Hi everyone, I would like to ask for some help in ID'ing this coin. I believe it is a provincial coin - my best (and only at this point) guess is that it is from Edessa - possibly Caracalla or Elagabalus? I can't seem to make any sense of the partial legends to nail this down and I don't yet have any of the provincial references. Size 18mm weight 3.05 gm, obverse radiate curaissed bust right reverse Tyche? right wearing turreted crown? Any help much appreciated! PS I noticed Pishpash has 2 Tibetan Terriers in another thread - we also have two - pictures to come once we dig out ones where they are doing something funny. They are a very mischievous breed.
My best guess is :- Elagabalus. AE 18mm. Edessa, Mesopotamia. AVT K M AR ANTΩNEINOC, radiate, draped, cuirassed bust right / (from centre right, clockwise) M AV ANT ED-ECCA, turreted head of Tyche right. Babelon Group I, 46 var (bust type); BMC 75 var (Tyche right).
@TTerrier I sent you a PM. I have a similar coin, not exactly the same Elagabalus Region, City: Mesopotania, Edessa Coin: Bronze AYTAKNΛΡΛVΝw?? - Emperor radiate left Tyche/City Goddess right Mint: ( 218-222 AD) Wt./Size/Axis: 3.38g / 18mm / -
I agree with Topcat Babelon's Numismatique d'Edesse en Mésopotamie (Paris, 1904) is viewable online at http://www.inumis.com/ressources/greece/books/babelon_edesse/ The coin would likely be considered type 46, varying from Babelon's entry in the following ways (from page 59): - emperor's bust right rather than left - Tyche's bust right rather than left - reverse legend variation. Although the full reverse legend is presumably off flan, the OP coin shows AVANEΔ while the full legend as recorded by Babelon is M AV ANT EΔECCA. While to other catalogers these might be considered major variations warranting a separate catalog number, apparently Babelon considered them minor, assuming this translation is correct. From page 62: "There are many other varieties produced from Septimius Severus onwards, barbarizations of the legend, but these are uninteresting and not worth mentioning." Collectors of modern coins (and some Roman Imperial collectors!) might have a stroke upon reading that dismissal. Mionnet's reference is also available for free online viewing but I haven't searched it for the OP coin.
We still have a number of people who don't find interest in minor details even as far as mints and reverse types in the case of those who consider any coin of a ruler the same as any other coin of that ruler for the purpose of their collection. I was once told by a dealer who thought he was smarter than everyone else that the only coins of Septimius worth owning were those from the Rome mint because those other mints were crude and ugly. I'm even a little this way, for example, having a preference for Republican denarii that don't have a Roma head obverse and chariot reverse and Imperial types which have a reverse that is not 'someone standing there'. If we are to be students of our coinage, we need to learn about metals we don't prefer, denominations larger or smaller than our choice and time periods before or after the one that interests us. If that is too much to ask, at least we might understand that there are others among us who favor these "uninteresting and not worth mentioning" coins.
It's logical that smaller details receive more attention as time marches on. In the days of Mionnet and Babelon, imagine trying to find and examine a large number of a given type of coin. Tall order. Perhaps the emphasis was more about correctly assigning coins to their issuers, and basic descriptions. Over time more coins were unearthed plus with the digital age it is much easier to virtually examine a huge number of coins, allowing a more comprehensive dissection each coin and relationships between different coins.
Thanks for the great information everyone - I'm not sure I would have found a 1904 reference written in French - amazing that a 110 year old reference is still very useful today. Reading a little about Edessa I see it was one of the places where Greek culture didn't stick and it retained its Arabic roots. When I look at the lettering on my coin and especially on Pishpash's the lettering has an Aramaic style to it (to me anyways) - maybe a local engraver without much knowledge of Greek or Latin did the engraving. Thanks again!
