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Message:: [QUOTE="Curtisimo, post: 3162965, member: 83845"]Hello everyone and welcome to Round 2 of the 2018 CoinTalk Imperator Tournament!  If you are unaware of the tournament I invite you to get caught up with all the fun in the master thread; <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> [ATTACH=full]812449[/ATTACH] A big thank you to all of our participants.  Without further ado… ............................................................ #17 [USER=19463]@dougsmit[/USER] [ATTACH=full]812451[/ATTACH] Augustus AE as 26mm 10.85g 10-7 BC Lugdunum mintCAESAR PONT MAX l. hd. rt.ROM ET AVG altarMillennium Sear 1690, RIC 230, C 240Countermarked on reverse TIB C AVF in rectangular box with extension to accommodate the tall I Price: $65 Why It’s Cool: Bargain: Purchased from Don Zauche's half price box at a coin show in 2017.  On 1 August, 10 BC, the city of Lugdunum dedicated its new altar to Rome and Augustus. The dedication was set for the first day of the month honored by being renamed in honor of the Emperor. Bronze coins in a series of sizes were issued showing the altar. Of that series, the most common is the copper as. Much of what we know about the altar comes from well preserved coins, particularly the larger sestertii. You will see some variations in descriptions of the figures shown in different references. Most clear are the two Victories on tall columns flanking the altar. The coins stopped after about three years but were revived near the end of the reign with a different (longer) obverse legend and a parallel issue in the name of Tiberius Caesar.  Our coin is special due to the countermark on the reverse. It reads TIB C AVF with the AVF ligate. This reads TIBerius Caesar Filius (son) of AVgustus. Most unusual is the way the I and B of TIB were formed into a ligature. Since the I would disappear completely into the straight stroke of the B, it was raised up but that ran into the top of the rectangular box which had to be bumped out a bit to accommodate the tall I. To me that is a cool extension on a cool countermark carefully aligned on a cool coin issued to commemorate a cool altar dedicated in a hot month. Well, we can't all be cool, can we?  I have been told that this countermark is “Martini 32” but I really don't like quoting references I have not seen.<a href="http://www.romancoins.info/CMK-Lugdunum-Aug-Part2.html#MP32" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.romancoins.info/CMK-Lugdunum-Aug-Part2.html#MP32" rel="nofollow">http://www.romancoins.info/CMK-Lugdunum-Aug-Part2.html#MP32</a> I have not seen other examples of this mark on these asses but there are several marks found on the series including some more simply TIB. Why was the mark applied? I do not know. What other coin types bore this mark? What did 'Martini' have to say about it? (Does anyone have this collection reference?). I consider this coin the coolest of my eligible entries (January 2017 to July 2018) even though many people consider countermarks a form of damage. Frequently countermarks are placed in such a way that they damage design on one side or the other of the coin. Many are applied to coins already well worn or otherwise compromised. This coin is above average in these respects. All things considered, the coolest thing about this coin is that it found a collection (mine) where it is appreciated. In researching this write-up, I found a note stating that the altar remained in place until Septimius Severus remodeled the temple complex after defeating Clodius Albinus but details and what happened later are not known. Since I collect Septimius, how cool is that? ............................................................ #32 [USER=57495]@zumbly[/USER] [ATTACH=full]812452[/ATTACH] THESSALY, LarissaAR Hemidrachm. 2.96g, 17.3mm. THESSALY, Larissa, circa 460-420 BC. Lorber, Thessalian, Series 4, 18c (O10/R9) = CH 9, 77, inv. D/E-2-12 (this coin); BCD Thessaly I –; cf. BCD Thessaly II 178; HGC 4, 459 var. (horse left). O: Bull wrestler (Thessalos) running left, kausia behind neck, placing band around head of bull forepart leaping left; TO below. R: Λ-A-P-I, forepart of bridled horse right within incuse square.Ex BCD Collection; ex Thessaly hoard, circa 1996 (CH 9, 77, inv. D/E-2-12) Price: $64 Why It's Cool:This is not my first Thessalian hemidrachm of the taurokathapsia type, but it’s by far my least costly example, yet also one of my favorites. It’s attractively toned, shows some beautiful reticulation of its 2,400 year old silver, and it even comes with the best possible pedigrees for one of these, being formerly of the BCD Collection. In addition, the coin has also been catalogued as part of Catharine Lorber's die study of Larissa hemidrachms in her paper, Thessalian Hoards and the Coinage of Larissa (AJN Second Series 20, 2008). These charming and distinctive 'bull wrestler' hemidrachms were issued in several cities in Thessaly in the mid 5th century BC, celebrating what was essentially a national sport amongst the fierce and fractious Thessalian tribes. A region of fertile, grassy plains with Mount Olympus serving as a backdrop, Thessaly was a frontier land and considered something of a cultural backwater. Yet, the Thessalians did a number of things better than your average Athenian or Corinthian, amongst them, rear and ride the finest horses in all of Greece, and wrestle bulls. Unlike the Cretan sport of bull-leaping, where acrobats would grab the horns of bulls and somersault over the heads of the animals, the Thessalian taurokathapsia involved a horse rider chasing down a bull, grabbing its horns to leap onto its back, then dismounting, and wrestling it into submission. It was a sport that required equal amounts of expert horsemanship, dexterity, and incredible physical strength. On the obverse of our coin, we see the later, climactic stage of the action, where the rider has dismounted the bull, grabbed it by its horns, and is twisting its head to force it to the ground. On the reverse, we're shown the forepart of his bridled horse, presumably galloping away from the scene. Different Thessalian cities issued coins during this period that showed different stages of the taurokathapsia, and taken as a series, much of what we know of this ancient sport is corroborated by what has been depicted on the coins. Remarkably, we also learn that the Thessalian taurokathapsia was almost identical to the modern day American rodeo sport of bulldogging. I think the picture below says it all, right down to the fact that the cowboy is wearing virtually the same hat as the hero Thessalos! [ATTACH=full]812453[/ATTACH] While it's cool that ancient coins allow us to acquaint ourselves with the myths, historic battles, and rulers of our distant past, I think it's at least equally cool when we have a coin that tells us something about what the average person who lived at the time had enjoyed, or found meaningful, and yet more amazing still when we learn that 2,500 years later, we share some of the exact same past-times and preoccupations. ............................................................ A Gentle ReminderRound 1 went about as well as anyone could have hoped from the perspective of keeping the commentary fun, interesting and friendly. It would be a challenge to run a tournament of this type on almost any other board but with the great people here on CT it has been both an honor and a pleasure. Lets try to keep up with the perfect score in the friendliness department by concentrating comments on why you liked an entry instead of why you didn't like the other. 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 thread for comments, opinions, coin pile-ons and random posting of coin things as you see fit.[/QUOTE]

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