Featured Finally succumbed to the Greeks! The 12 Olympian gods..

DIONYSOS


Thasos, Thrace, BC 168-148
AR, tetradrachm, 16.12g, 31mm; 11h
Obv.: Portrait of Dionysos
Rev.: ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ to left, ΗΡΑΚΛΕΟΥΣ to right, ΘΑΣΙΩΝ below; Hercules with lion pelt in arm resting on club. M monogram left

 

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Pontos, Amisos, time of Mithradates VI, c. 85-65 BC. Æ
O: Head of Mithradates VI as Dionysos r. in ivy wreath
R: AMIΣOY beneath cista mystica, on which rest panther skin and thyrsus, monogram to left and right

 

There are some truly strong Dionysian coins in this thread. Some Apollonian element might be needed to counterbalance them:

Thrace, Apollonia Pontika, AR diobol, 4th century BC. Obv: laureate head of Apollo facing. Rev: upright anchor; A to l., crayfish to r. 11mm, 1.35g.

Just kidding. Here is a Greek Dionysos you don't see every day:

Kingdom of Cappadocia, under Archelaus, Æ18, 24/23 BC (?), Eusebeia mint. Obv: Head Dionysos right, wearing ivy wreath. Rev: EVΣΕ – ΒΕΙΑΣ, eagle over Mount Argaios. 18mm, 5.02g. Ref: RPC I, 3610.

And here is his Roman (semi-)equivalent, Liber:

Septimius Severus, Roman Empire, denarius, 194 AD, Rome mint. Obv: L SEPT SEV PERT AVG IMP III, head of Septimius Severus, laureate, r. Rev: LIBERO PATRI, Bacchus (Liber), wreathed, naked except for cloak over left arm, emptying oenochoe in r. hand over panther, and holding garlanded thyrsus in l. hand 17.5mm, 2.53g. Ref: RIC IV.1 Septimius Severus 32.

 

Very nice coin @Spaniard, sharp and clear portrait of Dionysos.

My favorite Dionysos portrait:

Islands off Thrace, Thasos. AR Hemidrachm (Early 2nd century B.C)
Obverse: Head of bearded Dionysos to right, wearing ivy wreath.
Reverse: ΘΑΣΙ ΩΝ Club and legend within laurel wreath.
Reference: Le Rider, Thasiennes 48. SNG Copenhagen 1036. SNG Lockett 1232.
1.69g; 15mm

 

Thanks for the comments and some lovely coins posted....
I've been looking into the monogram and there seems to be 3 more commonly depicted types the op coin looks similar to type 2? Thoughts anyone?

 

Seems like a good bet to me - a few other monograms, but not a better match from my view:

 

@Sulla80.........Thanks for looking, appreciated....Looks good to me too.

 

So here we go....Numero Nueve..9.....Another tough one to acquire...Really liked the detail and the simplistic depictions on both sides, with an added provenance bonus of it being an Ex Harlan J. Berk.

HERA...
Hera was the wife and sister of Zeus...And the daughter of the Titans Cronos and Rhea..She wasn't actually born like us mortals but was apparently regurgitated by her father Cronos!
Goddess of women, marriage, the family and childbirth.
Symbols associated with her...Pomegranate, peacock feather, diadem, cow, lily, lotus, cuckoo, panther, scepter, throne, lion
Roman equivalent goddess...Juno.
This coin was minted in Samos a city/island just off the west coast of Turkey and part of the ancient region known as Ionia. It was the birthplace of Greek philosophers such as the mathematician Pythagorus, Melissus, Epicurus and the astronomer Aristarchus being the first person to propose that the earth revolves around the sun (What a mad man! We all know it revolves around money!). Samos was a rich and powerful city-state renowned for wine production, which continues to this day, in fact most of the island is still covered in grape vine. Also famous for its red pottery (Samian ware), with its smooth surfaces, rich red-brown colour and sometimes finely detailed, it is quite 'beautiful'!

Samos also has some very important UNESCO sites..The archaic temple of Hera herself 'the Heraion' which stood 6km outside the ancient city. According to tradition, the Goddess Hera was born and raised here and for this reason her temple in Heraion is the biggest in the whole ancient world 109m long x 55m wide and 25m high also commonly known as Kolona (column) due to the one and only surviving column still standing.

And 'The tunnel of Eupalinos (also known as the Eupalinian aqueduct). An amazing engineering feat, being excavated around 6BC, this tunnel was just over 1km long running right through mount Kastro allowing the city to bring in its own fresh water supply from an inland natural spring.

Here's the sweet little coin...
Ionia Samos AE13 Circa 350 BC, 13.07 mm/3.08 grams
Obverse: Head of Hera left
Reverse: Lion's scalp facing
SNG Copenhagen 1694


The set so far....Please feel free to post your Hera coins...

 

@Spaniard, Felicitaciones por su moneda nueva, número 9! I like very much this collection you are assembling. Looking forward to seeing what you find for the remaining three. Here's a Hera:

Pontos, Amisos, AR Siglos,4th Century BC (5.54g, 19mm, 3h)
Obv: Draped bust of Hera left, wearing turreted stephanos
Rev: Owl standing facing with spread wings; H ΓH across fields; ΠEIPA below
Ref: SNG Stancomb 661 (this coin); cf. SNG BM Black Sea 1071; HGC 7, 229

and a 12 Olympians Roman Edition

 

@Sulla80.......Thanks I'm really enjoying the ride...
Nice Hera coin and WOW what a lovely Roman set!...
I've been looking at collecting a Roman silver set once this one is
complete....Particularly like the Mercury and was actually looking at the same Mars coin as yours today. It seems there is still some controversy over whether it depicts Mars or Scipio Africanus? But It's one of my favourite portraits!

 

Yes, Crawford says "There are no grounds for supposing that the obverse of 1 bears a portrait of P Scipio Africanus (contr M L Vollenweider)."

Vollenweider offers several arguments based on portraits, dieties (signature trio of Scipio), and time periods (parallel between battle with Jugurtha and battle of Zama), that the image is based on portraits from the time of the Asian campaign, 190 BC, in which Scipio was portrayed like a Greek strategist with a helmet. Her conclusion in 1958 before Crawford: "there is no longer any doubt that the two coin series and the ring portrait reflect one and the same personality, namely Scipio Africanus." Mattingly, Robinson, and Scullard all had their doubts about Scipio, and a potential Blasio relative was another suggestion.

To remove any doubt, I could switch to this coin for Mars:

Edit: Re-reading the RRC entry - there is a fairly extensive discussion of the arguments from Vollenweider and an argument for Mars on the obverse of Cr. 296/1.

 

What a great set of Republican coins! I don't think I've ever bought a Roman Republican coin specifically for the obverse (except for the Plautius Plancus with Medusa on the obverse), but in the course of collecting I've managed to acquire half of the Roman Olympians pretty much by accident -- Jupiter, Juno, Neptune, Mars, Apollo, and Diana, with multiple examples of most. Plus one (issued by C. Allius Bala) that might be Venus but probably is just another Diana. Perhaps I'll start paying more attention to the obverses in the future, because I wouldn't mind having some of the others.

I really love your example of the C. Mamilius Limetanus, not so much for Mercury (although I like his hat!), but for Ulysses and his dog on the reverse. I've wanted one of those for quite a while, but it seems that on at least half of them, the dog is either entirely or partially missing. Which kind of defeats the purpose!

 

PONTOS, Amisos. Late 5th-4th century BC. AR Siglos – Drachm (22mm, 5.39 gm, 6h). Obv: Head of Hera left, wearing ornate polos. Rev: Eagle with spread wings standing facing on shield; grain ear to outer left, sword in sheath to outer right, AP-IΣ (magistrate) across field, ΠEIPA below. Malloy 1m; RG 1; SNG BM Black Sea 1054 var. (kerykeion to outer left); SNG Copenhagen 121; SNG von Aulock –; HGC 7, 229. Die break at Hera's chin

 

Thanks @DonnaML Like you, I didn't buy the coins for the deities, however, out of curiosity, I tried to see how many of the "12 Olympians" I had, I was surprised to see that I had at least one of all twelve. The dog and the story of the coin is one of many "favorites" in this group (a nice CT writeup from @Jochen1).

 

That's a fascinating writeup.

 

HERA
Of Capua

Campania
CAPUA
AE 14.5mm
216-211
Hera
Oscan symbols, Grain ear
Hannibal's capital of Italia
SNG Fr 517 SNG ANS 219 HN Italy 500
Ex: EE Clain Stefanelli collection
Scarce as coinage from Capua under Carthage were systematically destroyed by Rome


HERA
Of TROAS


Troas Tenedos
late 5th-early 4th C BCE
AR Obol
8mm 0.60g
Januform Hera-Zeus -
Labrys within incus sq
RARE SNG Ash 1235 HGC 6 387

 

@Sulla80.......Thanks for the info, certainly an interesting debate...
That's a wonderful looking set and has given me a few ideas and leads to follow up so thanks again...

.....I've pretty much decided on two of the last three ie the Demeter and Ares but still in 2 minds over the Vulcan..Lipara coins are out of my budget so this will be one god that will come from either Spain Malaca or Italy Samnium, Aesernia and I'm leaning more towards the Aesernia type because of the engraving style..


@PeteB....Great looking coin!...Lovely detailed portrait and the expression on the owl reminds me of my old Physics teachers look each time we got something wrong! Cool coin!

@Alegandron.....Very nice coins, and as you say the Capua coins are very difficult to find and can get quite pricey...Pretty little Obol, it amazes me just how much detail can be transferred onto such a tiny flan!

 

I've got a Pontic drachm catalogued as showing Hera:

Pontos, Amisos, AR drachm (Chian standard), 4th c. BC. Obv: turreted head of Hera/Tyche l. Rev: Owl with spread wings facing, ME-ΓA below, Π in left field. 15mm, 3.8g. SNG BM Black Sea 1099.

With some coins supposedly showing Hera, there seems to be room for interpretation. For example, a turreted female head might also be Tyche, a veiled one could as well represent Demeter. In some cases, we might have to live with a degree of uncertainty about which deity is represented. My coin likely is one of these.

 

While I have a zillion Juno coins, I have to turn to the "Greek Imperial" (Roman provincial) series for Hera. Here's one -- of Faustina II, of course:


Faustina Jr, AD 147-175.
Roman provincial Æ 22.4 mm, 6.54 g.
Thrace, Hadrianopolis, AD 161-176.
Obv: ΦΑVCΤΙΝΑ CΕΒΑCΤH, pearl-diademed and draped bust, right.
Rev: ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟΠΟΛΕΙΤΩΝ, Hera veiled, standing in front of altar, holding patera and scepter.
Refs: RPC IV (temp) 3921; Moushmov 2532; Varbanov 1631; Jurukova 63–67, 71, and 76–81; SNG Cop 558; Mionnet Suppl. 2, 644.