Philip II Ae Horseman: unknown symbol - bird??

Hi,

Any suggestions on what the control mark below the horse is?
I cannot find another example.
It looks like a bird to me.

Grateful for any help with this one!

 

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Ships stern/prow of ship?

 

Good guess, prow of ship w/ram; however I vote for bird.

 

A ships prow shaped like a bird?
BTW, cool coin!

 

I think prow too.

 

LOL, I defer to the experts here.

 

I agree with Prow

Although head is facing different See #26
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?num=41&u=1&seq=7&view=image&size=100&id=uc1.$b217979

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b217979;view=1up;seq=357

 

Well, now I have to vote prow LOL

 

I thought prow initially but it looks different(narrower) to the examples I have seen so ruled it out.

However looking it at it again I agree that it can only be a prow. The only creatures I know feature on these coins include (by memory): lion, serpent, bucranium, forepart of bull, and dolphin.

Thank you for your comments

 

Hi everyone,

I've searched but cannot find an example of this coin with a prow which looks similar AND head on obverse facing left, not right.

It is not in SNG Copenhagen, Alpha Bank, AC search, ANS database, BMC database, or the Drama hoard.

Does anyone happen to have a reference for head left / horseman right with Prow control mark?

I would be very surprised if I have stumbled across an unlisted variant... I am always hoping to but usually when I have difficulty it is because the coin is in a reference which I do not have access to...

Thanks for any help!

Peter

 

Check BnF Gallica, but you have to search in French: http://gallica.bnf.fr/m/

That contains the French national collection and is the best online database I've used.

Start with: "Monnaies Philip macedoine"
Then filter from there, adding new qualifiers (proue for prow, etc.)

 

Also try "stern". I have this feeling that it is the back of the ship rather than the front or "prow". Just another filter to look through.

 

It looks like a prow to me.

I wouldn't be that surprised if you had an unlisted variant. There are so many of these Philip II bronzes in the marketplace and in private collections. They are often sold in large groups so sales archives could be hiding some matches.

Here's a prowed version from CNG's archives, although the obverse is head right and the prow doesn't resemble your coin's symbol. Hmm. To me, your coin looks more prow-like than does the coin below.

 

Thank you for your suggestions.

I have searched the French database (very handy btw - thank you) and opened up all images of left facing Philip II bronze coins. However, I could not find a close match.

A possible alternative could be that it is a bucranium (see below, but oriented differently) but I am now convinced that it is meant to be a prow.

Although I would like to think this could be an unlisted variant I have to discount that as a possibility as I do not have access to all relevant references.

If anyone has Part 8 of SNG ANS (Macedonia II), I would be grateful if you could have a look if it lists a head left / horse right with prow?

Peter

 

My bucranian

 

That looks to me like a plow, not a prow. Maybe a typo?

 

Good eye I think