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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;rrdenarius, post: 4762672, member: 75525&quot;]Like a lot of folks, I have spent many hours drooling over coin auctions in the last 5 months. In this time, I obtained the largest and smallest Byzantine pieces in my collection. The smallest pieces were LRB coins turned into 2.2 gram scale weights - Semissis. (<a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/byzantine-weights-from-roman-coins-something-new-to-me.362631/#post-4600783" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/byzantine-weights-from-roman-coins-something-new-to-me.362631/#post-4600783">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/byzantine-weights-from-roman-coins-something-new-to-me.362631/#post-4600783</a>). This steelyard weight is the largest.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1161337[/ATTACH] </p><p>Byzantine / Late Roman Athena Steelyard Weight, bronze shell with lead filling, 5th - 8th century AD. A large and heavy, steelyard weight in the form of Athena / Minerva. She wears a tall crested Corinthian helmet and an Aegis with a Gorgon head and four snakes. The back of her vest has rows of armor plates. Nice facial features show wear but are still easily discernible as are the detailed garments she wears which are evident all around the lower portion of this impressive weight. Rich dark brown and emerald green patina throughout.</p><p><br /></p><p>12.6 pounds</p><p>9-1/2 &quot; tall, including 1&quot; loop at top of weight</p><p>4-1/2 &quot; wide at shoulders</p><p>3-1/2 &quot; deep from Aegis to back</p><p>base dimensions are 4.5 X 3.5 &quot;.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH]1161347[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]1161348[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]1161349[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]1161350[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]1161351[/ATTACH] </p><p>My Byzantine Empress steelyard weight was lonely, so I bought her a companion. I was surprised to read that the Athens weights are considered related to the empress weights.</p><p>Minerva was the Roman name for the Greek goddess Athena. Most of their attributes (Powers, clothing, ets.) are the same. Minerva weights are thought to be from the Western Roman Empire and are dated earlier, 2nd – 3rd century AD. Athena weights are related to Byzantine empress weights. </p><p>[ATTACH=full]1161352[/ATTACH] </p><p>Athena&#039;s Aegis with the Gorgon head in the middle from the west pediment of the archaic temple of Apollo at Eretria. Parian Marble, circa 520-500 BCE.</p><p><a href="https://ancient-greece.org/images/museums/eretria-mus/pages/eretria-021.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://ancient-greece.org/images/museums/eretria-mus/pages/eretria-021.html" rel="nofollow">https://ancient-greece.org/images/museums/eretria-mus/pages/eretria-021.html</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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