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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;robinjojo, post: 4245912, member: 110226&quot;]Here&#039;s an Attica tetradrachm that just arrived today.&nbsp; I purchased it as a post-auction coin because of the interesting counterstamps on both the obverse and reverse.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>I think the counterstamps are Egyptian in origin.&nbsp; The reverse counterstamp seems to be comprised of an ibis and a snake (cerastes), the ibis to the left and cerastes to the right in the form of a curved tail and a flat top terminating in rounded ends.&nbsp; The obverse counterstamp appears to be a repeat of cerastes to the right and what appears to be a bull head to the left (but just a guess - not too clear).</p><p><br /></p><p>Cerastes is the horned viper of Egypt. While feared by the ancient Egyptians, it was also viewed the snake as a protector of the king and a demon of the underworld.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>According to an online source, <i>&quot;One of the poisonous snakes the Egyptians feared most was the horned viper (Cerastes cornutus and Cerastes cerastes, also known as the sand viper). When the horned viper attacks, it rasps its coils together before springing forward. The rasping sounds like the letter f, and the horned viper was used as the hieroglyph to write the sound (fy is the Egyptian word for &quot;viper&quot; as well).&quot;</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p>The hieratic symbol in ancient Egyptian for f is cerastes.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1083786[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Of course, this is conjecture on my part.&nbsp; The coin itself is decent, but with lightly pitted surfaces and a small test mark on the helmet.</p><p><br /></p><p>Period:&nbsp; 454-404 BC</p><p>Weight: 17.20 grams</p><p>Grade:&nbsp; Good VF</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1083792[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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