Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Valentinian, post: 3223820, member: 44316&quot;]This has been one of my favorite coins since 1984:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]839850[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>31 mm. Husam al din Yuluq Arslan, struck 596 AH = 1199/1200 AD, vasal of two Ayyubids: Al Afdal Ali and Calif al Nasir</p><p>Figure seated holding sword in right as if about to swing and holding up severed head in his left. </p><p>The reverse has a long Arabic legend.</p><p>Spengler &amp; Sayles 36. Sayles explains many Turkoman bronze types as depicting astrological references. He writes this one is a reference to the planet Mars and &quot;the image was prompted by planetary alignments&quot; [at the time it was struck.]</p><p><br /></p><p>The is at least one Roman Republican coin with a horseman holding a severed head. That one is interpreted as depicting victory in battle. Of course, Mars, the god, is related to battle. A good victory in battle seems a more compelling reason for a coin type than a planetary alignment.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in