Dipping my toes in Ancient Greece

I have been a collector of Modern (1600- )world coins for a while now. Never really dealt with ancients because honestly, they intimidated me. Well, I have been regularly perusing the Ancients forum on CT for the last couple of months. I have purchased some recommended literature but not actually read any of them yet.

Well, I just received notification that I picked up 2 pieces off of the latest CNG auction.



THESSALY, Pharkadon. Circa 440-400 BC. AR Hemidrachm (15mm, 2.76 g, 3h). The hero Thessalos, with petasos around the neck, restraining forepart of bull right by band held around its head / Φ-Α-Ρ-[Κ]A-Δ-O, forepart of horse right within incuse square. BCD Thessaly II 603; HGC 4, 292. Near VF, toned, granular surfaces, a few shallow scratches on reverse.

From the BCD Collection. Ex Frank Robinson 15 (14 December 1989), lot 128.



KINGS of MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’. 336-323 BC. AR Drachm (17mm, 4.30 g, 12h). Sardes mint. Struck under Menander, circa 324/3 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; rose below throne. Price 2571; ADM I Series X. EF, underlying luster, weak strike on reverse. Well centered.

I picked up both of these for prices that I can live with. Most importantly, I like them both.

So, thanks guys, for getting me into this.

 

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Great coins! Especially (to me) the lifetime Alexander drachm with its expressive portrait and lively Zeus.

 

The water is warm! and your coins are NICE!

And, hey... That bull-wrangler type seems familiar!

 

Nice pick ups. I came out on top on 1 coin. Disappointed I was the under bidder on the Thessalian drachm with the horse and Jason's sandal.

 

Did you notice that this was a different city than either of the ones shown in the contest? Bull sports were popular across the region. This latest one is a nice coin.

 

I hadn't had a chance to go back and look, but I recognized it was different (this one the bull is right and the other left). That's fascinating that it was so prolific across Thessaly! I really enjoyed Z's write up in the contest about this type, area, and activities!

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/poll-18-17-dougsmit-vs-32-zumbly-round-2-cit-2018.321875/

 

You know, I thought I had seen a similar coin recently but couldn't find the post.

 

o wow!...very nice coins!.. i've just purchased a Kyme frontal horse half bronze meself awaiting it to arrive with some others... toe dipping?!?.. you've dove in head 1st!

 

Those are two great first coins! Congrats and welcome!

 

Thank you.

 

Great choices!

If you buy the Jenkins book, just thumb through and look at all the pictures first. It is a great intro to a lot of coins. You may find certain regions or styles you really like.

Then you can go back and read it all.

John

 

grabbing a bull by the horns is a great symbol for jumping in the ancient Greek space too! good for you!

 

Thanks for all the support everyone. I tend to jump in to new things with both feet so I’m sure there will be new items to post before too long.

 

@Chris B

2 wonderful and beautiful acquisitions. Congrats on taking the plunge.

 

You're off to a great start!

 

I like the Wildman coins, too!

John

 

Great job, looking forward to your next ones!

 

Welcome to the Dark Side, @Chris B! Those are a couple of very nice coins to start off your Greek collection. You could not have scored the bull wrestler hemidrachm for a better price, IMHO. The ongoing sales of BCD's massive collection has allowed some of these coins to be picked up at very affordable prices. Here's my Pharkadon:

The taurokathapsia series was struck by a confederation of Thessalian authorities from around 460 BC, after they had come together to form an alliance with Athens. They were issued by Larissa, Pharkadon, Trikka, Krannon, Pherai, the Perrhaiboi, Pelinna and Skotoussa (the last two mints being the scarcest).

In pointing out stylistic differences of the obverse dies of Larissa's bull wrestler hemidrachms, Cathy Lorber had this to say: "The right-facing hero is rather dumpy, with a thick rounded hat, arguably a petasus rather than a kausia. The left-facing hero is slightly more gracile, though still endowed with protruding buttocks and powerful thighs, and his kausia has a tiny crown and wide brim."
Hmmm, perhaps too much information for the general collector?

 

Dive in! Total immersion Great coins, @Chris B !

 

The hobby of ancient coins probably loses a good number of new people each year who were not looking for that much information. I learned something from this thread. Bull wrestlers are rarely built like vegetarians. Who would have guessed??? Are left facing heroes earlier or later than right? Are heroes from one city regularly more muscular while another more 'pudgy'? Is the man on my coin a portrait Is there any evidence of a central mint making coins for more than one city? Some of us relish TMI and will come up with more questions when these have been answered. Others will leave and wonder why anyone collects those coins.