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[Poll-11] #14 iamtiberius vs #19 MontCollector (Round 1) CIT 2018
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<p>[QUOTE="Curtisimo, post: 3147115, member: 83845"]Welcome to Round 1 of CIT 2018! If you are unaware of the tournament I invite you to get caught up with all the fun on the following link:</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancients-it%E2%80%99s-time-the-second-annual-coin-imperator-tournament-2018.320328/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancients-it%E2%80%99s-time-the-second-annual-coin-imperator-tournament-2018.320328/">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancients-it’s-time-the-second-annual-coin-imperator-tournament-2018.320328/</a></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]805625[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>I want to give a special thank you to the participants for volunteering to play the game. We have a great group of people here at CT.</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center">............................................................</p><p><br /></p><p><font size="6"><span style="color: #808080"><b><u>#14 [USER=37707]@iamtiberius[/USER] </u></b></span></font></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]805626[/ATTACH] </p><p><font size="3"><b>CILICIA. <i>Soloi</i>. Circa 440-410 BC. Stater</b></font></p><p><font size="3">Amazon, nude to the waist, kneeling left and stringing her bow; wearing bonnet and with her gorytos at her hip; to right, facing head of satyr. <i>Rev.</i>ΣΟΛΕΩΝ Bunch of grapes; to right, fly; all within incuse square. Casabonne Type 2. SNG Levante 40. SNG Paris 128</font></p><p><font size="3">10.71g</font></p><p><font size="3">22.1mm</font></p><p><br /></p><p><b><u>Price:</u></b> $844</p><p><br /></p><p><b><u>Why It’s Cool:</u></b></p><p>Soloi was a Greek city state founded ca. 700 BC located in ancient Cilicia (modern southern Turkey). According to Greek legend, when the Amazons came to conquer Asia Minor in the distant past the people of Cilicia accepted them and were allowed to live in peace. The city of Soloi may have been named after a figure in Greek mythology, a young Athenian named Solois, who was associated with the Amazons. Solois was a companion of Theseus and accompanied him on his voyages after Theseus had abducted the Amazon princess Antiope. Solois fell madly in love with Antiope and when he learned that she did not return his affections he drowned himself in a river. The Amazon shown on the obverse of the coin may well depict Antiope in a reference to this myth.</p><p><br /></p><p>Playing up the connection with the Athenian Solois on their coins (through Antiope) may have been a subtle strategy on the part of Soloi to curry favor with Athens during a time when the inhabitants of the city favored Athenian over Persian interests. (Persia and Athens had been rivals for control of Asia Minor for decades)</p><p><br /></p><p>Apollonius of Rhodes described the Amazons, a warring tribe of women, as being the offspring of Ares, God of War, and a nymph named Harmonia. The satyr in right field could be an inference to Harmonia, or part of an unknown myth told in Soloi; but this is merely conjecture. It is recorded that the female archers would disrobe the upper half, or at least the left side as to eliminate any drag the fletching of an arrow would produce across their clothing; increasing speed and accuracy of their arrows. This is represented on my coin, with her left breast exposed.</p><p><br /></p><p>The region of Soloi was well regarded in antiquity as having exceptionally fertile land. Pliny the Elder recorded Cilician wine as being held in the highest esteem. The "Bunch of Grapes" shown on the reverse of my coin is a staple on several Cilician coins; with coins of Soloi being no exception. It seems the people of Soloi may have enjoyed their domestic product too much however, They were often on the receiving end of Athenian insults describing their dialect as grammatically incorrect; which is where the word "solecism" is derived.</p><p><br /></p><p>This coin is interesting because it offers a glimpse into both the mythology and the day to day life of an ancient classical Greek city. My specific example is well centered, deeply struck, and maintains a lustrous surface. Rare for the type, as most either suffer from warn dies, die rust, or weekly struck obverses/reverses.</p><p><br /></p><p>I had a feeling I would be able to get a few decent deals when Leu suddenly appeared again; knowing their new format wasn't known yet and their name hadn't been around for a few years. I was able to pick up 4 Lots in this auction, with the Soloi Stater being the best deal, imho. Similar examples have approached 2k.</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center">............................................................</p><p><br /></p><p><font size="6"><span style="color: #808080"><u><b>#19 [USER=85496]@MontCollector[/USER] </b></u></span></font></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]805627[/ATTACH] </p><p><font size="3">Elegabalus...218-222 AD</font></p><p><font size="3">Silver Denarius</font></p><p><font size="3">Minted: 221 AD</font></p><p><font size="3">Obv: IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, Draped bust right, laureate, horned</font></p><p><font size="3">Rev: PM TR P IIII COS III P P, Emperor standing left sacrificing out of patera over lighted altar, holding branch in right hand, star in left.</font></p><p><font size="3">Ric 46 Sear 7536</font></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Price:</b> $79</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Why It’s Cool:</b></p><p>The emperor Elagabalus has a reputation as a bit of an odd duck. To me this coin is cool because it has led to some extremely weird theories about some weird head-gear that may have been worn by this <i>really</i> weird emperor. More on that below.</p><p><br /></p><p>The emperor Elagabalus became emperor when he was 14 years old largely due to the scheming of his Grandmother, Julia Maesa. Claiming he was the secret son of Caracalla and bribing the legions didn’t hurt either, though. Before that he was the high priest of a rather obscure Syrian god known as Elegabalus (meaning “God of the Mountain”). As soon as he was confirmed emperor problems started to arise with his over-the-top personality and his devotion to this weird eastern religion.</p><p><br /></p><p>Even typically reliable contemporary sources (like Cassius Dio) claim he did some pretty crazy stuff, such as that he had agents find suitable mates so that he could make a farcical show of prostituting himself in the royal palace and that he even tried to replace Jupiter with Elagabalus as the head of the Roman pantheon (both pretty offensive things to do if you were the emperor).</p><p><br /></p><p>So what does all this have to do with my coin? Well, in the late 1990’s an academic paper made the case that the “horn” shown on the obverse of some coins struck at Rome (such as mine) is none other than the tip of a dried bull phallus. Yup, the study actually conducted experiments to see if the size and shape matched the coin and in exchange for your votes I will not post the results to this thread <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie9" alt=":eek:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />. The study (written in German) seems to claim that there was a connection with wearing <i>that </i>and the cult of Elegabalus and even shows what appears to be the <i>that</i> on a reverse with a sacrifice scene very similar to mine.</p><p><br /></p><p>Another theory, of course, is that it was just some sort of animal horn. But that theory is not nearly as weird as this emperor deserves. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie2" alt=";)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center">............................................................</p><p><br /></p><p><font size="5"><span style="color: #808080"><u><b>A Gentle Reminder</b></u></span></font></p><p>We have had a remarkably fun and friendly tournament so far and I want to thank all of our members who have contributed and commented <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> Let's continue to do a good job of keeping our tournament friendly! Instead of focusing comments too much on why you didn't vote for one coin over the other try to focus on why you did vote for the one you chose!</p><p><br /></p><p>Remember that everyone gets 3 votes to choose which coin you think comes out on top in each of the three categories. With that I will open the floor to comments, pile-ons and shameless lobbying.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Curtisimo, post: 3147115, member: 83845"]Welcome to Round 1 of CIT 2018! If you are unaware of the tournament I invite you to get caught up with all the fun on the following link: [url]https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancients-it%E2%80%99s-time-the-second-annual-coin-imperator-tournament-2018.320328/[/url] [ATTACH=full]805625[/ATTACH] I want to give a special thank you to the participants for volunteering to play the game. We have a great group of people here at CT. [CENTER]............................................................[/CENTER] [SIZE=6][COLOR=#808080][B][U]#14 [USER=37707]@iamtiberius[/USER] [/U][/B][/COLOR][/SIZE] [ATTACH=full]805626[/ATTACH] [SIZE=3][B]CILICIA. [I]Soloi[/I]. Circa 440-410 BC. Stater[/B] Amazon, nude to the waist, kneeling left and stringing her bow; wearing bonnet and with her gorytos at her hip; to right, facing head of satyr. [I]Rev.[/I]ΣΟΛΕΩΝ Bunch of grapes; to right, fly; all within incuse square. Casabonne Type 2. SNG Levante 40. SNG Paris 128 10.71g 22.1mm[/SIZE] [B][U]Price:[/U][/B] $844 [B][U]Why It’s Cool:[/U][/B] Soloi was a Greek city state founded ca. 700 BC located in ancient Cilicia (modern southern Turkey). According to Greek legend, when the Amazons came to conquer Asia Minor in the distant past the people of Cilicia accepted them and were allowed to live in peace. The city of Soloi may have been named after a figure in Greek mythology, a young Athenian named Solois, who was associated with the Amazons. Solois was a companion of Theseus and accompanied him on his voyages after Theseus had abducted the Amazon princess Antiope. Solois fell madly in love with Antiope and when he learned that she did not return his affections he drowned himself in a river. The Amazon shown on the obverse of the coin may well depict Antiope in a reference to this myth. Playing up the connection with the Athenian Solois on their coins (through Antiope) may have been a subtle strategy on the part of Soloi to curry favor with Athens during a time when the inhabitants of the city favored Athenian over Persian interests. (Persia and Athens had been rivals for control of Asia Minor for decades) Apollonius of Rhodes described the Amazons, a warring tribe of women, as being the offspring of Ares, God of War, and a nymph named Harmonia. The satyr in right field could be an inference to Harmonia, or part of an unknown myth told in Soloi; but this is merely conjecture. It is recorded that the female archers would disrobe the upper half, or at least the left side as to eliminate any drag the fletching of an arrow would produce across their clothing; increasing speed and accuracy of their arrows. This is represented on my coin, with her left breast exposed. The region of Soloi was well regarded in antiquity as having exceptionally fertile land. Pliny the Elder recorded Cilician wine as being held in the highest esteem. The "Bunch of Grapes" shown on the reverse of my coin is a staple on several Cilician coins; with coins of Soloi being no exception. It seems the people of Soloi may have enjoyed their domestic product too much however, They were often on the receiving end of Athenian insults describing their dialect as grammatically incorrect; which is where the word "solecism" is derived. This coin is interesting because it offers a glimpse into both the mythology and the day to day life of an ancient classical Greek city. My specific example is well centered, deeply struck, and maintains a lustrous surface. Rare for the type, as most either suffer from warn dies, die rust, or weekly struck obverses/reverses. I had a feeling I would be able to get a few decent deals when Leu suddenly appeared again; knowing their new format wasn't known yet and their name hadn't been around for a few years. I was able to pick up 4 Lots in this auction, with the Soloi Stater being the best deal, imho. Similar examples have approached 2k. [CENTER]............................................................[/CENTER] [SIZE=6][COLOR=#808080][U][B]#19 [USER=85496]@MontCollector[/USER] [/B][/U][/COLOR][/SIZE] [ATTACH=full]805627[/ATTACH] [SIZE=3]Elegabalus...218-222 AD Silver Denarius Minted: 221 AD Obv: IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, Draped bust right, laureate, horned Rev: PM TR P IIII COS III P P, Emperor standing left sacrificing out of patera over lighted altar, holding branch in right hand, star in left. Ric 46 Sear 7536[/SIZE] [B]Price:[/B] $79 [B]Why It’s Cool:[/B] The emperor Elagabalus has a reputation as a bit of an odd duck. To me this coin is cool because it has led to some extremely weird theories about some weird head-gear that may have been worn by this [I]really[/I] weird emperor. More on that below. The emperor Elagabalus became emperor when he was 14 years old largely due to the scheming of his Grandmother, Julia Maesa. Claiming he was the secret son of Caracalla and bribing the legions didn’t hurt either, though. Before that he was the high priest of a rather obscure Syrian god known as Elegabalus (meaning “God of the Mountain”). As soon as he was confirmed emperor problems started to arise with his over-the-top personality and his devotion to this weird eastern religion. Even typically reliable contemporary sources (like Cassius Dio) claim he did some pretty crazy stuff, such as that he had agents find suitable mates so that he could make a farcical show of prostituting himself in the royal palace and that he even tried to replace Jupiter with Elagabalus as the head of the Roman pantheon (both pretty offensive things to do if you were the emperor). So what does all this have to do with my coin? Well, in the late 1990’s an academic paper made the case that the “horn” shown on the obverse of some coins struck at Rome (such as mine) is none other than the tip of a dried bull phallus. Yup, the study actually conducted experiments to see if the size and shape matched the coin and in exchange for your votes I will not post the results to this thread :eek:. The study (written in German) seems to claim that there was a connection with wearing [I]that [/I]and the cult of Elegabalus and even shows what appears to be the [I]that[/I] on a reverse with a sacrifice scene very similar to mine. Another theory, of course, is that it was just some sort of animal horn. But that theory is not nearly as weird as this emperor deserves. ;) [CENTER]............................................................[/CENTER] [SIZE=5][COLOR=#808080][U][B]A Gentle Reminder[/B][/U][/COLOR][/SIZE] We have had a remarkably fun and friendly tournament so far and I want to thank all of our members who have contributed and commented :) Let's continue to do a good job of keeping our tournament friendly! Instead of focusing comments too much on why you didn't vote for one coin over the other try to focus on why you did vote for the one you chose! Remember that everyone gets 3 votes to choose which coin you think comes out on top in each of the three categories. With that I will open the floor to comments, pile-ons and shameless lobbying.[/QUOTE]
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[Poll-11] #14 iamtiberius vs #19 MontCollector (Round 1) CIT 2018
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