First 2019 Purchase

I know a lot of you have a headless Medusa from Pontos Amisos, but this is my first. So now I can join the club, eh? It's certainly not the prettiest, but the final cost was below $50 so I am happy with my purchase.

I would also like to point out that I obtained this off an Ebay auction; however, it was not only from a seller I trust, but also a member of this august forum. I know we have talked about Ebay as a minefield, but if one knows and trusts the seller, one can navigate that minefield. Ebay is no worse than any other seller platform and perhaps better price wise. There are a half dozen to a dozen sellers I know and trust on Ebay. In this case, the auction ended Friday evening and the coin arrived Monday afternoon. How quick was that?

Anyway, to the coin:

AMISOS, PONTOS
AE30
OBVERSE: Helmeted head of Athena right
REVERSE: AMI-ΣOY across fields, Perseus standing facing, looking left, holding harpa and head of Medusa; Medusa's body at his feet right, AMTE and ΩΣ monograms to left and right
Struck at Amisos 109-89 BC
19.87g, 27mm
BMC 30; RecGen 17h; SNG Tuebingen 2049; Malloy 16L

I now own five coins from Pontos Amisos. I'm not sure why, other than I find I like the design of the coinage. Here are my other coins from Pontos:

AMISOS, PONTOS
AE 21
OBVERSE: Gorgonian head facing on shield
REVERSE: AMI-SOU to left and right of Nike advancing right, holding palm over shoulder; ME monogram to left, VTE monogram to right
Struck at Amisos 80 BC
7.6g, 21mm
SNG BMC 1190

AMISOS, PONTOS
Æ17
OBVERSE: Head of Dionysos with ivy-wreath right
REVERSE: AM-ISOS, Thyrsos; monogram to right
Struck at Amisos 85-65 BC
4.0g, 17mm
SNG BM 1192-1195

AMISOS, PONTOS
AE 22
OBVERSE: Aegis with head of gorgoneion in centre
REVERSE: [A]MI-ΣO[Y] Nike walking right, holding palm tied with fillet over left shoulder; monograms flanking
Struck at Amisos 85-65 BC
7.3g, 22mm
SNG BMC Black Sea 1180-1182; SNG Cop. 171

And my favorite by far:

AMISOS, PONTOS
AE 20
OBVERSE: Head of youthful Dionysos right, wreathed with ivy
REVERSE: Thyrsos leaning against cista mystica draped with panther skin; AMISOU below
Struck at Amisos 85-65 BC
8.8g, 21mm
SNG BM Black Sea 1199-1200; HGC 7, 243


Post your coins from Amisos Pontos

 

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Nice addition, I had it on my watch list but ended up getting some british half crowns I needed that went unnoticed instead cheap.

 

The only one I have that you did not show is this small AE with tripod.

 

Nice catch, Bing. I too waited to get one of these, and found one on eBay on the cheap that has some virtues and some vices. I wish Perseus wasn't decapitated as well as Medusa, but for $30 you are going to have to take some flaws.



I also got a tripod one sorta like Doug's. It too has problems, but I really liked the portrait (and it was cheap). Mine isn't all that small - almost 9 grams. Is this the same as Doug's? Inexpert attribution below...



Pontos, Amisos Æ 18
Struck under Mithradates VI
(c. 125-100 B.C.)
Diademed head of Artemis right; bow & quiver at shoulder / ΑΜΙ - ΣΟΥ Tripod.
SNGBM Black Sea 1139 ff.; SNG Copenhagen 138. SNG; Stancomb 671.
(8.92 grams / 18 mm)

 

Great new example, @Bing!!

 

Here is one from a few years ago I bought separately. I have a few others from large lots I don't have imaged. I thought this one was centered pretty nicely.

 

Very nice coin Bing - I like it.

 

Great coin of a popular type, with nice eye appeal. Congrats.

 

Mine is AE13 and 2.14g which would seem to be 1/4 of yours.

I judge these reverses on a six point system:
Is Medusa's body clear with blood gushing?
Does Medusa's head have facial details?
Is the hook shaped weapon clear?
Does Perseus have a head on flan?
Is the legend clear?
Are the surfaces smooth and attractive?

I have several of these coins and consider a 4/6 a very good score. 2/6 is not without some merit. That is just the reverse. The obverse has points as well but that is a different matter.
Amisos 3/6 reverse (obverse better?)


Amastris 4/6 reverse (obverse about equal)


Sinope 4/6 reverse (obverse better)


The hardest one IMO is getting facial features on the head. Of course all of this is just opinion.

 

Love this particular coin and a really interesting time in history. Here's mine:

 

Nice pickup @Bing. Of course we were all expecting a rare LEG denarius. Not that you have a reputation or anything.

 

A few more types:

I was unable to wait for a better specimen of this type and purchased a weak example. I suspect this depicts Mithradates' Scythian wife, but have no way to prove that theory.

Pontos, Amisos, 85-65 BC, 5.99g, 20mm
Obv: Amazon head in wolf (?) skin
Rev: ΑΜΙ-ΣΟΥ; Nike


Pontos, Amisos, 85-65 BC, 2.64g, 15mm
Obv: Head of Perseus right, wearing a winged Phrygian helmet
Rev: ΑΜΙ-ΣΟΥ, winged harpa; monogram right.
ex-Münzen & Medaillen GmbH (DE), auction 17, October 2005, lot 731; ex-Münzen und Medaillen AG, Basel - Lagerliste 474 (1985), lot 148.

 

Great Pontos collection Bing, congrats.

 

Welcome to the club, @Bing!

Intriguing theory!

 

Great coin @Bing! Do I see a Pontos collection forming along your Legion collection?

Mine:

 

Great new coin to add to the budding Amisos, Pontos collection

I've been looking for one of the Gorgon head types for a while now, but haven't found one I really liked yet at a price I've liked too so nothing to show.

-d

 

Many of Mithradates’ types seem to illustrate the myth of Perseus. There are tetradrachms with Pegasos reverse, large bronzes of Athena head/Perseus, large Perseus/Pegasos bronzes, this aegis/Nike bronze, and a small bronze Perseus/harpa. Barclay Head explained the significance of the types:“On these coins the supposed Persian descent of Mithradates is emphasized by the types relating to Perseus.”

Mithradates’ other bronze types include Zeus (who fathered Perseus) and Dionysos (who fought Perseus). Warwick Wroth speculated that the female head in ‘wolf’s skin’ type issued by Mithradates represents Andromeda.

Wroth suggested that the ‘wolf’s skin’, which Mionnet called goat’s skin and James Millingen called griffin’s skin, is the skin of the ketos slain by Perseus. I am suggesting that both the Wroth "Andromeda" theory and the "Amazon" theory are correct.

Mithradates’ other types are identified as “Ares” (?), “Head in leather cap”, and “Artemis”. These mythological figures are all identified by style; there is no certainty that Ares and Artemis are the correct identification. Those coins could depict other characters from Perseus’ cycle and we would not know.

Mithradates loved poisons and pharmacology. He would have been attracted to Perseus as a hero who brought back poisons and cures from remote lands.

Mithradates allied with Scythian tribes, possibly including the Sarmatians, a tribe named after lizards (sauros). A Persian, using the power of reptiles to fight Rome may have inspired the Perseus themes. Perseus would have appealed to the Greeks Mithradates sought to ally with.

Mithradates' coins were used and imitated in the Amazon lands of Scythia. I have seen "imitations" with bogus "Amisos"-style inscriptions. Lately I have been wondering if they are not imitations, but official issues of the tribes allied with Mithradates.

 

Really good addition Bing. I really love the coinage from Pontus/ Kings of the Bosphorus region/ Colchis Celtic coinage....and not to forget Scythian coins Here is one of my Staters from Mithradates VI

 

Try this again....

 

Bing, Nice addition to your group . The last coin in your group is my favorite too . The portrait of Dionysos is beautiful & the composition on the reverse is fascinating. Amisos was obviously rich in mythology & cultism .