; L K Γ (date) across field. Only the K is visible on this coin but this is the only year of issue for the type Ref: Cf. Köln 1852-3; Dattari (Savio) 8939; K&G 35.820; Emmett 1679 Ex X6 Collection. I am definitely on the lookout for a better example. The Zlobin coin is more appealing than mine but not enough so to make me try for it unless it was closer to the last sales price, and Zlobin won't go that low.
A snake riding a horse is super cool. A Serapis-headed snake riding a horse is over-the-top awesome . I would definitely like a better example, so we will be bidding against one another when the time comes. Some higher grade but not Serapis-headed snake cowboys: EGYPT, Alexandria. Domitian. Regnal year 10, CE 90/91. Æ diobol (25mm, 10.86 g, 12h). AVT KAICAP ΔΟ ΜΙΤ CEB ΓΕΡΜ, laureate head right / Agathodaemon serpent, wearing the skhent crown (emblematic of upper and lower Egypt), on horseback galloping left; L I (date) below. Köln –; Dattari (Savio) –; K&G 24.109; RPC II 2585; SNG Copenhagen 214; Emmett 277.10 (R5). LYDIA, Philadelphia. Caracalla. Æ 31, 16.7 gm, CE 198-217. Ioulianos, strategos. AVT K M AVP ANTΩNЄINOC; laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / ЄΠI CTPA IOVΛIANOV A ΠOΛ ΦIΛΑΔЄΛΦЄΩN; horse prancing left surmounted by serpent coiled left. BMC 85. Very rare. Serapis-headed serpent, sans horse:
Thanks TIF. You probably have figured out who is selling the piece. I just found a similar piece at a much better rate offered for a fixed price, so that's the tack I'm going to take.
