I love collecting ancient coins and artifacts, but it isn't everyday that both hobbies can overlap with the synergy displayed by this nice assortment, recently made worthy of sharing by the acquisition of an undamaged bullet of fine style (unidentified by the seller so I snagged it for a good deal). I have 3 coins of Lysimachus, 2 mediocre bronzes that I need to upgrade and an aesthetically appealing 4.12g, 18mm drachm proudly inscribed with ΛΥΣΙΜΑΧΟΥ (haven't tried to figure out what mint it's from yet). That's all well and good, but the much more rare and arcane items are the 2 lead sling bullets, originally inscribed "ΛΥ" on one side and a very busy monogram on the other side that may well incorporate all the characters in his name. I had a hard time identifying the first damaged bullet but lucked upon a very helpful archaeological report which presented images of identical bullets and identified them as having been used by the armies of Lysimachus; a wonderful resolution to my hunt for information. I've noticed that the coinage of Lysimachus often bore monograms, and among the variety used one can find examples which are extremely similar if not identical to those embossed on the bullets. I find it an interesting example of the synergistic "crossover" between certain coins and certain artifacts which makes all the items much more interesting as a set than taken individually. Left bullet, which got chopped by the detectorist's shovel, is 36.72g, 35mm. Right bullet is 39.26g, 35mm. Please post any of your examples of "crossover" coins and artifacts!
I'd really like a Lysimachus tetradrachm like yours, but it's hard to locate good deals on big ancient silver. The drachm I got was 35 bucks, a decent deal, but at 10 times that for a tet my money gets anxious and tends to flow toward artifacts, hah. Thanks for sharing!
Great coins and artifacts @Plumbata ... I always like the fractional silvers and bronzes from the Greeks. I have Tets, but, in my view the fractionals were used by the everyday locals, and the Tets were made for intercity commerce. I have not tied my artifacts to coins, but I will take @Andres2 's lead: Scythia 2 AE Arrowheads 7th-3rd C BC Trilobate Lower Danube 21-25mm LYSIMACHOS: Thrace Lysimachus AE 14 306 BC Apollo forepart of Lion Thrace - Lysimachos 305-281 BCE AE14 Lysimacheia mint 2.7g Young Male Helmeted - Forepart Lion SNG Cop 1159 var Thrace - Lysimachos 305-281 BCE AE20 Sysimachia mint 4.64g 19.5mm Athena - Lion SNG Cop 1153 Muller 76 Thrace -Lysimachos AR Tetradrachm 305-281 BCE RARE Alexander head-Ammon horns - rev Lysimachos Athena
Thanks for sharing! I too enjoy the silver fractions and bronzes (still have 20/12 vision so tiny coins pose no problems) but the big silvers are hard to beat. Another thing I like about the Lysimachus bronzes is the spearhead design element. I don't know what significance or message it conveyed if the meaning is known, but I've got a pretty massive collection of spearheads so seeing them on coins (or sling bullets, for that matter) is extra appealing. I know that there are sling bullets with Alexander's name on them, and suspect that Kassander had some too. It may take years but i'll find a way to get my hands on some!
Some great sling bullets! I have one from the battle of Munda. From my collection: http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-104592 Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus CN MAG Lead sling shot reportedly from the battle of Munda. Found in Estepa, Spain 74.19g 49x28mm The Battle of Munda took place on March 17, 45 BC in the plains of Munda, which is in modern southern Spain. This was the last great battle of Julius Caesar's civil war against the republican armies. After this victory, and the deaths of Titus Labienus and Gnaeus Pompeius (Pompey's oldest son), Caesar was free to return to Rome and govern as dictator. Tens of thousands of Romans died at Munda. About one month after defeat, Gnaeus was captured and executed. His brother Sextus survived to initiate another rebellion, on Sicily, where he was finally defeated by Marcus Agrippa and executed in Asia in 35 BC by Mark Antony, ten years after Munda. Eitan Hirsch, a ballistics expert with the Israeli Defense Forces calculated that an expert slinger could hit a target from 35 meters away. According to his calculations a projectile could be hurled at a velocity of 34 meters per second. Equivalent to a modern day handgun. These are great to collect but you gotta be careful. There are a lot of fakes floating around.
Nice bullet! It is of a rather substantial weight, a common trait with Romano-Iberian sling bullets but unusual when compared with generally lighter Hellenistic bullets. I still need to get one of those, they show up frequently enough but I overslept the last time a good example came up. And yeah the fakes made in Spanish workshops are obnoxious, there is one of these CN MAG bullets for sale now that is an obvious fake, but thankfully the fakes are relatively easy to detect.
Took this picture last year on my holiday to Mallorca Spain: Seems the stone slingers were auxillary guys from Pamphylia and other places to reinforce the army's of Alexander, his diadochen and the Roman legions.
I don't know what the projectiles of the mercenary-slingers of Aspendos or Selge were composed of, but whatever they were the impression I get is that they were exceptionally skilled. I have a crappy stater of Selge which was an impulse purchase after I obtained a lead sling bullet embossed with the 3-legged Triskelion symbol, apparently the city symbol of Aspendos (presumably Selge as well) that was also emblazoned on the shields of their heavier infantry, if I recall correctly. I posted this in the artifact thread but can't resist the invitation here: 28.43g, 31mm.
