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<p>[QUOTE="TIF, post: 3238334, member: 56859"]I like mystery coins-- that's why I'm quick to jump in when someone posts a coin for attribution. Digging for coin identification is fun. Recently some group lots of unattributed coins formerly belonging to BCD have been sold and I managed to acquire one lot thanks to [USER=57495]@zumbly[/USER]'s pre-bidding exuberance (if you want details you'll have to ask him <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />).</p><p><br /></p><p>The lot accrued a lot of air miles on its way to this little rock but now they're here and I had time today to photograph them and start a spreadsheet. Twenty-one coins... one which is adorable and was attributable thanks to a couple of recent sales. Of the rest, I suspect some will eventually be attributable and a few might at best be narrowed down to some general possibilities. I'm going to need better magnification though! The average size is 13-14 mm and the smallest is 7!</p><p><br /></p><p>Hasty group shot:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]847047[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The lot was packaged in a baggie of loose coins with a half dozen bits of auction ephemera in another baggie. The tags were separated from their coins! <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie3" alt=":(" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />. Only two of the notes had any descriptive information specific to a coin so the remainder will go unmatched. That is unfortunate. I wish the auction house had not separated these bits of provenance from the coins! The unmatchable bits were notes about the source. The coin shown below did have a tag which provided some additional provenance.</p><p><br /></p><p>I'm having a great time making a spreadsheet, examining coins, and searching for clues <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />. Here's one of the nicest coins in the group, something which would have appealed to me even regardless with or without attribution. Thanks to a similar coin which came to auction this year, and one from 2014, some of the mystery has possibly been solved. However, taking someone else's word for the attribution when only two others are known, and with questionable obverse legends, I have to wonder how firm the attribution really is. I'd like to know what led to the rather narrow date given in the CNG listing, the first known example. Does the Salapia attribution come from the ΣAΛ reportedly seen on the CNG coin's obverse? My coin has legible letters on the reverse left field which on the other two examples are either off flan, worn away, or which were never there to begin with. Might these additional letters changes thoughts about the place of issue for all three of these examples? "ΠΛΩ"... it's not an abbreviation for Salapia. A magistrate, maybe?</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]847054[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>APULIA, Salapia</b></p><p>c. 225-210 BCE</p><p>AE 14mm, 2.04 gm</p><p>Obv: head of Athena right, wearing crested helmet; [unlegible]Λ below left</p><p>Rev: owl standing right, head facing; club to upper left; ΠΛΩ downward right field</p><p>Ref: not recorded in reference literature but two prior examples are found, <a href="https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=259172" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=259172" rel="nofollow">CNG E-auction 327 lot 123, 28 May 2014</a> and <a href="https://www.sixbid.com/browse.html?auction=4984&category=150292&lot=4151233" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.sixbid.com/browse.html?auction=4984&category=150292&lot=4151233" rel="nofollow">Bertolami E-auction 60 lot 23, 9 July 2018</a>.</p><p><i>ex BCD, acquired by him from Dan Clark, MBS 88, 24 May 93/ lot 77, total cost $22.</i></p><p><br /></p><p>The CNG specimen:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cngcoins.com/photos/enlarged/3270123.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><font size="6"><b>New Type for Salapia</b></font></p><p><b>327, Lot: 123.</b> Estimate $100.</p><p>Sold for $750. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.</p><p><b>APULIA, Salapia. </b>Circa 225-210 BC. Æ (13mm, 3.16 g, 10h). Head of Athena right, wearing crested Corinthian helmet; star and ΣAΛ to left / Owl standing right, head facing; club to left. Unpublished in the standard references. VF, earthen green patina. Apparently unique.</p><p><i>From the Continental Collection.</i></p><p><br /></p><p>Wow. At least two bidders must've been intent on acquiring this new type!</p><p><br /></p><p>Four years later, a second example came to market in a Bertolami auction. It was unsold on an opening bid of £30. So much for the new kid on the block <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.</p><p><img src="https://www.sixbid.com/media/auction_images/4984/4151233l.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>Northern Apulia, Salapia, c. 225-210 BC. Æ (13mm, 2.90g, 8h). Head of Athena r., wearing crested Corinthian helmet; star and ΣAΛ to l. R/ Owl standing r., head facing; club to l. Unpublished in the standard references, but cf. CNG 2014, E-Sale 327, lot 123. Extremely Rare, near VF</p><p><br /></p><p>...</p><p><br /></p><p>Not much is known about Salapia. If the region of Apulia is the heel of Italy, Salapia was its Achille's tendon <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]847070[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>As always, feel free to post anything you feel is remotely relevant <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Edited 18 November:</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>Please don't help me with any attributions of coins shown in the group picture unless I post the individual coin with my thoughts-- then consider it fair game. For me, the fun and the entire point of buying the lot is in hunting for attributions <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />. The hurricanes and continued overwhelming expenses have decimated my coin budget and I have to stretch out my enjoyment for every purchase for as long as possible.</b>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="TIF, post: 3238334, member: 56859"]I like mystery coins-- that's why I'm quick to jump in when someone posts a coin for attribution. Digging for coin identification is fun. Recently some group lots of unattributed coins formerly belonging to BCD have been sold and I managed to acquire one lot thanks to [USER=57495]@zumbly[/USER]'s pre-bidding exuberance (if you want details you'll have to ask him :D). The lot accrued a lot of air miles on its way to this little rock but now they're here and I had time today to photograph them and start a spreadsheet. Twenty-one coins... one which is adorable and was attributable thanks to a couple of recent sales. Of the rest, I suspect some will eventually be attributable and a few might at best be narrowed down to some general possibilities. I'm going to need better magnification though! The average size is 13-14 mm and the smallest is 7! Hasty group shot: [ATTACH=full]847047[/ATTACH] The lot was packaged in a baggie of loose coins with a half dozen bits of auction ephemera in another baggie. The tags were separated from their coins! :(. Only two of the notes had any descriptive information specific to a coin so the remainder will go unmatched. That is unfortunate. I wish the auction house had not separated these bits of provenance from the coins! The unmatchable bits were notes about the source. The coin shown below did have a tag which provided some additional provenance. I'm having a great time making a spreadsheet, examining coins, and searching for clues :). Here's one of the nicest coins in the group, something which would have appealed to me even regardless with or without attribution. Thanks to a similar coin which came to auction this year, and one from 2014, some of the mystery has possibly been solved. However, taking someone else's word for the attribution when only two others are known, and with questionable obverse legends, I have to wonder how firm the attribution really is. I'd like to know what led to the rather narrow date given in the CNG listing, the first known example. Does the Salapia attribution come from the ΣAΛ reportedly seen on the CNG coin's obverse? My coin has legible letters on the reverse left field which on the other two examples are either off flan, worn away, or which were never there to begin with. Might these additional letters changes thoughts about the place of issue for all three of these examples? "ΠΛΩ"... it's not an abbreviation for Salapia. A magistrate, maybe? [ATTACH=full]847054[/ATTACH] [B]APULIA, Salapia[/B] c. 225-210 BCE AE 14mm, 2.04 gm Obv: head of Athena right, wearing crested helmet; [unlegible]Λ below left Rev: owl standing right, head facing; club to upper left; ΠΛΩ downward right field Ref: not recorded in reference literature but two prior examples are found, [URL='https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=259172']CNG E-auction 327 lot 123, 28 May 2014[/URL] and [URL='https://www.sixbid.com/browse.html?auction=4984&category=150292&lot=4151233']Bertolami E-auction 60 lot 23, 9 July 2018[/URL]. [I]ex BCD, acquired by him from Dan Clark, MBS 88, 24 May 93/ lot 77, total cost $22.[/I] The CNG specimen: [IMG]https://www.cngcoins.com/photos/enlarged/3270123.jpg[/IMG] [SIZE=6][B]New Type for Salapia[/B][/SIZE] [B]327, Lot: 123.[/B] Estimate $100. Sold for $750. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee. [B]APULIA, Salapia. [/B]Circa 225-210 BC. Æ (13mm, 3.16 g, 10h). Head of Athena right, wearing crested Corinthian helmet; star and ΣAΛ to left / Owl standing right, head facing; club to left. Unpublished in the standard references. VF, earthen green patina. Apparently unique. [I]From the Continental Collection.[/I] Wow. At least two bidders must've been intent on acquiring this new type! Four years later, a second example came to market in a Bertolami auction. It was unsold on an opening bid of £30. So much for the new kid on the block :D. [IMG]https://www.sixbid.com/media/auction_images/4984/4151233l.jpg[/IMG] Northern Apulia, Salapia, c. 225-210 BC. Æ (13mm, 2.90g, 8h). Head of Athena r., wearing crested Corinthian helmet; star and ΣAΛ to l. R/ Owl standing r., head facing; club to l. Unpublished in the standard references, but cf. CNG 2014, E-Sale 327, lot 123. Extremely Rare, near VF ... Not much is known about Salapia. If the region of Apulia is the heel of Italy, Salapia was its Achille's tendon :D. [ATTACH=full]847070[/ATTACH] As always, feel free to post anything you feel is remotely relevant :). [B]Edited 18 November: Please don't help me with any attributions of coins shown in the group picture unless I post the individual coin with my thoughts-- then consider it fair game. For me, the fun and the entire point of buying the lot is in hunting for attributions :). The hurricanes and continued overwhelming expenses have decimated my coin budget and I have to stretch out my enjoyment for every purchase for as long as possible.[/B][/QUOTE]
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BCD Incerta-- certainly fun
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