This one just arrived from our own @John Anthony and I think it's a pretty coin. Let's see your coins from Eumeneia! We don't know a whole lot about the Phrygian city of Eumeneia (Εὐμένεια). The town was situated on the river Glaucus, northeast of Laodicea and northwest of Apamea. From "Asia citerior," Auctore Henrico Kiepert Berolinensi. Geographische Verlagshandlung Dietrich Reimer (Ernst Vohsen) Berlin, Wilhemlstr. 29. (1903). David Rumsey Historical Map Collection. According to Barclay Head, the town received its name from Attalus II, who named it after his brother and predecessor, Eumenes II.[1] As of the 19th century, there were reportedly ruins and sculptures at the site.[2] The earliest coins issued by the city were autonomous bronze coins of the second century BC.[3] This particular coin is dated by numismatists to c. 133-130 BC.[4] Phrygia, Eumeneia, c. 133-130 BC. Greek Æ 21.1 mm, 6.66 g, 1 h. Menekrates, son of Askle-, magistrate. Obv: Head of young Dionysos wreathed with ivy, right. Rev: Tripod-lebes with three handles surmounted by flat cover fringed with spikes, star above and on either side; to right, EYMENE and filleted laurel branch (thyrsos?); to left, MENEKΡA/AΣKΛH and bipennis (double axe) with serpent-entwined handle. Refs: BMC 25.212,14; SNG Copenhagen 382; SNG Tübingen 4008; Paris 1095; Mionnet IV, 563; SNG Oxford 1024-1025; Lindgren I 950; Istanbul 14718; Afyon 2973. The coin depicts a youthful head of Dionysus wreathed in ivy. Dionysus was the Olympian god of wine, vegetation, pleasure, festivity, madness and wild frenzy. He is depicted in ancient art as either an older, bearded god or an effeminate, long-haired youth. His attributes included the thyrsos (a pine-cone tipped staff), a drinking cup and a crown of ivy. He was often accompanied by a panther or a troop of Satyrs and Mainades (wild female devotees). I wonder if the traditional description of the object in the right field as "filleted laurel branch" is actually supposed to be a thyrsos. Young Dionysus riding panther and holding thyrsos. Greek mosaic from Pella, House of Dionysos. c. 400-360 BC, Archaeological Museum of Pella. Image courtesy theoi.com. ~~~ Notes 1. Head, Barclay Vincent. Catalogue of the Greek Coins of Phrygia. Printed by Order of the Trustees, 1906, p. lx. 2. "Eumeneia." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Sept. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eumeneia. 3. Head, op. cit. 4. "CNG: Eauction 207. Phrygia, Eumeneia. circa 133-30 BC. Æ 22mm (8.87 g, 12h). Menekrates, Son of ASKL-, Magistrate." Classical Numismatic Group, LLC, https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=138228.
Nice coin.. Here's one of the first coins minted in Eumeneia. Phrygia, Eumeneia Circa 200-133 BC. AE 15mm (3.98 gm). Obv...Laureate head of Zeus right. Rev...EYME-NEΩN, legend in two lines within oak-wreath. SNG Copenhagen 377-378
Way cool coin and write up! I did not know it was named after a descendant of the diadochi!? Certainly deserves to be featured... though it's been a full month since anything has been featured on CT Here's a Livia that I doubt recall sharing before from Eumeneia: Livia, Phrygia. Eumeneia - Fulvia. Livia, wife of Augustus AD 14-29. Kleon Agapetos, magistrate. Struck under Tiberius Bronze Æ 13 mm., 2,99 g. ΣΕΒΑΣΤΗ. draped bust left / ΚΛΕΩΝ ΑΓΑΠΗ / ΤΟC / ΕΥΜΕИΕ / ΩΝ, legend in five lines within wreath. very fine RPC I 3148; SNG Copenhagen 392. Purchased from Savoca 4/2021 Ps, I just reported the thread for being highly featurable!
