Great read on Pyrrhus by Jacob Abbott/ Another victory over the Roman's and I'm undone!

Just finished what I knew would be an anticlimactic and heart wrenching read about Pyrrus of Epirus, but whoa was it an enthralling tale, written by Jacob Abbott.
Frustratingly, nowhere does Abbott site his sources. In all fairness to him, he did live some two centuries ago.
I'd never known such of wealth of knowledge on Hannibal's second favourite general existed!?
Fortunately, it's public domain so you can read it for free or listen for free on audio books. Com.
A couple tid bits:

And the end cuts to the core of who he was:

Anyway, keeping it fun and coin related, here are some beauties from the man of the hour, Pyrrhus!

Pyrrhus
EPIRUS. AMBRAKIA. Kings of Epirus., 297-272 BCE AE (5.15g, 20 mm). Obv .: Head of Zeus left Reverse: lightening bundle in oak wreath between B and Pyrrhus monogram. SNG Cop. 102; BMC 44; HGC 3.1 271. Green patinated
Ex: Savoca


Pyrrhus
(278-276 BCE) Sicily, Syracuse, AE 23mm 10.25 gr, head of young Herakles left, wearing lion's skin, rev. Athena Promachos advancing right (SNG ANS 852), attractive smooth green patina, good very fine


Oh, what?! He had Macedonian shield coins!
Who knew





So please, does anybody know Abbott's sources?
And more importantly, if you have a Pyrrhus coin please share it!

 

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Thanks for the Book tip,@Ryro ! And the coins are always great...




Syracuse Sicily Pyrrhus 278-275 BCE AE 24mm 9.2g HeraklesHd - Athena Promachos SG1213 LE584 Left



Syracuse Sicily Pyrrhus Epirus 278-276 BCE AE Litra 11.4g 23.3mm Herakles Nemaean Lion scalp - Athena Promachos tbolt shield SNG Cop 813, SNG ANS 852 Left

 

Thanks for the write up, Ryro

 

My @Ryro Dude! Thanks for reminding me about Jacob Abbot... I just downloaded his complete works of 44 Books onto my Kindle... worth the $2.99 Amazon charge! Made my Xmas.

 

Just bought the book, thanks for the great recommendation!

 

Thanks. I love the Athena Promachos from Sicily. I wonder why she was chosen to represent he and his son?
...$2.99 is a steal! The guy wrote stuff on guys like ATG and Pyrrhus to Nero!
You are in for some fun reading

 

My pleasure. And thanks for sharing. Your choice collection and coins always get the heart racing.
Speaking of getting the heart racing, I'd not noticed the little owls below Athena Pro
I just thought some had lettering and some didn't.
But thanks to your lovely example I see that my second and @Alegandron s first coin of this type without the lettering has Athena's little big eyed buddy
I had to go retake pics (though, I'm not sure you can see my owl any better, but at least the pics are clear and well lit):

 

You are in for a treat my friend!
Some fun facts that I was and wasn't aware:
Pyrrhus was Alexander the great's first cousin once removed (on Olympia's side).
Adversaries to his claim to Epirus were sent to, and nearly, kill him when he was a baby. But he was saved by a few female attendants who, with the enemy hoto n their heels, got him across a large river to safety with the help of a few locals!
When he was just 18 he fought under Demetrius Poliorcetes (The Besieger) and Pyrrhus side was winning while Demetrius was ultimately defeated, all agreed it was not due to the fantastic exploits of our young hero in the battle.

Pyrrhus married Ptolemy I's step daughter.

I'd read that he was hideous previously. But Abott states that he was handsome, looking like his cousin Alexander the great.
So many kingdoms, so many battles and he was just a few years older than me when an old lady dropped a tile on his head!

 

...kool info and coins Ryro!...as i remember, poor ole Pyrrus got killed when an old lady threw a roofing tile down on him.....and who doesn't like Burton Cummings with BTO and the gang!