Finally a Pharos

That's a lovely drachm with a great looking pharos of Alexandria. Too bad your AP tetradrachm turned out fake, but I think the replacement is much better. I don't have facebook, but it seems good coins are for sale there too? I did not know that
Anyway, I don't have a drachm, nor a coin of Isis, nor a coin of Alexandria, etcetc. But I DO have a denarius with a lighthouse, from Messana. Not one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, but I hope you'll accept me sharing it.

By the way, Sear mentions the lighthouse shown on this denarius is topped with a statue of Neptune. I've been looking for the identification of the statue on top of your lighthouse, but all I can find in various descriptions is (note, I did not extensively research your coin though): "statue and two Tritons". Who is shown on top of the lighthouse of Alexandria? Is it Poseidon/Neptune? According to wikipedia it should/could be, but why is it not mentioned in the references I - quickly - found via acsearch?

 

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@Limes, I love your lighthouse coin!

Regarding your question, I was going to ask the same thing. But almost every source I looked at seemed to have a somewhat different answer as to whose statue was on top of the Pharos:

https://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/greece/paganism/pharos.html, consisting of quotations from ancient authors, indicates that the statue portrayed Zeus Soter (the Savior).

The entry at Worldhistory.org also says that "(mostly) agreed upon is the presence of a statue of Zeus Soter on the top."

The Encyclopedia Britannica says that the statue "possibly represent[ed] either Alexander the Great or Ptolemy I Soter in the form of the sun god Helios."

The entry at cs.mcgill.ca says that "A statue of Poseidon stood atop the tower during the Roman period."

Wikipedia says that the statue was of "Poseidon or Zeus."

The bottom line is that nobody seems entirely certain as to the statue's identity.

If anyone has more definitive information, I'd love to hear from you.

 

Great coin @DonnaML !

@Ancient Aussie alerted me to one of these (in much rougher condition) selling for about $100 back in 2019 and I regret not seeing his message earlier! (thank you!) At the time, I was looking for something in better condition and I regret not buying it now.... for $95 this one was not up long.

https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/ae...ninus_pius_138161_drachm/1164509/Default.aspx

 

Thank you DonnaML, its one of my favorite coins.

And thank you for sharing your finds in the literature/online. It seems we may never know what the statue was.

 

Congrats on the Pharos, Donna! Wonderful coin .

Oooh I'd love to get one of this type, with just the Pharos. Seems like every other Alexandrian collector feels the same though because I never manage to win. Yours is fantastic!!

Magnificent!

Man, another coins I really want. Lighthouse and Skylla? Yes please!

I picked up a nice Hadrian Pharos drachm from Forum Ancient Coins seven years ago... paid too much at the time, which gave me mixed feelings about the purchase, but I guess given the current state of prices the pain has faded.

EGYPT, Alexandria. Hadrian
year 18, CE 133/4
Æ drachm, 32 mm, 23.3 gm
Obv: AYT KAIC TPAIAN A∆PIANOC CEB, laureate and draped bust right
Rev: Isis Pharia right holding a billowing sail with both hands and left foot, sailing toward the Lighthouse of Pharos, which is surmounted by a statue and two Tritons, each blowing a buccinum (sea shell trumpet); L IH (year 18) above center
Ref: Emmett 1002.18

 

Nice one Donna also love the patina, a couple of my Drachma.

 

I like the variety showing the steps in front of the doorway. Not something I've seen very often.

What is the building on the reverse of your second coin? One doesn't see that many architectural renditions on Roman Alexandrian coins, although I would dearly love to have one of the rare reverses showing an Egyptian temple.

 

A beautiful example, @TIF. I can't imagine that whatever you paid for it was more than it would cost in today's market. I hesitated to pay what I paid for mine (several hundred dollars) given its very mediocre condition, but only momentarily -- it didn't take long to remember what prices are like now, and that Pharos coins may not be particularly uncommon, but still aren't available all that often. Just look up "Pharos" at VCoins or MA-Shops to see what I mean. For example, Harlan J. Berk offers this example -- certainly even more mediocre than mine! -- for $603.75:



And Shanna Schmidt offers this one, admittedly much nicer than mine, with a pedigree to the Staffieri and Dattari collections, for the low, low price of $12,500, calling it the "finest example known":



(I like @AncientJoe's better!)

All that aside, I'm very happy with mine. It's interesting how much my condition standards can vary depending on the kind of coin, and how much I can enjoy Roman Alexandrian coins (and some other Provincials) in a condition I wouldn't even consider for, say, a Roman Republican denarius.

 

Thanks Donna, it is actually a triumphal arch also on a few Trajan Drachma, my one is Domitian.

 

Roman Egypt, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius, AD 138-161. Billon Tetradrachm (24mm, 12.81g, 12h). Dated RY 17 (AD 153/154). Obv: ANTωNINOC CЄB ЄVCЄB; Laureate head right. Rev: Isis Pharia standing right, holding sistrum and billowing sail; L I Z (date) across field. Ref: Köln 1693 var. (placement of date); Dattari (Savio) 2261; K&G 35.577; Emmett 1403.17. Very Fine. Dark reddish-brown patina with touches of green. From the Stein A. Evensen Collection. Ex Lawrence Feinberg Collection (CNG Inventory 872663, June 2010). Ex CNG eAuction 477 (23 Sept 2020), Lot 345. CNG note: The protector of sailors, Pharia was just one of the various appellations given to Isis. This association with sailors emanated from the Pharos–or Lighthouse–of Alexandria, indicted on this issue by holding a billowing sail.