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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Curtis, post: 24707851, member: 26430&quot;]Nice sphinx &amp; very detailed <i>Kleinbronzemünze</i>! (To use one of my favorite bits of numismatic German.) That&#039;s a great 3/4 facing portrait, which was apparently quite a challenge for tiny dies, even more so than forward facing portraits. They were difficult even on full-sized Tetradrachms (pioneered by the Sicilians), so I&#039;d call this little Troas bronze an artistic achievement. (EDIT: Oops! Not Ionian! Even better.)</p><p><br /></p><p>I have one or two smaller sphinxes -- neither with as much detail. First, a <i>Kleinsilber</i> I got in a group lot of &quot;floor sweepings&quot; (still pretty good!) from the Herbert Cahn Collection. I assume it&#039;s Chios, though I haven&#039;t found a reference yet. AR Obol (0.59g, 7 x 8.5mm)</p><p><br /></p><p><b>EDIT:</b> <i>Uh oh, I&#039;m realizing this might still turn out to be a <b>Griffin </b>instead...I want the head back!!</i></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1578798[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Next to some of the others from that same group, though, it looks downright enormous (top l. coin):</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1578799[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Axel Winzer described this next <i>Kleinbronze</i> (6mm, 0.64g) of Satrap Orontes, from Adramytteion c. 355 BCE, as a Sphinx.</p><p><b>BUT</b> it&#039;s pretty clearly a <b>PEGASOS</b>! <i>Nice try, Axel Winzer! </i></p><p>(In his 2005 book <i>Antike Portraitmünzen der Perser und Griechen</i>: p. 44, No. 16.5, this coin illustrated on p. 8.)</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1578800[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center"><font size="6"><b>NEXT</b>:</font></p> <p style="text-align: center"><br /></p> <p style="text-align: center"><font size="7">Another Winged Beastie</font></p> <p style="text-align: center">whether another undiscovered-by-science Sphinx or Griffin etc.,</p> <p style="text-align: center">or a flesh-and-blood winged animal known to humanity, ancient &amp; modern alike</p><p>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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