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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;FrizzyAntoine, post: 8119184, member: 114961&quot;]5. Syracuse 2nd Democracy Tetradrachm</p><p><br /></p><p>[MEDIA=youtube]h-3DEwna58w[/MEDIA]</p><p><br /></p><p>It may not be a very popular opinion, but I feel that Magna Graecian coinage in general, and Syracusan Tetradrachms (and everything other denomination) in particular, are overrated. However….when I finally got around to purchasing one of my own I realised there might be something to all the hype. It certainly isn’t the nicest coin I’ve ever seen (though the nicest dies certainly do get quite close), but this coin features a fusion of interesting design, beautiful artistry, a wonderful local mythological motif on the obverse, and an iconic historical and propagandistic design on the reverse. And it was made in the early years of the Second Democracy of Syracuse, an interlude between tyrannies when the city flourished and reached unseen heights of power and artistic talent. Taken together, all these factors make for a seriously impressive coin, though perhaps still one that gets more love than it would have otherwise, were the same design minted elsewhere.</p><p><br /></p><p>4. Datames Satraps&#039; Revolt Stater</p><p><br /></p><p>[MEDIA=youtube]KxMPUvTCRFo[/MEDIA]</p><p><br /></p><p>This design is probably one of my favourites from the entire corpus of ancient coinage. The figure seated on the obverse (which is unfortunately quite off-centre) within the crenelated walls of the city themselves is Ba’al, patron deity of Tarsos and a many other cities in Asia Minor – a common sight on the coinage of the region, and a potential inspiration for the seated Zeus which is near-ubiquitous on the coinage of Alexander. The reverse meanwhile is where this coin shines. Showing the figure of Datames placidly seated in full armour and Satrapal regalia, testing an arrow with a bow by his side and a Forouhar, or winged sun-disk, set above him to his right. These coins were minted in the midst of the Satraps’ Revolt, which lasted throughout the 360s BCE, and Datames was a chief instigator of this rebellion against the imperial authority of the Achaemenid emperor Artaxerxes II, rallying nearly all the satraps of Asia Minor to his cause. This coin marks a dramatic shift in the life of Datames, transforming from a loyal subordinate and willing general (as indicated by his earlier series of staters, which follow on from the types of Pharnabazos) into a rebellious, quasi-independent monarch in his own right in the space of a few months. I already have an example of the early type, so perhaps next year I will be able to finally acquire the third in the series, wherein Datames takes a less measured and thoughtful approach to his depiction, putting himself on equal footing with the god Ana, whom I have yet to research at any length. At any rate, the jump from warrior-king to God-king is certainly brazen, if not uncommon for the era, so stay tuned for next year!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>3. Diodotos ‘Soter’ Stater</p><p><br /></p><p>[MEDIA=youtube]L21180RR8fY[/MEDIA]</p><p><br /></p><p>Afghanistan, as I’m sure you all know, and as many a foreign conqueror has discovered to their great dismay, is a rugged land peopled by unconquerable and fiercely independent tribes. This coin illustrates the difficult truth which has presented itself to nearly every foreign power that has attempted to exert sway over the region – however hard-won or easily consummated the conquest itself, maintaining sovereignty afterwards is a nearly impossible proposition. This coin was minted by an independent Baktrian kingdom which broke away from the suzerainty of the Seleukid king Antiochos II <i>Theos</i> sometimes around the year 250 BCE, bringing nearly 80 years of ‘Macedonian’ overlordship to an end. The portrait on the obverse is that of the unruly satrap who took this bold step, Diodotos I <i>Soter</i> of Baktria, while the reverse puzzlingly maintains the legend <i>ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ANTIOXOY</i>, though there is (largely unsubstantiated) speculation that this may be a posthumous issue minted by an otherwise-unknown son of Diodotos who was named Antiochos. While this may seem a stretch, in that region the numismatic record forms a surprisingly significant portion of our knowledge of the rulers who defined this era, so such a possibility is not as entirely unreasonable as it may initially seem. The coin itself was likely minted in the major Greek centre of Ai-Khanoum, a mostly-forgotten ruin in the north of modern-day Afghanistan.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>2. Hidrieus Tetradrachm</p><p><br /></p><p>[MEDIA=youtube]tpqM5Gh4Vl4[/MEDIA]</p><p><br /></p><p>This is without a doubt the most aesthetically-pleasing coin I bought all year. It is also the 2nd coin I bought this year, certainly something to be said for a strong start! Hidrieus was the middle brother among the Hekatomnid kings of Caria, who were essentially autonomous monarchs under nominal Achaemenid suzerainty and ruled over the region of Caria from their stronghold of Halicarnassus. The obverse features a stunning facing portrait of Apollo, rendered in the finest late-Classical style, while the reverse features the local incarnation of Zeus – Zeus Labraundos – whose primary sanctuary was in Mylasa in Caria, and who is traditionally depicted carrying a large axe known as the <i>Labrys</i>. On a somewhat unrelated note, I found out, some months after I had purchased the coin, that it is also a “plate coin”… of a sort. Look up ‘Hidrieus’ in Google and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idrieus" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idrieus" rel="nofollow">you’ll see what I mean</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>1. Olympia Stater (Zeus Mint)</p><p><br /></p><p>[MEDIA=youtube]oRRihIOEfcg[/MEDIA]</p><p><br /></p><p>Okay, so it’s time to get this show wrapped up! This is my favourite coin of the year. I could ramble on about it for ages, but here’s what you really need to know:</p><ul> <li>This was minted in the Zeus mint at Olympia during the 89th Olympiad of 424 BCE.</li> <li>It was one of the final dies produced in the series depicting a flying/standing eagle on the obverse with a hare/serpent in its talons.</li> <li>It’s such a rare issue that even BCD himself didn’t have an example of this exact type (though he had a single example from the same obverse die, paired with a different reverse die). I believe this is one of three examples sold in the past two decades according to acsearch (with a fourth now being offered for sale by Stacks Bowers early next year). There are 17 total, including the aforementioned and the present coin, which I have been able to track through major reference works and institutional collections (though there must certainly be a few more hiding out there).</li> <li>The dies themselves are the first from Olympia to have been signed by an engraver, who may plausibly have been Daedalus of Sicyon.</li> <li>The obverse is struck from what is almost certainly the finest die for this motif (eagle with animal in talons) produced in the entire run of Olympic coinage.</li> <li>There is a very fun little crab countermark, a common occurrence on Olympic coinage of this time period, but one whose exact meaning I have yet to decisively discover.</li> <li>Finally, I managed to luck out massively on this coin, buying it for a fraction of what it’s truly worth. As such, I doubt it’ll be hitting the auction block again for another half-century at least, and hopefully much longer!</li> </ul><p><br /></p><p>Well, that’s it from me. I hope everyone had a swell time going through the list, and please feel free to comment with your thoughts and your own coins. Happy Holidays everyone![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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