Antiochos Imitation'. AR 'scyphate' obol. Samarkand, 1-200 AD? Obv: Head of bearded unknown ruler left, Sogdian legend above: Zeimal reads "s/nprwrz/nh" , Alram (1252) reads "gpkw ML`" , Mitchiner reads "Tauraka". Rev: Archer Mitchiner ACW 347, Zeno.ru 20328
Only traces of legend is visible on yours. I find it very interesting that the three experts in these coins disagree completely on the inscription.
So I have a dealer attribution of "The Dahae of Choresmia - Archer series - AR Scyphate obol, ca. 250-130 BC," which is in the right neighborhood, right? The Dahae were a Scythian tribe in Sogdia?
They were. Here is the Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahae However, as with most Central Asian coins you should consult Zeno.ru first. The page for these is http://www.zeno.ru/showgallery.php?cat=2725 . These coins are found in Uzbekistan, which used to be part of the Soviet Union. The experts in the series are Russian-speaking Russians and Uzbeks. The web site is better than any book I am able to read.
I am not disagreeing with the attribution, in fact I've never seen one. Just curious why they label it as an Antiochus imitation? I am not aware of any in the Seleucid series that remotely look like these. Or are they referring to roman provincials from the 1st century?
I was also confused when I got mine. First look at these Antiochos horsehead coins: http://coinindia.com/galleries-greek-antiochos.html Then look at these coins of Eastern Sogdiana: http://www.sogdcoins.narod.ru/english/sogdiana/e_coins.html A theory is that at least the obverse represents a degenerate form of the Antiochos horsehead coins. I am not sure if it is a good theory, but that is why they are often called "Antiochos imitation / Archer type". The sogdcoins.narod.ru site blocks copy-and-paste. If you turn off Javascript in your browser you will be able to copy the Russian text to the clipboard and feed it to Google Translate.
The first link I know the originals well. I can see it in #1 & #38, but not the rest. It looks like they label the archer coins as 'unknown ruler'. BTW anyone trying to access the second link by mobile will get spammed as hell, just a warning.
Yea, I got rid of my one book on Sogdian coins (comprehensive), Cant give you a reference any more. I just didnt handle enough to warrant keeping the reference. But,
I have references but am out of town. Typically attributed to the Bukhara and Samarkand area. The earliest pieces were larger, and become more diminutive the later you go. I believe the last in the series lose the bust on the obverse and have only a legend on the obverse. I would ask @Ken Dorney , since he was more an expert on these than me the last time they were discussed here. Used to be quite rare, but are common enough now I have bought a few groups of them. Still 1000 times rarer than most lrb though.
Tiny coins that exist in a number of varieties. I have some larger and smaller. They are scyphate and measure about 8-13 mm. Like David, I wondered about the 'Seleucid imitation'. Imitation of which coins? And then you have the very scyphate little copper coins of the same era and area, around Samarkand, about 0-400? AD, that are supposed to show the 'protome of a horse'. Can you see it? Here's a nice archer type, much enlarged:
