Great Griffin!

I would like to thank @Ed Snible for this tremendous book recommendation https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ba...about-prices-on-ancients.365127/#post-4750546 which inspired me to acquire a fantastic coin. Adrienne Mayor's The First Fossil Hunters documents ancient Greek and Roman encounters with dinosaur fossils and how they relate to mythology. The fascinating first chapter concerns the griffin and how ancient dinosaur fossils finds in Central Asia inspired its lore. After reading it I realised I had no griffins in my coin collection! That absence was soon remedied with my latest acquisition.



Domitian
Æ Obol, 3.80g
Alexandria mint, 87-88 AD
Obv: ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙΣΑΡ ΔΟΜΙΤΙΑΝΟΣ ΣΕΒ ΓΕΡΜ, LΖ; Head of Domitian, laureate, r.
Rev: griffin seated, r., with wheel
RPC 2542 (9 spec.).
Acquired from eBay, August 2020.

This Alexandrian obol struck for Domitian during his seventh regnal year (87-88) features a female griffin resting its right paw on a wheel. The legendary creature with the body of a lion and head and wings of an eagle was believed by many ancients to be a real flesh and blood animal. It was thought to have lived near the gold deposits of Central Asia, perhaps as a guardian. On this obol the griffin is to be associated with the goddess Nemesis (the deliverer of justice and punishment) because of the presence here of her wheel of fortune, symbolic of the constant turning of mankind's fate. The depictions of a griffin with Nemesis's wheel began during the late first century with the earliest representations being a fresco in Pompeii's House of the Fabii and the issue of small Alexandrian bronzes from which this coin was struck. This Nemesis griffin type is related to Domitian as the maintainer of law and order.

Outside of the numismatic evidence, this Egyptian stele depicts Domitian on the right as Pharaoh handing a statuette of Ma'at to the Sun God Ra seated to the left. Above them you can see a griffin with the wheel of fate.




Here is the earliest depiction of a griffin with a wheel from Pompeii's House of the Fabii.



And finally, the possible inspiration for the griffin, a protoceratops skeleton.



Let's see your griffins!

NB: Quite by chance Adrienne Mayor was recently interviewed on one of my favourite podcasts about her latest book Gods and Monsters. https://monstertalk.skeptic.com/214-talos-another-tale-of-gods-and-robots

 

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Great coin!



Pantikapaion, Cimmerian Bosporos (340-325 BC) Ae
Obv: Bearded head of satyr right
Rev: Forepart of griffin left, P-A-N around; sturgeon left below

 

Attractive coin, @David Atherton , and an interesting art history lesson -- with a bit of paleontology thrown in for good measure!

I'll take this as an excuse to post one of my Gallienus zoo coins with a griffin!


Gallienus, AD 253-268.
Roman billon Antoninianus, 2.63 g, 20.5 mm, 12 h.
Rome, AD 267-268, 4th officina, 10th emission.
Obv: IMP GALLIENVS AVG, radiate head, right.
Rev: APOLLINI CONS AVG, griffin walking left, Δ in exergue.
Refs: RIC 165K; Göbl 718z; Cohen 77; RCV 10180 var; Cunetio 1348.

 

I just bought the book on Kindle!

 

Nice coins!....Interesting write up thanks.
This is my only Griffin coin..
Ionia, Phokaia, c. 350-300 BC. Æ (15mm, 4.36g, 11h). Phokleon, magistrate.
Obverse..Head of Hermes facing left wearing a Petasos hat tied at the back.
Reverse..Forepart of a griffin springing left. ΦΩKAEΩN (PHOKAEON), name of the magistrate below.
SNG Copenhagen 1039ff (magistrate); BMC 101.

 

Mine is year 6 RPC 2534 (6 specimens), 4.1g ex. Guy Clark 1995.
Emmett 315 lists these from a dozen years with mine being the most common R1. The RPC note reads "Number of coins in the core collections: 12" of which they only showed 6 (mine not included).

Copied from RPC online listing:
Volume: II №: 2534
Reign: Domitian Persons: Domitian (Augustus)
City: Alexandria Region: Egypt Province: Egypt
Denomination: Æ (20 mm) Average weight: 3.40 g. Issue: LϚ = year 6 (AD 86/7)
Obverse: ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙΣΑΡ ΔΟΜΙΤΙΑΝΟΣ ΣΕΒ ΓΕΡΜ, LϚ; laureate head of Domitian, r.
Reverse: griffin seated, r., with wheel
Note: Number of coins in the core collections: 12
Feedback

Specimens: 6

 

David, Nice score ! It's interesting how the ancient cultures were influenced by the fossils in their land. Many modern historians believe the Chinese dragon was also inspired by China's fossil rich territories in the western provinces.


Chinese carved cinnabar lacquer dish, Republic Period, 4 in. diameter.

I recently sent the coin pictured below to CNG for a future auction along with an original auction catalog by Joel Malter, where the coin sold in 1984.

 

I recently posted this in another thread, and still have yet to attempt a better photo, but here it is. It's a well worn & encrusted example, but my personal interest has more to do with the somewhat rare type itself(rather than condition) -- Having been minted under the rule of the 1st King of Cappadocia(A region that I've wanted to visit for some time now).


KINGS of CAPPADOCIA. Ariarathes I. 333-322 BC. AR Drachm. Gaziura mint.
O: Baal of Gaziura seated left, torso facing, holding grapes, grain ear, and eagle in extended right hand, lotus-tipped scepter in left; B’L GZYR (in Aramaic) to right
R: Griffin left attacking stag kneeling left

Ariarathes I minted campaign coinage at Gaziura inscribed with legends in Aramaic, the imperial language of the Achaemenids. On the reverse of one of Ariarathes's Gaziura coins, a griffin is depicted attacking a kneeling stag with Ariarathes's name is inscribed as 'rywrt. The obverse of the same coin depicts a Zeus-like impression of the God Baal with wreath and sceptre in his left hand. In his right hand, on which an eagle is perched, the seated figure holds ears of corn and a vine-branch with grapes. The obverse features the inscription b'lgzyr ("Ba'al Gazir", i.e. "Lord of Gaziura"). Stylistically, this particular issue of coinage by Ariarathes resembles the coins issued by Achaemenid satrap Mazaeus at Tarsos in Cilicia. The Iranologist Mary Boyce and the historian Frantz Grenet note that the Zeus-like depiction of a seated Baal could actually be portraying the Zoroastrian Ahura Mazda or Mithra.

The Kingdom of Cappadocia was a Hellenistic-era kingdom centered in the historical region of Cappadocia in Asia Minor (present-day Turkey). It developed from the former Achaemenid satrapy of Cappadocia, and it was founded by its last satrap, Ariarathes (later Ariarathes I). Throughout its history, it was ruled by three families in succession; the House of Ariarathes (331-96 BC), the House of Ariobarzanes (96 BC-36 BC), and lastly that of Archelaus (38 BC-17 AD)[contradictory]. In 17 AD, following the death of Archelaus, during the reign of Roman emperor Tiberius (14-37), the kingdom was incorporated as a Roman province.

Origins and history

Ariarathes I had been satrap of Cappadocia for 19 years and a loyal supporter of the Achaemenid kings. By blood, he was related to the ruling Achaemenid house ("Cyrus and Darius' Seven") as well as other satraps. When Alexander of Macedon invaded the area as part of his conquest, he appointed two temporary governors. Following Alexander's death, Ariarathes I managed to assume power in Cappadocia, and become the first king of the newly established Kingdom of Cappadocia. Ariarathes's line would provide the first ten kings of the kingdom. After a period of Seleucid overlordship, the Cappadocian Kingdom gained its independence during the reign of Ariarathes III (c. 255-220). The Ariarathid dynasty was abolished by the early course of the 1st century BC by the ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus, the infamous Mithridates VI (Eupator), this in an attempt to fully subdue the Cappadocian Kingdom. However, in "conflict" with the interests of the Roman Republic, the latter supported the Cappadocians to choose a new king; this came to be another Iranian nobleman, namely, Ariobarzanes I. Following the civil war in Rome, the latter would now interfere more directly in Cappadocian affairs; in 36 BC, Marcus Antonius appointed Archelaus, a local noble, to the Cappadocian throne. When, at an old age, Tiberius summoned him to Rome, he died there of natural causes; Cappadocia was subsequently incorporated as a fully functioning Roman province. Due to the kingdom's perilous location amongst powerful neighbors, the kings were often involved in beneficial marriage alliances, such as with the Mithridatic dynasty as well as the Seleucid dynasty.

 

Wow David. A great write up of a fascinating coin. Congrats

A great coin!

I hope you love it Donna. I have been reading it for the last several days and I am enjoying every moment.

 

I painted this a few weeks ago. I felt like it fits in here somehow .My passion for art sometimes intersects with my love of collecting.

 

Thanks for the interesting coin and book - here's my favorite griffin:

Thrace, Pantikapaion, 4th Century BC, Head of Pan / Forepart of griffin, tunny fish under

 

Ionia, Phokaia. Circa 521-478 BC. AR Hemidrachm (1.55g). Obv: Head of griffin left. Rev: Rough incuse square. SNG Copenhagen -; cf. SNG von Aulock 2116; BMC Ionia pg. 215, 82.

 

Once again the thief of Teos makes a welcome return





Athens New Style Tetradrachm c 89/88 BC
Obs : Athena Parthenos right in tri-form helmet
32 mm 16.78 gm Thompson issue (new) 77
Thompson catalogue: Obs:1131 Rev: Not in plates
Rev : ΑΘΕ ethnic
Owl standing on overturned panathenaic amphora
on which month mark B control EΠ below
3 magistrates : APELLICON GORGIAS DIOGE
RF symbol : Leaping Griffin
All surrounded by an olive wreath

This NewStyle has a pegasus on the obverse with a Lion's tail...I guess sometimes the artists hadn't a clue about what they were doing and why?


Athens New Style Tetradrachm c 157/6 BC
Obs : Athena Parthenos right in tri-form helmet
Lions tailed pegasos type
33.8 mm 16.32gm Thompson issue 8
Thompson catalogue: 34b ? ( not in plates)
Rev : ΑΘΕ ethnic
Owl standing on overturned panathenaic amphora
2 magistrates monograms in both fields
RF symbol:Nike presenting Wreath
All surrounded by olive wreath

 

Little griffin:


Ionia, Teos. 320-294 BC. 1.0g 9.5mm diobol
Obv: Griffin standing right
Rev: ΔΙΟΥΧΗ[Σ] (Dioches, magistrate); Chelys (a musical instrument)

Photo taken with cheap USB microscope.

 

Thank you for posting this! Very appropriate!

 

LITTLE GRIFFIN (@Ed Snible inspired!)


IONIA Teos AR tetartemorion 0.2g 6mm Hd griffin R mouth open - Quadripartite incuse SNG Turkey 602


Such a FROLIC! "Griffin springing - Horse Prancing"


Sicily Kainon AE Tetras 367-357 BCE 20mm 6.7g Griffin springing - Horse Prancing SNG COP 133

 

I've previously posted my two gryphons (a spelling I prefer simply because it looks more elegant to me!), but you ask, and I answer:

Roman Republic, L. Papius, AR Serrate Denarius, 79 BCE. Obv. Head of Juno Sospita right, wearing goat skin; control-symbol of lyre behind/ Rev. Gryphon prancing right, control-symbol of lyre-key below, L. PAPI in exergue. Crawford 384/1 (see also Crawford Vol. II Plate LXVII, control-symbol 127 & p. 788), RSC I Papia 1, Sear RCV I 311 (ill.), Harlan, RRM I Ch. 7 at pp. 32-35, BMCRR Rome 2977-3095 [control-symbol pair not in BMCRR]. 19 mm., 3.79 g., 9 h.



Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus, 267-268 AD, Rome Mint (4th Officina). Obv. Radiate head right, GALLIENVS AVG / Rev. Gryphon walking left, APOLLINI CONS AVG; Δ [Delta = 4th Officina] in exergue. RIC V-1 166, RSC IV 76, Wolkow 4a4, Göbl MIR [Moneta Imperii Romani] Band 36, No. 718, Sear RCV III 10180. 20.5 mm., 3.29 g., 6 h.


In approximately 350 years, the only major change I see in the gryphon's design is that it has grown a beard.

 

I have moved it up near the top of my reading list for after I finish Maggie O'Farrell's fascinating novel Hamnet, about the wife and children of a never-named playwright who's off in London, including his son Hamnet (sometimes spelled "Hamlett" in the records) who died at the age of 11, probably of the plague. Good Night, Sweet Prince. Some think that was a tribute to his son.

 

Nice coin @David Atherton and very interesting write-up.

 

Lysimachos; 305-281 BC. AR Tetradrachm (17.17 gm, 31mm, 12h). Abdera/Abydos mint. Struck 297/6-282/1 BC. Obv: Diademed head of the deified Alexander III of magnificent style and detail, wearing the horn of Ammon. Rev: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ to r., ΛΥΣΙΜΑΧΟΥ to l. Athena Nikephoros seated left, leaning on shield, upon which is a lion's head, transverse spear resting on her right side. She holds a figure of Nike, which crowns the name of Lysimachos with a wreath of victory. Head of griffin facing left to outer left field, monogram to inner left. Thompson 70; Müller 126.