[Game] Guess the portrait!

Yes!


CARTHAGE/SICILY-PUNIC Æ15 SNG Cop 1024
OBVERSE: Head of Tanit left
REVERSE: Galloping horse right
4.59g, 15.6mm
Struck at Carthage, 3d-4th Century BC

 

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Hurray!

Okay, this coin has been posted before on this forum (but a long time ago).

It's actually two faces on the coin, but as I've not been successful in ID-ing the countermark myself, it would be a bit unfair to ask for that. (Perhaps bonus points if anyone succeeds in ID-ing both faces?).

Weight 7.24 g, diameter: 20 mm

A close-up of the countermark, for those interested:

 

Dionysos. The counter mark appears to be veiled, but beyond that I don't have a guess.
I'm pretty sure I'm right, so I will move the thread on with...

 

Is that the usurper Tryphon?

 

You got it! I mean I did recently do a thread on this short lived Rockstar ruler.
So, hopefully that helped.
Great game thread idea, btw.


Tryphon, Diodotus
Antioch, 141 BCE, AE 18mm, 4.7g
Obvs: Head of Tryphon right diademed.
Revs: BAΣΙΛEΩΣ TPYФΩNOΣ AYTOKPATOPOΣ, Spiked Macedonian helmet. Grain to left

 

Thank you Ryro and nice coin. One of my main collecting area's is the Seleukid empire, so for me it was quite easy, but the portrait is distinct so I think quite difficult to recognize for the average ancient coin collector.

Next:
Who is this?

 

Doug's question is interesting.

How do we know @Pavlos 's original coin depicts Asklepios? Barclay Head wrote "According to one tradition Pergamum was colonized from Epidaurus under the leadership of the god Asklepios."

The identification is a guess, based on the portrait and the names of any favored deities that have come down through written sources. If a new coin of Pergamum was discovered with a "ZEUS" inscription the identification would change.

 

A best practice I've learned with Greeks: when I think to myself, "boy or girl?" It's usually Apollo.
Is it Apollo?

 

It's not Apollo, but as a tip, its a "girl".

 

Athena?

 

Artemis

 

It's pretty much the most important goddess

 

Hmm. Hera??

 

Aphrodite ?

 

How do we define the most important goddess? As I recall, much of Greek mythology involves people making the wrong choice on this matter. If I were to say Hera was more important than Athena, I would not say very loudly. I wonder if you asked Zeus that one what he would say. Being king of the Gods, I suspect he would refuse to answer.

 

Arethusa

 

Dionysus....

 

@Pavlos, where did you go?

I just checked your website and Hera is correct so I'm going to post the next coin.

Hopefully this one will be relatively easy even though I've cropped all but the portrait:

 

Zeus ?

 

Nope.

I think the portrait shown is very typical of the entity (a deity) because of the following attributes: close-cropped hair, no wreath or diadem, bushy protruberant beard (or prominent jaw... I guess we'd have to shave him to know ), and a nose that comes straight off the forehead without a "dip" between the eyes.