I have been looking for a nice Maroneia stater for a while and found this one with James Beach at the winter FUN show. I really like how alive the horse looks, running away from his owner, trailing his loose rein. This is what my rascally old horse did when given the chance. The artist really captured the sense of motion and the musculature of the horse in this 1 inch canvas. Staters with the horse's tail down seem to be much less common than those with the tail up. I also like the archaic feel of the grape vine within an incuse square. This coin is from 380ish BC, which is well after the archaic art period for most Greek coins. They may have continue to use this design because it was traditional or because it was well known and made the coins easily accepted in Thrace and the surrounds. There are several cities in this area that used a reverse incuse square with inscription wrapping around a central design, and I am working on collecting all the different types. This coin had a bunch of black material adhering to it that distracted from the design, especially in an enlarged photo, so I took the plunge and cleaned it with distilled water and a soft toothbrush. Most of it came right off, so I doubt it was truly ancient junk. Not something I would usually do to an expensive coin, but I think it was a worthwhile improvement. Thrace, Maroneia AR Stater, 385-360 BC, 12.81 gms Obverse: Horse prancing left with loose rein Reverse: Linear square with vine and bunches of grapes Schönert-Geiss 165, S-1631 Ex. James Beach, 2017 Ex. Kerry Wetterstrom, purchased from CNG in the 1990s Please post your coins of Maroneia, or coins with an incuse square reverse. John
I really like these and think you picked up a fantastic example... I'm quite jealous! The horse and grape tree are really nicely rendered.
Gorgeous => congrats, Theodosius ... nice OP-addition I have a couple of pretty cool examples from here as well ... wanna see 'em? Thrace, Maroneia, AE23 Date: 189-45 BC Diameter: 23.3 mm Weight: 15.0 grams Obverse: Wreathed head of young Dionysos Reverse: Dionysos holding grapes and narthex stalks References: SNG Copenhagen 643 var Thrace, Maroneia, AR tetrobol Circa 385-360 BC Diameter: 15 mm Weight: 2.63 grams Obverse: Forepart of horse right Reverse: Grape-bunch on vine within dotted square border Reference: GCV 1632
Beautiful coin! The object beneath the M originally concerned me as an odd die crack but apparently it is an astragalos, an ancient Greek toy. That adds some definite appeal in my eyes! I'm still looking for a nice example with a cicada on the reverse but bought this one for its obverse, especially the dog (identified as a Pomeranian by a few dealers in the past):
Very nice looking coin @Theodosius. Looks like your clean up did no harm. MARONEIA, THRACE AE24 OBVERSE: Wreathed head of Dionysos right REVERSE: Dionysos standing naked, holding bunch of grapes and two narthex wands, monogram to lower left, Greek legend DIONYSOU SOTIROS MARONITON ("of Dionysos, saviour of the Maroneans") Struck at Maroneia 148 BC 10.94g, 24mm Sear 1638
That is a great looking specimen, Joe. I like the rendering of the horse. I had a pomeranian who looked just like the image on your coin if we did not keep her hair cut. I wondered what the reverse symbol on my example was supposed to be. It doesn't look like a letter. I don't have the S-G book. I am not sure of the attribution on mine. I found it interesting that the two volume Sear Greek series does not illustrate or even list these staters. I don't think they are rare, I wonder why David did not include them? John
Even more than a toy in early antiquity, from what I've read. The astragalos was used extensively in divination and burial practices throughout much of antiquity. There are cases of people being buried with hundreds of them. I think it became more of a toy in Hellenistic and Roman times. Until the last 50 years or so these things were largely ignored during excavations! Both yours and the OP are stunning coins.
Great score @Theodosius ! Love it. @AncientJoe that's an amazing specimen. The toning is a wonderful highlight. Here's my humble contribution: Thrace, Maroneia. Æ27, 17.7g, 12h; Circa 189/8-49/5 BC. Obv.: Head of Dionysos right, wearing ivy wreath Rev.: ΔIONYΣOY ΣΩTHPOΣ; Dionysos standing slightly left, holding grapes, narthex stalks, and cloak; monogram to lower left. In Ex.: MAPΩNITΩN
Beautiful coins everyone! Bravo. The bronze Dionysos types also come in a small denomination... THRACE, Maroneia Æ17, 6.1g, 12h; c. 146-100 BC Obv.: Head of young Dionysos right, wearing band across forehead, and ivy wreath. Rev.: ΜΑΡΩΝΙΤΩΝ; Dionysos standing l., nude but for chlamys on l. arm, bunch of grapes in r. hand, two stalks of narthex in l. hand, chlamys on l. arm. Reference: BMC Thrace p. 130, 80; SNG Cop 645; Lindgren II 805
