Featured Follow the coin theme GAME - ancient edition - post ‘em if you got ‘em

Alexander III "the Great", tetradrachm (posthumous), Sardis 319-315 BC (Price 2664).

NEXT : non-Alexander Herakles obverse.

 

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Nobody is 100% sure if the reverse portrait actually is of Tiribazos, but the obverse is definitely Herakles.


Next: Achaemenid, Persis or Sasanid, but not a siglos.

 

Sassanid dirham : Peroz (459-484), Goyman (Iran) mint.

NEXT : an Umayyad dirham

 

Umayyad Caliphate, Wasit mint dirham. Dated 714 AD.

Next, Non European 8th century coin.

 

China
Tang Dynasty
Dai Zong, Dali Time
Av: Da Li Yuan Bao, 大曆元寶
Rv: -
Year: 766-779
Material: AE, 23.7mm, 3.78g
Ref.: Hartill 14.130

Next: Tang Dynasty

 

841-907 AD, Tang dynasty-Kaiyuan Tongbao; Fu. Anonymous ruler.

Next, South East Asia.

 

Ceylon/ Polonnaruwa Period
AV Kahavanu ND/ NM
Vijaya Bahu I 1055-1110
NEXT: Coin from Hindu Medieval Kingdom

 

The major Javanese kingdoms bounced between Hinduism and Buddhism at times, both peacefully and not. These coins were produced anonymously by successive kingdoms for roughly 500 years from c. 780 to 1300 AD.

Hindu and Buddhist Kingdoms of East Java
c. 930 to 1300 AD
AR Kupang | 0.59 grams | 10mm wide | Scyphate flan
Obv: Sandalwood flower
Rev: Nagari script Ma
​

Next: Another coin which cannot (or has not yet) be attributed to a specific kingdom

 

Elsen's did not even know...
Another mystery coin....

 

Most attribute this type to the Srivijaya which is very likely in my opinion. Some of these cross coins show a crude purnakalasha design on the reverse (yours is just the typical mound portrayal) which is inline with Sumatran and Javanese coins issued c. 800 to 1300 AD, during which the Srivijaya ruled from Palembang (until they maybe shifted their capital to Mauri Jambi on the Batang Hari River in the 11th century) which is where these coins have been found. Indonesia suffers from a lack of coin finds in archaeological settings, this Palembang cross coin series included, so it is hard to pinpoint too much but understanding the contemporary coin series can shine some light onto otherwise unknown types.

Here is another mystery coin (?) from the Srivijaya, maybe. I believe this is a measuring weight with the gold inlay to provide some sign of "correct" or "approved", as other Sumatran weights with a center gold inlay are known and they seem to align with the Massa Weight System (MWS) which was used in Sumatra, Java, the Malay Peninsula, and the Philippine Islands. The MWS was in use from c. 780 to the 1800s, so dating this seems impossible for now but the appearance of the weight seems to fall inline with other Srivijayan coins which date to c. 800-1300 AD.

Sumatran tin weight with gold inlay
4 Massa | ~9.6 grams
Obv: Small gold inlay center
Rev: Unclear design struck center
Reportedly from the Musi River of Palembang

​

Next: Another non-circulating coin, jeton, ingot, token, etc.

 

Roman Egypt, PB token of Antinous, please see the rendering of Antinopolis (Sheikh el-Abada), the city founded by the grieving Hadrian in memory of his friend, below. Note that by the end of the 19th century the marble ruins of Antinopolis had been stripped to build sugar cane kilns. Sugar cane is the main crop (to this day) in the Hermopolis Magna/Sheik el-Abada area. Hermopolis is just across the river from the city founded by Hadrian. The locals in the village of Sheikh el-Abada believe the asar (monuments) in Arabic are haunted by evil Jinn.





Next: another Antinous

 

EGYPT, Antinoöpolis. Antinous
2nd-3rd centuries CE
PB tessera, 25 mm, 7.63 gm, 11h
Obv: draped bust of Antinous right, wearing hem-hem crown; crescent before, AN behind
Rev: Serapis standing right, head left, raising hand and holding scepter; to left, ЄYC/YBA/[...]
Ref: Peus 386 (26 April 2006), lot 759 (same dies); Milne –; Dattari (Savio) –; Köln –

Next: another Pb tessera

 

@TIF and @ancient coin hunter, I have none to post, but just wanted to say that I find PB tesserae from Roman Egypt, including your examples, to be completely fascinating. And quite myterious to me. Among all the different catalogs, Emmett seems to list the largest number,

 

Mine doesn't boast a tragic love affair. It's not exactly a looker either:

Egypt.
Obv: uncertain figure left, uncertain animal top right (or Nike/ Victory?)
Rev: dolphin (according to the seller, but I'm keeping the 'sea-monster' option open).

Next: since we're straying from coins proper, how about a weight or a seal?

 

Next up: multiple counter marks

 

@Ignoramus Maximus, I am reasonably sure that it's Eros advancing left / Hippocamp standing right, Emmett 4436, Milne 5325. See the specimen (not exactly the same, but definitely similar) illustrated down the page at http://eroscoin.blogspot.com/2011/03/type-24-miscellaneous-erotes.html

 

Thanks for that link,@DonnaML, it's a great help. The resemblance is too great to ignore. Guess I'll change the description of the obverse to Eros and the attribution to Aphroditopolis (if I can figure out which one it is. According to Wikipedia there are four to choose from).

It also solves the riddle of the reverse. With Eros on the obverse the reverse creature has to be a dolphin, and not a sea monster (although it looks nothing like one). Eros plus dolphin are a common trope, of course.

 

After all, if you look closely, the creature on the reverse of your coin has a horse ear. Dolphins don't have those, to the best of my knowledge.

 

Perhaps if you were really drunk the night before...

 

AU CONTRAIRE, Mon Ami!

I took photos of these on the Outer Banks, when I lived in North Carolina!

The Wild Horses of the Outer Banks!