Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Pavlos, post: 3378202, member: 96635&quot;]I have been looking for this coin quite some time, but I found the price a little too high for what I wanted to pay. Until I won this one, with a great price/condition ratio. I find the different Greek islands to all have a unique history and I was very eager to investigate this for myself. I also want to share this interesting history with you.</p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/387CyOr.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><b>Ionia, Samos AR Drachm / Tetrobol (210 B.C. - 185 B.C). 2.96g; 17mm.</b></p><p><b>Obverse: </b>Facing lion scalp.</p><p><b>Reverse: </b>ΣAMIΩN; Forepart of ox charging right; krater, grape bunch, and grain ear below.</p><p>Reference: HGC 6, 1241; Barron 2.</p><p><br /></p><p>Samos, a much forgotten island, but was the mightiest state in Greece during the days of Polycrates and a formidable rival of Athens. It was one of the first in the war of independence to take up arms. On the island of Samos there was only one town existing in ancient times, the walled citadel with its harbor (which was the source of most of its wealth) and on the other side at the shore of the sea, the Heraion. The Heraion of Samos dedicated to the goddess Hera was one of the largest and richest temples of Greece, made in very early times. In ancient times there was even a dispute that the cult of Hera at Samos is older than the cult of Hera at Argos. They pointed out that at their island, the Queen of Olympos was born at a little stream called Imbrasus beneath a cluster of Chaste trees.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.samosin.gr/wp-content/uploads/ireon_templ_ground_plan.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><i>The Heraion of Samos</i></p><p><br /></p><p>This religious cult was obviously reflected on the coins minted by Samos. On the above coin two notable deities are visible, the lion scalp and the ox/bull.</p><p><br /></p><p>Where did the lion scalp come from? Lions have been associated to the goddess Hera. In very rare instances the lion appears on monuments as the symbol of the Hera. On a vase at Girgenti, a scene of the judgment of Paris is visible where Hera is accompanied by a lion. In a line of Homer, Hera herself is called a lion. At Argos there was a statue of Hera with beneath her feet a lion’s skin. Below a picture is visible of a figurine dedicated to Hera with lions on it. It is noteworthy that on the coins of Samos not a lion’s head is visible, but a lion’s scalp. When this skin is presented it takes the form of a lion’s head with the mouth wide open. No coin of Samos is known with the head of a lion facing or a lion’s head with its mouth closed. A lion’s scalp is normally related to Herakles, but there is no evidence of any special cult of Herakles at Samos.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.livius.org/site/assets/files/57830/samos_t_hera_vessel_650_pergamonmuseum.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><i>Women figure as goddess Hera, statue of three young women with lions. <i>Samos, Temple of Hera,</i> ca 650 BC.</i></p><p><br /></p><p>The other deity visible on the coin is the bull or ox. The bull never appears complete on Samian coins but always his fore part only with two legs bent. Possibly he may stand for a river-god, as does the forepart of the man-headed bull at Gela in Sicily. But it is also possible that the bull may belong to the cult of Hera. At the temple, white cows were sacrificed to the goddess. And Io, who in many ways is her double, was consistently thought by the Greeks as a heifer. However, the bull is more closely connected with Artemis than Hera. There was a temple of Artemis Tauropolos at Samos, and the festivals held in honour of that goddess are not unknown on the island. In Samos, and in many parts of Asia, Hera and Artemis were not fully distinguished. Both were alike being called Chesia and Imbrasia, and both bearing many traces of oriental origin.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/vGb6Psl.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><i>Small Forepart of bull figurine found at Samos.</i></p><p><br /></p><p>The coin above was introduced and minted between 210 and 185 BC in two denominations (ca. 2.9g and 1.45g). The coins of Samos in this period are numerous. It is noteworthy that these two new denominations are of Plinthophoric Rhodian standard. However, some discard this because the Plinthophoric weight was not introduced until 190 BC. Therefore tetrobol (or diobol for the half denomination) of Attic standard is commonly reported as well, most notably by Barron (The Silver Coins of Samos 1967).</p><p><br /></p><p>During the minting of these coins, the following events happened in and around Samos:</p><p><br /></p><p>Between 322 and 205 BC, Samos was autonomous but dependent on one or other of the principal Hellenistic kings. Samos was a station of the fleet of Ptolemy Philopator and his minister Sosibius, and the island remained in Ptolemaic hands until the death of the king in 205 BC. On the death of Ptolemy Philopater, Philip V of Macedon and Antiochos of Syria formed a plan for dividing his possessions, this led to Philip V seizing Samos. After the victory of Flamininus and the Romans over Macedon, the island, like many other Greek states, became free of subjection by the Macedonian king. However, this freedom was not for long. When the Rhodian Pausimachus was defeated by Antiochos III, Samos quitted the Roman alliance and joined the Syrian king. After the battle of Magnesia in 190 BC, the whole of Ionia was made over by the Roman to their ally Eumenes, king of Pergamon. Eventhough Samos became a possession of Eumenes III, the following years were relatively peaceful and prosperous for Samos.</p><p><br /></p><p>As a bonus, a rare bronze coin from Samos I obtained some time ago (condition is not the best unfortunately). It shows Hera (as expected) and again a lion&#039;s scalp.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/K8f5i3w.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><b>Ionia, Samos Æ Bronze (394 B.C. - 365 B.C). 2.71g; 15mm.</b></p><p><b>Obverse:</b> Head of Hera to left wearing stephane and necklace with pendants.</p><p><b>Reverse:</b> Lion’s scalp facing front.</p><p>Reference: SNG von Aulock 2296; SNG Cop. 1694.</p><p><br /></p><p>Post your coins from Samos! Coins from neighboring Greek islands are welcome as well.[/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