Mysterious Achaemenid bronze coin

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Parthicus, Dec 10, 2017.

  1. Parthicus

    Parthicus Well-Known Member

    Another recent Agora Auctions win:
    Achaemenid AE.jpg
    Achaemenid Persian Empire, uncertain satrap, possibly in Ionia. c.350-334 BC. AE 12 (12mm, 1.24g). Obverse: Persian king kneeling/running right, holding bow in left arm and spear in right arm, countermark of eight-rayed star. Reverse: "Incuse relief map of the hinterland of Ephesos" (??). References (listed by seller): Mildenberg, Munzwesen pp. 25-26 & plate XIII, 112; BMC 7. Ex Agora Auctions, Sale 70, lot 99.

    The obverse of this coin could hardly be clearer in marking it as an issue of the Achaemenid Persian Empire; the design exactly copies the silver sigloi that were issued in large quantities in Lydia. However, I have my doubts about the explanation of the reverse type. If you rotate the reverse counterclockwise 90 degrees from the orientation I've shown, it does sort of vaguely resemble the pattern of mountains to the east of Ephesus. However, the resemblance isn't that strong, and my bigger problem is that relief maps were not used in the ancient world at all, as far as I can tell, so I'm not sure why that explanation of the reverse type would suggest itself. (I don't have an alternate explanation of the design, but I still find the "relief map" idea implausible.) The attribution to Ionia is a bit more plausible- neighboring Lydia is the source of the obverse type, which was also copied on a rare bronze of Caria, so it would fit the regional coinage tradition. Ideally, I'd like to see the attribution to Ionia confirmed by find spots (if this hasn't already been done).

    This coin type is somewhat scarce- I found three examples currently on Vcoins (using search term "Achaemenid") and couldn't find any on Wildwinds under "uncertain cities of Ioinia" (though I did find one bronze, BMC 11, with the same obverse but a reverse with a pattern of squares). Unfortunately, I don't have either of the references cited by the seller, and would really like to know what they say and how they justify the Ionian location and especially the ID of the reverse type. I would greatly appreciate hearing from anyone with the relevant references, or any other facts, theories, or speculations you might have about this coin.
     
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  3. Severus Alexander

    Severus Alexander find me at NumisForums

    I don't have anything to add except another mysterious Achaemenid bronze dating to the same end-of-empire period:

    Screen Shot 2017-12-10 at 5.25.22 PM.png
     
  4. chrsmat71

    chrsmat71 I LIKE TURTLES!

    I don't remember seeing those of those before, pretty darn cool! I love the reverse on your coin also SA...what is that??
     
  5. TJC

    TJC Well-Known Member

    Cool coins, interesting reverses!!
     
  6. Severus Alexander

    Severus Alexander find me at NumisForums

    No clue! The catalogues helpfully say "Two concentric squares with line jutting from bottom." I think they're wrong though. As you can clearly see from my example, the line is jutting from the top. :D

    Any ideas??
     
  7. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    I am sorry that I cannot help attribute, @Parthicus .

    I have very few AR Achaemenids. And, this is the only Achaemenid Bronze that I have - I only received it recently:

    upload_2017-12-11_7-33-14.png
    Persia Spithridates Achaemenid satrap of Sparda-Lydia and Ionia- 334 BCE AE10 1.20g wearing Persian headdress - Forepart galloping horse r Klein 367, Cop 1538
     
  8. Severus Alexander

    Severus Alexander find me at NumisForums

    Note that the alleged relief map can be found in clearer form on the corresponding silver issue:

    [​IMG]
     
  9. Severus Alexander

    Severus Alexander find me at NumisForums

    I got to thinking that the two bronzes (mine and Parthicus's) might be related, in that they might both be depicting an aerial view of something. There are several related things my coin might be depicting:

    1) The Etemenanki ziggurat in Babylon, dedicated to Marduk and important during the Persian period (this was the first relevant image I found that got me thinking along these lines):
    [​IMG]

    2) A form of Achaemenid Zoroastrian(?) fire altar (on the right below):
    [​IMG]

    3) A similar Achaemenid structure which may be a fire temple or a tomb:
    [​IMG]

    4) and finally the tomb of Cyrus the Great (missing the stairs):
    [​IMG]

    In short, the pattern of concentric squares with a line jutting out corresponds well to an aerial view of a stepped structure with a main stairway. Such a structure clearly had a religious and/or funerary significance to the Achaemenids, and may also have linked them with earlier Babylonian traditions.

    It seems at least a reasonable possibility, no?
     
    philologus_1, Curtisimo and Parthicus like this.
  10. Pellinore

    Pellinore Well-Known Member

    I just found another of these mysterious coins, a bronze of mediocre quality. It's an exciting idea, a coin with a map on it! This opens a lot of perspective for coins with unclear or incomprehensible sides.
    A.E.M. Johnson (a numismatist of the University of Michigan) posited the reverse in 1969 as a map of the 'hinterland of Ephesos' - if you want to find this coin in modern trade, use the word 'hinterland'. I couldn't get access to Johnston's full article, 'The Earliest Preserved Greek Map: A New Ionian Coin Type' in Journal of Hellenic Studies 1967. But here's the Abstract & Notes.

    To me, the curly depiction looks like a plant. Bernhard Weisser, the director of the Münzkabinett (Numismatic Collection) of the Berlin State Museums, sees the reverse as "an attempt to convey the archaic impression of an undesigned reverse and puts the beginning of this satrap coinage at the early 4th century BC". His interesting article from 2009 is online to be found (just google), but it is in German: Bernhard Weisser, Funde aus Milet XXIII. Ein Hort in Milet mit Silbermünzen aus dem frühen 4. Jh. v. Chr.

    And here is the very clear tetradrachm version of the coin as auctioned by Künker, just look at that incredible video!

    My own coin of this type is not in very poor condition, but it is hard to photograph. This is the seller's picture, retouched by me.

    1092 ACH s777.jpg

    At the back of the running king are some letters, I think it is "BA".
    As many of the bronze coins of this type, mine has a counterstamp in the form of a star.
    I wonder if this star counterstamp is known from other Asia Minor coins of the 4th century BC? That would be a giveaway.
     
    ancient times, Bing and Parthicus like this.
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