Reply to Thread

Message:: [QUOTE="kirispupis, post: 8173729, member: 118780"]Recently, I couldn't resist picking up this very rare obol. Its attribution is tenuous, but I'm accepting it on the argument that a) Göktürk knows more about ancient coins than I do and b) no one's refuted his attribution. [ATTACH=full]1428128[/ATTACH]Isaura Palaia(?), Cilicia Silver hemiobol c. 335-325 BCE 8.1mm 0.294g obverse head of Herakles facing slightly left reverse facing head of lion, YAYPCOM (or similar) below Göktürk p. 150, 86 (Isaura Palaia), SNG Kayhan 1062, SNG Levante -; SNG BnF - ex Leu Numismatik web auction 13 (15 Aug 2020) ex Roma e-sale 52 (10 Jan 2019) ex Forum Ancient Coins Interestingly, this coin bounced around a lot before I picked it up. It seems no one wanted it, maybe due to the history? Isaura Palaia was an extremely wealthy city that somehow escaped notice for some time. Alexander the Great ignored it along with the rest of Cappadocia in order to tackle more important challenges. After his death, though, Perdikkas decided it was time to subjugate the region. First up was Laranda. [ATTACH=full]1428132[/ATTACH]Lycaonia. Laranda AR Obol 324/3 BCE 9.67mm .52 grams Obverse: Facing head of Herakles, with club over shoulder, H to left Reverse: Forepart of wolf right; star above Göktürk 68–9 Ex Marc Breitsprecher As detailed by Diodorus Siculus, Perdikkas massacred all men, sold the women and children into slavery, then leveled the city. In my reading, this was a portent of things to come. Alexander had always attempted to come to peaceful arrangements with cities. If they submitted to him, he mostly left them alone. Those that resisted strongly he made examples of. Perdikkas' treatment of Laranda was certainly noticed by his next target, Isaura. Isaura, being a wealthier city, gave a stauncher resistance, but Perdikkas' forces were overwhelming and they knew they stood no chance. So, one night they shoved all their treasures in their houses, shut them up with their women and children, and lit them on fire. When Perdikkas' troops rushed to put out the fire, they were stunned to still find the men on the walls fighting back. Perdikkas was completely perplexed, but seeing that the whole matter was pointless, he just pulled his men back and let the city burn. The next day, the men escaped to a nearby hill. Meanwhile, Perdikkas' troops scavenged the ruins and found tremendous amounts of silver and gold. They were melted, but otherwise fine. When I first read about this affair, I felt the Isaura Palaians were morons.a) If there was an escape route, couldn't they have taken their women and children with them?b) If their goal was to prevent Perdikkas from looting their treasures, the plan absolutely failed. I still feel their plan had significant flaws, but Perdikkas had forced their hand. His treatment of Laranda allowed no negotiations. That same attitude from Perdikkas is likely why he lasted a scant two years before he was murdered by his own troops. FWIW, here's my Perdikkas tet.[ATTACH=full]1428133[/ATTACH]Kingdom of Macedon, Philip III Arrhidaios AR Tetradrachm In the name and types of Alexander III Struck under Menes, with Perdikkas as regent Tyre, dated RY 29 of Azemilkos = 321/0 BC  Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress / Zeus Aëtophoros seated to left, holding sceptre; ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ to right, -|O (Phoenician 'K = 'Ozmilk [king of Tyre]) above ||| ||| =/||| (Phoenician date [29]) in left field. Price 3275 (Ake); Newell, Dated 32 (same); DCA 737; HGC 3.1, 941 (Alexander IV). 17.03g, 26mm, 6h. Ex Roma Personally, I feel this photo of a goose I took recently sums it up.[ATTACH=full]1428129[/ATTACH] Interestingly, Laranda obols are obscenely common. After Kyzikos they may be the most common obols around. They're all attributed to 324/323 BCE, and I wonder what possessed them to mint so many. Contrast that to Isaura Palaia - and the coins are extremely rare. Small denominations tended to remain local, so it would make sense that the majority of Isaura coins perished in the fire. Feel free to post your own coins from similarly weird moments in history.[/QUOTE]

Create my FREE Account!

Log in or Sign up

Reply to Thread

Useful Searches