I ordinarily like to be able to check catalog references for myself. But when I don't have the necessary catalogs and they're not available online, I'm willing to rely for the most part on the references provided by reputable dealers. In the case of a new coin that just arrived, I do consider the dealer, who's in England, to be reputable. I've made purchases from them before, and they have some very nice ancient coins. However, for whatever reason (maybe they think their customers don't care?), this dealer never provides catalog references of any kind. For example, the description of this coin, in addition to diameter and weight, was limited to "Islands off Caria Rhodos, Rhodes Circa 188-170 BC. Silver Drachm." But I really liked the way the coin looked in the photos, even though a couple of parts of the design are rather worn. So I bought it. And I like it even better in hand. (If you click on the image, it will zoom in substantially.) From looking at coins I thought were similar in appearance at acsearch, and reading the descriptions -- Artemon as magistrate narrowed things down considerably! -- and looking up the full names of the reference works on Numiswiki, this is the description I cobbled together for my coin: Islands off Caria, Rhodes, AR Plinthophoric Drachm (ca. 170-150 BCE), Artemon, magistrate. Obv. Radiate head of Helios right / Rev. Incuse square containing rose with bud right, Isis crown in left field, APTEMΩΝ above, P - O across fields. Jenkins, Rhodian, Group B [ca.170-150 BCE]*, 33 [Jenkins, G. "Rhodian Plinthophoroi - a Sketch" in Kraay-Mørkholm Essays (1989), pp. 101-119, pls. XXIX-XXXIV); BMC Caria 253 at p. 253 [Head, Barclay V., A Catalog of the Greek Coins in the British Museum, Caria, Cos, Rhodes, etc. (1897)]; SNG Keckman 640 [Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Finland, The Erkki Keckman Collection in the Skopbank, Helsinki, Part 1: Karia (Helsinki, 1994)]; SNG Copenhagen 813 var. (symbol on rev.) [Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Copenhagen, The Royal Collection of Coins and Medals, Danish National Museum, Volume 5: Ionia, Caria & Lydia (Parts 22 - 28) (1982))]; HGC 6, 1457-1458 [Hoover, Oliver D., Handbook of Greek Coins: Coins of the Islands: Adriatic, Ionian, Thracian, Aegean, and Carpathian Seas (Excluding Crete and Cyprus), 6th to 1st Centuries BC, Vol 6 (2010)]. 16x17 mm., 3.04 g. *Clearly the dealer must have assigned the coin to Jenkins Group A, which Jennkins ascribes to the period 188-170 BCE. But from looking at similar coins on acsearch, it seems to me that the dealer may be mistaken. [Edited to add: based on subsequent discussion (see below), and the page from HGC 6 kindly posted by @akeady, I now believe that the dealer's dating of the coin was probably correct, that the coin belongs to Jenkins Group A (No. 20), associated with the earlier period -- rather than Group B, No. 33 -- and that the correct HGC 6 number is probably 1457.] Thus, I included five catalog references, four of which I found in descriptions of similar coins on acsearch (Jenkins, SNG Keckman, SNG Copenhagen, and HGC 6), and one of which I found myself, because it's online -- BMC Caria. Even if BMC Caria does date back to 1897, the description of no. 253 appears to fit my coin: Of the four others, none is available online. Does anyone here have access to any of those four, and, if so, could they please take a look and confirm whether I've surmised correctly and the descriptions fit my coin? Also, if anyone has SNG Copenhagen, is it possible to tell what the reverse variation in the catalog is that every description of similar coins appears to mention? Thank you in advance! Entirely separately, and having nothing to do with catalog references, I'm sure others disagree -- and I'm certainly no expert (this is only my second Rhodes coin) -- but I've always at least generally preferred the appearance of the Rhodes coins I've seen on which Helios is depicted in profile rather than in full-face/three-quarters view. I think that for whatever reason it must have been more technically difficult to create a successful, attractive, portrait in three-quarters than in profile. Accordingly the majority of examples I see that are designed that way are not very successful; they often look rather unattractive facially to me, and sometimes even rather crude. Obviously, there are many wonderful exceptions like the spectacular example posted by @Terence Cheesman recently in his Top 10 for 2020! And while mine isn't even in the same universe, and is on a very small flan (causing quite a bit of the design to be missing), I still think that Helios's face is pleasant-looking: Islands off Caria, Rhodos, Rhodes, AR Didrachm, ca. 340-316 BCE. Obv. Head of Helios facing slightly right, hair parted in center and swept to either side / Rev. Rose with bud to right and grape bunch to left [stem connecting bud to rose on right is off flan, as is “E” beneath grape bunch on left], POΔION [RODION] above, all within incuse square. Ashton 98 [Ashton, R., "The Coinage of Rhodes 408-c.190 BC" in Money and its Uses in the Ancient Greek World (Oxford, 2001), pp. 79 - 115, pls. 6.1 - 6.6.], HGC 6, 1433 [Hoover, Oliver D., Handbook of Coins of the Islands: Adriatic, Ionian, Thracian, Aegean, and Carpathian Seas (Excluding Crete and Cyprus), 6th to 1st Centuries BC, Vol 6 (2010)]. 16 mm., 6.55 g., 12 h. So now I have one of each basic view. I like them both. And please feel free to post your examples of either kind.
Very jelly Excellent coin from a truly magical place lost to the world thanks to Roman Imperial dominance. Not much help with the identification as I'm searching for mine at the moment...
Both attractive coins. Here's a late 3rd century BC coin of Rhodes: Islands off Caria, Rhodos, Rhodes, circa 229-205 BC, Æ Tetrachalkon Obv: Laureate head of Zeus right Rev: Rose with bud to right; P-O below, to left monogram Size: 19mm, 6.31g
Thank you so much! So it appears that according to Hoover, the distinction between HGC Nos. 1457 and 1458 -- and, in turn, the distinction between coins assigned to Jenkins Group A (Jenkins Nos. 1-28 [varying reverse symbols], 188-170 BCE) and those assigned to Jenkins Group B (Jenkins Nos. 29-38 [varying reverse symbols], 170-150 BCE) -- depends entirely on which magistrate's name is on the coin, since both groups include the Isis headdress among their symbols. Hoover puts APTEMΩΝ in the first, earlier Jenkins group (A). Which would mean that the dealer's dating of my coin was correct. However, a number of the dealers' descriptions I saw of the APTEMΩΝ coins with the Isis headdress to the left as a symbol gave those coins the number Jenkins 33, putting them in the second, later group (B) and ascribing them to HGC 1458. See this Numismatik Naumann lot description from 2017 (Auction 60, Lot 219): "CARIA. Rhodes. Drachm (Circa 170-150 BC). Artemon, magistrate. Obv: Radiate head of Helios right. Rev: APTEMΩN / P - O. Rose with bud to right. Control: Isis crown to left. Jenkins Group B, 33; HGC 6, 1458. Condition: Very fine. Weight: 2.48 g. Diameter: 15 mm." But other dealers follow Hoover in assigning such coins to Jenkins 20, putting them in Group A, and ascribing them to HGC 1457 accordingly. I suppose the only way of knowing which is correct would be to look at Jenkins, because somebody is reading Jenkins incorrectly. However, I tend to think that Hoover is less likely to have made that mistake. So until proven otherwise, I'm going to change my description to Jenkins Group A, No. 20, with the earlier dates, and categorize the coin as HGC 1457.
I don't have the Jenkins paper either - it's in Kraay-Morkholm Essays: https://www.ma-shops.com/jacquier/item.php?id=855 It's possible he's looking at stylistic differences between the groups also - at least in the examples in HGC, the Helios head is larger in group B, but that's only guesswork from me. ATB, Aidan.
Hi Ryro, Yours should be HGC 6, 1461 (Jenkins Group E), judging by the magistrate's name (it's the only one I see beginning with KA): ATB, Aidan.
SNG Copenhagen 813 appears to be the same variety as BMC 251. Your variety is also HN Online 1999. They use "Jenkins 1989, Group A, 20" as the type reference. Very nice example, BTW. I share your sentiments regarding the facing head type and don't have one yet. My only Rhodes right now is a bronze. CARIA, Rhodos. Rhodes. AE29. 17.59g, 28.6mm. CARIA, Rhodos, Rhodes, circa 88-85 BC. HN Online 1274.2 (this coin illustrated); HGC 6, 1467. O: Radiate head of Helios right. R: Rose in profile; winged thunderbolt to left, Isis crown to right. Ex Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 88 (28 April 2004), lot 57; Lakeview Collection
A different question: usually, the patina I see on silver coins is black. On my new coin, what is the brown coloration in the recesses of both sides? Is it dirt? Should I try to clean it, and, if so, how? Or should I just leave it alone? Keep in mind that the coin is actually very small (16x17 mm.), so when I hold it in my hand I barely notice any brown. The primary impression is just silver.
Rhodian Bronze Coinage and the Siege of Mithradates VI Author(s): R.H.J. ASHTON Source: The Numismatic Chronicle (1966-), Vol. 161 (2001), pp. 53-66 Published by: Royal Numismatic Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/42668015 @Sulla80
Also: that Historia Numorum Online website you cited is a wonderful resource for Caria. I wasn't familiar with it before. The HNO number for my second coin from Rhodes, the Rhodian didrachm I posted in the OP, is 813 (see http://hno.huma-num.fr/browse?idType=813).
