I need help to identify this silver coin, please? . . . Zeus /Nike?

I recently purchased this silver coin. AR14.5mm., 13.5gm.

I believe that on the obverse may appear the head of Zeus (R), and,
on the reverse there may be a figure of Nike, facing.
(In hand I might be able to read . . . NAS in the exerge.)

I have spent a long time sifting through a number of 'reference' materials, but I have come up with nothing. Indeed, it may not even be Zeus, or Nike (wings?).

Can anyone identify this coin, or help me to do so, please?
Thank you.



or a 'lighter' version . . .


or even . . .

 

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Hi Topcat, I believe you bought this from me in a 99c auction with another rough piece of silver?

Is that weight correct? I did not weigh the piece, but don't think it was that heavy.

It came to me in bulk, loosely attributed as Roman Republican, that's all I know sorry.

Also interested to find out what it is.

 

@Co1ns You're right. Should read 1.35gm.
(Decimal point in the wrong place.)

 

Hard to say given the state of the reverse, but the obverse is probably Zeus. If the weight of 1.35 grams is somewhat accurate (maybe off on the heavy side), perhaps the denomination is a trihemiobol. Looking through ACseach for "Zeus trihemiobol" there are a couple of possibilities. Maybe with the coin in hand you can make out more details of the reverse. Can you discern anything on the reverse that looks like these coins from Thessaly? The style of Zeus looks similiar.



Thessaly. Kierion circa 350-325 BC. Trihemiobol AR 13mm., 1,29g. Laureate head of Zeus right / KIEPIE-IΩИ, Arne kneeling right, head left, playing with astragaloi, Φ to right. good very fine BCD Thessaly II 104.1; HGC 4, 670.

Your coin looks flattened and very worn, so maybe we should be looking at slightly heavier denominations (heavier than the weight of your coin).

 

my guess was wrong...weight not even close

 

could be a hemidrachm as well, eg.


I see Zeus to/r with standing figure. With some fantasy, also a spear slightly oblique as Athena is using on this examplea bove.

 

I am going to guess and unofficial imitation of a Roman Republican Victoriatus. Something like this:

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=5043549

I guessing imitation since I would think that an official version would weight more even with this much wear and damage.

 

I just realized that the weight and size in OP cannot be right - this cannot be a 14.5 mm coin weighing 13.5gm. I agree with Edessa that this is very "Victoriatus-like". Wavy hair on Zeus looks very similar to my victoriatus below - and the shield seems clear on the top right (aka 2 o-clock position).

 

@Sulla80 I believe that you might be the closest. As a result of everyone's contributions, I have elected to go with:-

Thanks to all for their help.

 

How cool. It was indeed Roman Republican (or at least a contempoary imitation) as per the bulk lot attribution at a glance, but it was also Zeus as per OPs hunch.

Were you able to ID the other one with the horses galloping @Topcat7 ?

 

@Co1ns


I haven't narrowed it down yet but it is similar to ;-

Anonymous Denarius. 209-208 BC.
Obv: Helmeted head of Roma right; X behind
Rev: The Dioscuri riding right; anchor below,
ROMA in exergue.
(Poss. or sim. to) Crawford 50/2; Syd 144; BMCRR 21.

 

I think attributing out to the Crawford number is probably more than is possible with this coin. @Edessa is right that there is a good probability that your coin is an underweight contemporary imitation - not bad, still a 2000+ year old silver coin that is identifiable, and has seen a lot of history.

 

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