Log in or Sign up
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
Gods of Egypt
>
Reply to Thread
Message:
<p>[QUOTE="SeptimusT, post: 3555811, member: 91240"]I love the feel of Alexandrian drachms, but I also love the artistry on Alexandrian coinage. It isn’t quite as naturalistic as some Greek or Roman coinage, and they are often in pretty dreadful condition, but they have an originality and exoticism which isn’t found on a lot of ancient coinage. Because of that, I’ve made them a major part of my collection, and have specifically focused on those which display some form of Egyptian imagery. It’s been a while since I made a new thread, but I would like to share a few of these coins and invite everyone to share some of theirs as well. So, here are some of my coins depicting Egyptian (or ‘Egyptianizing’) deities. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]945137[/ATTACH] </p><p><b>Antoninus Pius drachm </b></p><p><b>Obverse: </b>Laureate bust right</p><p><b>Reverse: </b>Isis, crowned with disk, horns and plumes right, holding Harpocrates, crowned and holding lotus flower.</p><p><b>Struck at Alexandria in 146/7, 34mm, 27.1g, Dattari 2648, RPC 13597 (temp)</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p>Depictions Isis and Harpocrates in one form or another are quite common in Egyptian coinage, and even beyond Egypt. The story of Isis and Osiris and their son Horus is one of the quintessential elements of Egyptian myth, and in Roman times Isis was worshipped from India (among the Kushans) to Britain. Although primarily a goddess of fertility and the moon, Isis was seen as something of a universal deity by her adherents. </p><p><br /></p><p>The name Harpocrates comes from the term <i>Har-pa-khered</i>, the Egyptian epithet for Horus as a child. He was a god of the dawn sun. Due to a misunderstanding of his usual gesture of holding a finger to his lips, which to the Egyptians symbolized childhood, Harpocrates was worshipped by the Greeks as the god of secrecy. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]945135[/ATTACH] </p><p><b>Hadrian drachm</b></p><p><b>Obverse: </b>Laureate bust of Hadrian right</p><p><b>Reverse: </b>Two Canopi</p><p><b>Struck at Alexandria in 133/4, 35mm, 25.79g, RPC 5881, Dattari 1661</b></p><p><b> </b></p><p>I have seen some sources describe these as Osiris and Isis depicted as canopic jars, but RPC opts to describe these as simply ‘canopi,’ saving specific designations for singular canopic jars. The term ‘canopic’ probably originated from the city of Canopus, where Osiris was worshipped in the form of a jar. Although it resembles the ‘canopic’ jars used to preserve the organs of the mummified dead, this Osiris-as-a-Jar is probably connected to Osiris’ association with the life giving Nile waters, and therefore symbolizes a water container. He was thus referred to as Osiris-Hydreios. This depiction was common in the Greco-Roman cult of Isis, and it appears that the imagery of the Canopus and funerary jars became conflated during this period, and the entire Egyptian pantheon was sometimes depicted in this fashion. I am amazed by how well the details on the jar on the right <a href="https://followinghadrian.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/34543292601_07c50e306c_h.jpg?w=550&h=894" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://followinghadrian.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/34543292601_07c50e306c_h.jpg?w=550&h=894" rel="nofollow">parallel this statue from Hadrian's villa</a>, and finer examples of the coin show it even more clearly.</p><p><br /></p><p>BMC speculates that these coins may depict two different aspects of Osiris, but I believe that this imagery needs further investigation and it remains an ongoing research project for me. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]945138[/ATTACH] </p><p><b>Tetradrachm of Hadrian</b></p><p><b>Obverse: </b>Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right</p><p><b>Reverse: </b>Mummiform Ptah-Sokar-Osiris right, holding <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Was-sceptre" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Was-sceptre" rel="nofollow">was-scepter</a></i></p><p><b>Struck at Alexandria, AD 127/28, 26mm, 14.06g, RPC 5713</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p>Ptah-Sokar-Osiris is an amalgamation of three gods: Ptah, an ancient Egyptian creator god, Sokar, a funerary deity, and of course Osiris. It's a very unusual depiction for a coin, since he usually shows up in statue form for funerary purposes. Can't get more Egyptian than a mummy, though.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]945140[/ATTACH] </p><p><b>Drachm of Antoninus Pius</b></p><p><b>Obverse: </b>Laureate bust right</p><p><b>Reverse: </b>Hermanubis standing left, head right, wearing kalathos, holding caduceus downwards and palm leaf. </p><p><b>Struck in Alexandria in 141-2, 34mm, 25.45g, Dattari 2627, RPC 13496</b></p><p><br /></p><p>Hermanubis resulted from the conflation of Hermes and Anubis through the interpretatio graecia, since both gods guided the souls of the dead through the afterlife. I believe that this coin may be one of only two of the type known in private collections, and 1 of 4 known in general. It lacks the jackal that often accompanies the god, but he does hold the caduceus of Hermes and the palm branch of Anubis. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]945134[/ATTACH] </p><p><b>Tetradrachm of Commodus</b></p><p><b>Obverse: </b>Laureate bust right</p><p><b>Reverse: </b>Bust of Zeus-Amon right, wearing solar disk and horns. </p><p><b>Struck at Alexandria in 186/7, 23mm, 12.4g, Dattari 3900</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p>Zeus-Amon is an interesting combination of the solar deity Amun-Ra, Zeus and the chief god of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Kush" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Kush" rel="nofollow">Kushite</a> pantheon, whose name is not known but who was depicted as a ram. He was worshipped by the Greeks from an ancient time, and by the Roman period, his depiction was more Greek than anything else, but he still bears the sun disk of Ra and the horns of the Kushite god. Of course, Alexander the Great claimed this incarnation of Zeus as his father. </p><p><br /></p><p>I think that this coin is probably ex-Hermanubis Collection because of the uniformly black patina, and the fact that it came to market after CNG's sale of his coins (Heritage sold it in an NGC slab), but it isn't attributed as such.</p><p><br /></p><p>I could post a few more, and maybe include other 'Egyptian' deities that aren't part of the classic pantheon (Antinous, Alexandria, Serapis...), but I'll hope someone else does that.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="SeptimusT, post: 3555811, member: 91240"]I love the feel of Alexandrian drachms, but I also love the artistry on Alexandrian coinage. It isn’t quite as naturalistic as some Greek or Roman coinage, and they are often in pretty dreadful condition, but they have an originality and exoticism which isn’t found on a lot of ancient coinage. Because of that, I’ve made them a major part of my collection, and have specifically focused on those which display some form of Egyptian imagery. It’s been a while since I made a new thread, but I would like to share a few of these coins and invite everyone to share some of theirs as well. So, here are some of my coins depicting Egyptian (or ‘Egyptianizing’) deities. [ATTACH=full]945137[/ATTACH] [B]Antoninus Pius drachm Obverse: [/B]Laureate bust right [B]Reverse: [/B]Isis, crowned with disk, horns and plumes right, holding Harpocrates, crowned and holding lotus flower. [B]Struck at Alexandria in 146/7, 34mm, 27.1g, Dattari 2648, RPC 13597 (temp) [/B] Depictions Isis and Harpocrates in one form or another are quite common in Egyptian coinage, and even beyond Egypt. The story of Isis and Osiris and their son Horus is one of the quintessential elements of Egyptian myth, and in Roman times Isis was worshipped from India (among the Kushans) to Britain. Although primarily a goddess of fertility and the moon, Isis was seen as something of a universal deity by her adherents. The name Harpocrates comes from the term [I]Har-pa-khered[/I], the Egyptian epithet for Horus as a child. He was a god of the dawn sun. Due to a misunderstanding of his usual gesture of holding a finger to his lips, which to the Egyptians symbolized childhood, Harpocrates was worshipped by the Greeks as the god of secrecy. [ATTACH=full]945135[/ATTACH] [B]Hadrian drachm Obverse: [/B]Laureate bust of Hadrian right [B]Reverse: [/B]Two Canopi [B]Struck at Alexandria in 133/4, 35mm, 25.79g, RPC 5881, Dattari 1661 [/B] I have seen some sources describe these as Osiris and Isis depicted as canopic jars, but RPC opts to describe these as simply ‘canopi,’ saving specific designations for singular canopic jars. The term ‘canopic’ probably originated from the city of Canopus, where Osiris was worshipped in the form of a jar. Although it resembles the ‘canopic’ jars used to preserve the organs of the mummified dead, this Osiris-as-a-Jar is probably connected to Osiris’ association with the life giving Nile waters, and therefore symbolizes a water container. He was thus referred to as Osiris-Hydreios. This depiction was common in the Greco-Roman cult of Isis, and it appears that the imagery of the Canopus and funerary jars became conflated during this period, and the entire Egyptian pantheon was sometimes depicted in this fashion. I am amazed by how well the details on the jar on the right [URL='https://followinghadrian.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/34543292601_07c50e306c_h.jpg?w=550&h=894']parallel this statue from Hadrian's villa[/URL], and finer examples of the coin show it even more clearly. BMC speculates that these coins may depict two different aspects of Osiris, but I believe that this imagery needs further investigation and it remains an ongoing research project for me. [ATTACH=full]945138[/ATTACH] [B]Tetradrachm of Hadrian Obverse: [/B]Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right [B]Reverse: [/B]Mummiform Ptah-Sokar-Osiris right, holding [I][URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Was-sceptre']was-scepter[/URL][/I] [B]Struck at Alexandria, AD 127/28, 26mm, 14.06g, RPC 5713 [/B] Ptah-Sokar-Osiris is an amalgamation of three gods: Ptah, an ancient Egyptian creator god, Sokar, a funerary deity, and of course Osiris. It's a very unusual depiction for a coin, since he usually shows up in statue form for funerary purposes. Can't get more Egyptian than a mummy, though. [ATTACH=full]945140[/ATTACH] [B]Drachm of Antoninus Pius Obverse: [/B]Laureate bust right [B]Reverse: [/B]Hermanubis standing left, head right, wearing kalathos, holding caduceus downwards and palm leaf. [B]Struck in Alexandria in 141-2, 34mm, 25.45g, Dattari 2627, RPC 13496[/B] Hermanubis resulted from the conflation of Hermes and Anubis through the interpretatio graecia, since both gods guided the souls of the dead through the afterlife. I believe that this coin may be one of only two of the type known in private collections, and 1 of 4 known in general. It lacks the jackal that often accompanies the god, but he does hold the caduceus of Hermes and the palm branch of Anubis. [ATTACH=full]945134[/ATTACH] [B]Tetradrachm of Commodus Obverse: [/B]Laureate bust right [B]Reverse: [/B]Bust of Zeus-Amon right, wearing solar disk and horns. [B]Struck at Alexandria in 186/7, 23mm, 12.4g, Dattari 3900 [/B] Zeus-Amon is an interesting combination of the solar deity Amun-Ra, Zeus and the chief god of the [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Kush']Kushite[/URL] pantheon, whose name is not known but who was depicted as a ram. He was worshipped by the Greeks from an ancient time, and by the Roman period, his depiction was more Greek than anything else, but he still bears the sun disk of Ra and the horns of the Kushite god. Of course, Alexander the Great claimed this incarnation of Zeus as his father. I think that this coin is probably ex-Hermanubis Collection because of the uniformly black patina, and the fact that it came to market after CNG's sale of his coins (Heritage sold it in an NGC slab), but it isn't attributed as such. I could post a few more, and maybe include other 'Egyptian' deities that aren't part of the classic pantheon (Antinous, Alexandria, Serapis...), but I'll hope someone else does that.[/QUOTE]
Your name or email address:
Do you already have an account?
No, create an account now.
Yes, my password is:
Forgot your password?
Stay logged in
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
Gods of Egypt
>
Home
Home
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Activity
Recent Posts
Forums
Forums
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Posts
Competitions
Competitions
Quick Links
Competition Index
Rules, Terms & Conditions
Gallery
Gallery
Quick Links
Search Media
New Media
Showcase
Showcase
Quick Links
Search Items
Most Active Members
New Items
Directory
Directory
Quick Links
Directory Home
New Listings
Members
Members
Quick Links
Notable Members
Current Visitors
Recent Activity
New Profile Posts
Sponsors
Menu
Search
Search titles only
Posted by Member:
Separate names with a comma.
Newer Than:
Search this thread only
Search this forum only
Display results as threads
Useful Searches
Recent Posts
More...