[Poll-28] #24 Pavlos vs #32 zumbly (Round 3) CIT 2018

Hello everyone and welcome to Round 3 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;

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/an...annual-coin-imperator-tournament-2018.320328/



The winner of this match will be moving on to the semifinals! A big thank you to all of our participants. Without further ado…

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#24 @Pavlos


Rhodos magistrate Ainetor drachm
Mint between 205 B.C. - 190 B.C.
Rhodos mint.
15mm; 2,28g.
Obverse: Facing head of Helios with flowing hair
Reverse: AINHTΩΡ above, Ρ-O below, rose in bloom with bud to right, butterfly to left.
Reference: Hunter 22-23; SNG Keckman 586; SNG Fitz. 4799-4800; BMC 153-154; SNG Cop 774-775.SC 1642.3d; HGC 9, 806

Price: $105

Why It’s Cool:
Bargain:
Why is it a bargain? It is a very fine drachm of Rhodos with a very rare butterfly monogram, not only is this very rare on a coin from Rhodos, it is also very rare in general on Ancient coins. The price I paid is quite cheap compared to similar coins sold for much more, for example the same drachm in a slightly better state was sold for $400: https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/ro..._butterfly_ainetor_mag_ef/607163/Default.aspx

The History
This is a drachm from the important Greek polis / island of Rhodos. Rhodos developed into a maritime, commercial and cultural center during the Greek Classical and Hellenistic eras and its coins circulated nearly everywhere in the Mediterranean. By the end of the fourth century BC the Aegean region was dominated by coinage using the Attic or the Rhodian standards. After the conquests of Alexander the Great the Attic standard that he had adopted became the de facto standard of the entire Hellenistic world with only a few exceptions. Rhodos was one of the exceptions in both the weight standard and the design used for its coins which is a good indication of just how important Rhodian coinage had become by this point. The early issues of Rhodos consisted primarily of tetradrachms in the first half of the fourth century which were then supplanted in importance by the didrachm and its fractions (such as my new coin) from the end of the fourth century till about 190 B.C. when the system was restructured around the drachm. Rhodos issued a large number of coins in its history with spikes in production during times of war or during large construction projects such as the Colossus.

For its coins, Rhodos used the head of their patron god Helios for the obverse and the rose on the reverse which has a possible connection to the name of the island (Greek rhodon = rose). These symbols were also used in other forms of art, in addition to coinage, such as in stamps of amphorae.


Helios god of the sun

On the coin a butterfly is visible to the left of the rose on the reverse. This is influenced by the fact that Rhodos has the only natural forest of Liquidambar orientalis (Oriental Sweetgum trees) in Europe, which is a resting point for the Jersey tiger (Panaxia Quadripunctaria), a nocturnal moth. This natural forest is in a valley in the north of the island. Huge numbers of butterflies congregate in this small valley during the final stage of their life cycle. Every year, at the end of the wet season (late May), thousands of butterflies attracted by the scent of the Oriental Sweetgum trees cover the entire landscape. They follow the waterways and migrate here to reproduce. Butterflies on ancient coins are very rare and can only be found on silver coins of Rhodos by magistrate Ainetor (for example this drachm, which is also very rare) and as control marks on some Roman Republican bronze and silver coins.


The Butterfly Valley on Rhodos

An additional layer of interest is that this coin was possibly minted during the Cretan War of 205–200 BC. From Wikipedia:

“The Cretan War was fought by King Philip V of Macedon, the Aetolian League, many Cretan cities and Spartan pirates against the forces of Rhodes and later Attalus I of Pergamum, Byzantium, Cyzicus, Athens, and Knossos.

The Macedonians had just concluded the First Macedonian War against Rome and Philip, seeing his chance to defeat Rhodes, formed an alliance with Aetolian and Spartan pirates who began raiding Rhodian ships. Philip also formed an alliance with several important Cretan cities, such as Hierapytna and Olous. With the Rhodian fleet and economy suffering from the depredations of the pirates, Philip believed his chance to crush Rhodes was at hand. To help achieve his goal, he formed an alliance with the King of the Seleucid Empire, Antiochus the Great, against Ptolemy V of Egypt (the Seleucid Empire and Egypt were the other two Diadochi states). Philip began attacking the lands of Ptolemy and Rhodes's allies in Thrace and around the Propontis.

In 202 BC, Rhodes and her allies Pergamum, Cyzicus, and Byzantium combined their fleets and defeated Philip at the Battle of Chios. Just a few months later, Philip's fleet defeated the Rhodians at Lade. While Philip was plundering Pergamese territory and attacking cities in Caria, Attalus I of Pergamum went to Athens to try to create a diversion. He succeeded in securing an alliance with the Athenians, who immediately declared war on the Macedonians. The King of Macedon could not remain inactive; he assailed Athens with his navy and with some infantry. The Romans warned him, however, to withdraw or face war with Rome. After suffering a defeat at the hands of the Rhodian and Pergamese fleets, Philip withdrew, but not before attacking the city of Abydos on the Hellespont. Abydos fell after a long siege and most of its inhabitants committed suicide. Philip rejected the Roman ultimatum to stop attacking Greek states and the Romans declared war on Macedon. This left the Cretan cities with no major allies, and the largest city of Crete, Knossos, joined the Rhodians. Faced with this combination, both Hierapytna and Olous surrendered and were forced to sign a treaty favourable to Rhodes and Knossos.”​

Battle of Chios 201 BC

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#32 @zumbly


GALLIENUS
Billon Antoninianus. 3.24g, 23.6mm. Cologne mint, AD 258-259. RIC 49; Cohen 1065. O: GALLIENVS P F AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust of Gallienus left, holding spear over his left shoulder and shield decorated with gorgoneion. R: VICT GERMANICA, Victory standing right on globe, holding trophy over her left shoulder and wreath in her right hand; two captives flanking globe.

Price: $30.41

Why It's Cool:
Just how cool can a $30 Gallienus be? Well, let's get started.

Right off the bat, it has a scarcer bust variety for this reverse type, with a regal left-facing portrait of the emperor armed with shield and spear. Probus, about two decades later, gets all the attention for his fancy bust types, but a lesser known fact is that Gallienus was the true trendsetter, the first emperor to be portrayed on standard Imperial mint issues dressed in full military regalia.

The dubious Historia Augusta and other obviously biased sources such as Eutropius and Aurelius Victor portray Gallienus as something of a debauched, effeminate muppet, living in luxury and making merry while the Empire fell apart around him. Current scholarship, taking in less prejudiced historical accounts, have seen his legacy reassessed more favorably. The story of Gallienus challenging the Gallic usurper Postumus to single combat on the eve of a battle between their armies may have been somewhat embellished, but it's safe to say it's no more or less credible than the tales told about Gallienus in Historia Augusta. It seems, in any case, that Postumus turned down the challenge.

Our coin, with its use of the armored bust and 'Victory and captives' reverse, trumpeted to the citizens of the Empire the success of the legions against invading Germanic armies, and further served as propaganda to establish the image of the emperor as an able military leader. It's also part of a larger body of numismatic and inscriptional evidence that supports the idea that Gallienus was as much a soldier-ruler as the various Illyrian 'barracks emperors' who followed him.

Despite his early success at defending the Empire, Gallienus's military efforts were soon hamstrung by the defeat and capture of his co-emperor father Valerian by the Sassanians in 260, a crisis that would lead to a whole collection (pun intended) of usurpers surfacing from within the Empire's borders, each hoping to claim their own chunk of it.

Ultimately, Gallienus would fail at turning around Rome's fading fortunes, though not for lack of energy or effort. His 15-year reign was one rebellion and war after another, and his story ends with his assassination in 268 while he was laying siege to the rebel general Aureolus at Mediolanum. In all likelihood, he was betrayed by his own officers, chief amongst whom were future 'barracks emperors' Claudius II and Aurelian.

About a hundred years later, the emperor Julian II, describing Gallienus in his satire The Caesars, lampoons him as "He who is all decked with gold and dainty as a maiden". Clearly, the defamation of his legacy by Julian's time was quite thorough and deep rooted, but fast forward 1600 years or so, and I think we can say that our coin has Gallienus's back. Let's just take a look at how Julian chose to portray himself on his coinage as he prepared himself for his ill-fated military campaign against the Persians in 363:



Quite apart from "who wore it better", let's just say that Julian and other rulers of the Constantinian dynasty sometimes cut a less than impressive figure on their coins and should really just have been thankful they had the option of following Gallienus's fashion cues when the occasion called for it. Here's another Julian to illustrate the point.



Going beyond the significance of bust style and types, we'll see another cool aspect of 3rd century Crisis period coins that I think often goes unappreciated - that by their fabric and the quality of their production (or lack thereof), they can tell us something quite tangible about what was going on during those tumultuous times. The coinage of Gallienus is a perfect example of this. Between the beginning of his reign with Valerian in 253, and its end 268, the silver content of the antoninianus fell from 35% to a almost negligible 2%. Father and son had won an empire that, like its coins (like this coin), could still look the imperious part on a good day... shiny, solid, and stable, with just a bit of raggedness about the edges. But by the end of his reign, the sad product that issued from Gallienus's mints mirrored the tattered empire and its bankrupt economy - debased almost beyond recognition.

So, on the surface, you could say that this is just another $30 Gallienus, not particularly rare or particularly significant in and of itself. However, just as I'm willing to bet that many of us have at least a few of such 'just another' coins buried in our collections, I'm also willing to bet that most of them can surprise us with their historical and numismatic coolness if we were to take a closer look at them.

Bargain:
Parting shot - here's a link to 'just another' Cohen 1065 (same as my coin!), though not a $30 example, but instead one that sold for closer to $1200 (before fees!). It's true that its well-struck reverse shows up my coin, but I do think the obverse on mine is just a little bit better, a point I like to think the Emperor portrayed on it would have appreciated.

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A Gentle Reminder
The first two rounds 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.

 

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That is one beautiful Rhodos drachm, but that portrait of Gallienus is one of the nicest I've seen. It's going to be hard for me to choose.

 

"Book club ready?" That image is now permanently etched in my memory.

Both great coins and interesting writeups, so congrats to both competitors!

I am at heart a portrait guy, so can't deny that incredible Gallienus portrait the win on looks. Exceptional style, a military bust, a gorgon on the shield, plus a fantastic strike for these and top notch condition?? Just so awesome. Even with the worn reverse die I don't see anything less than $100 on acsearch that could challenge it, so Z takes my bargain vote too. (I see some challengers in the same price range for Pavlos's drachm.)

The interest category is the hardest one for me to decide... That butterfly is so very cool – thanks for all those interesting details! – and the Cretan war is of exceptional historical importance (never mind the cut-n-paste penalty there, the rest makes up for it). But Z's VICT GERMANICA coin is tied directly to Gallienus's struggles on Rome's northern borders, a big part of the 3rd century crisis which is also of great historical importance. Z's description of how the coin plays an evidential role concerning the nature of Gallienus's reign is also very compelling! Will have to think about this...

 

Awesome coin, @Pavlos! I should have seen that butterfly coming from a mile away.

But the coins have been tossed, and it's Greek vs Roman... at the very least my Gallienus is all dressed up for a fight!

 

Another very tough match! This year the contestants (combatants?) seem much more attuned to strategy. Similarly, it seems the voters are also employing strategy. There seems to be more instances of people withholding one of their three votes for dramatic purposes .

Z, I have a greater appreciation for Gallienus now.

Pavlos, cool picture of the Jersey tiger moths!

 

Geee !

That left bust Gallienus leaves me speechless !

Q

 

Both are nice coins which I would have purchased.

 

both coins here are excellent and worthy of a win, each in their own right..i call it a draw on all fronts

 

I love the battle ready portrait of Gallienus, the write-up, & the $30.00 price. Wow!

 

Great coin Zumbly, the portrait looks absolutely stunning, and that is coming from someone who does not have much interest in Roman Imperial coins, and for such a price, very nice. My butterfly is dressed up for a fight as well hehe . Since I am a starter into collecting ancient coins I unfortunately don't have so much coin choice for the tournament

 

That may prove to be an advantage at the end of the day. As it stands it looks like your battle butterfly is scaring my Gallienus off the field!

 

It's always nice to see Helios with a full nose (not worn off) @Pavlos and the butterfly is an added bonus.

 

Congratulations to both of you posting fantastic coins rich in history, and both a bargain price.

 

This round 3 is very special, with another tie : 56-56

Q

 

Both coins are worthy winners.

 

I was guilty only because I needed to research a little.

Both coins are sweet both worthy, but I have none of either. Gallieness I've been missing but looking. Rhodes is a area I want to expand on, but neither are high on my want list. So this was a tough one to split the vote on.
Though Z's Gallienus is one I would have added myself so he got my split vote.

 

Keep in mind that Gallienus coins often look like this:

 

Exactly. I did a double-take when I read that the coin was issued by Gallienus.

 

Thanks for posting those, RC. The quality control at Gallienus's mints did not fail evenly across the board all at once, and some held up better than others, but he definitely lost some excellent mint workers to Postumus when Cologne and other Gallic cities broke away. That said, I do also love those junky ones as well because they're the second part of story of which my Cologne mint coin was the first. To the victor the spoils, and to the loser the Kevin specials. Me, I'll take them all!

 

Haha, “the Kevin specials” that made me laugh. Poor Kevin, or Kevicus/Kevianus as he may have been know to his mint buddies... He had a lot of bad days there in the 260/270s. I love Kevin specials too.

(For those who don’t remember “Kevin” is an imagined mint worker during the crisis of the third century... responsible for all of the off-center, poorly struck, bad style, mistake ridden coins of the time.)