Once in a rare while I see an ancient carrying the wisdom of the number secrets behind our manifested cosmos. Rarely are those very affordable(ie. like the rare Cretan Labyrinth)but this one was reasonable so here it is. Asia Minor 4th -3rd cent.BC Ar fraction .31 grm, 7mm Athena right/star/grid with five dots in the middle From a simple summary of the grids/magic squares that the ancient peoples used to understand time/space/soul: from the book Sacred Number by Miranda Lundy and some previous posted coins from Miletos with the grids: Ionien Trihemiobol 525/500 v. Chr. Grade: VF- | Abbreviations Catalog: Slg. Klein 420 Babelon, Traité II/1, 433 Rosen Coll. 579 Trihemiobol 525/500 v. Chr. Löwenkopf von vorn / Incusum mit geometrischem Muster und floralem Zentrum. Slg. Klein 420 Babelon, Traité II/1, 433 Rosen Coll. 579 1.51 g. Sehr selten Fast sehr schön Please post your labyrinthian geometrics, flowery mazes and razzle dazzle patterns on coins:
I purchased this Miletos especial from Frank Robinson. I've always enjoyed these kind of designs. MILETOS, 1/12 Stater, 6th cent BC, Lion forepart, head l./ star pattern in square, S3532 (£65); EF, good metal quality, great detail on lion's mane, but off-ctr with his face. Ex Frank Robinson I had to search for a while to get one of these fun Syracuse beauties. Sicily,Syracuse Æ Hemilitron. Dionysios I, circa 405-375 BC. Head of Arethusa right / Star of sixteen rays at centre of quartered incuse. CNS II, 18; SNG ANS 394-397; HGC 2, 1481. 5.19g, 18m
I bought this one for a similar reason CARIA, Kindya. Circa 510-480 BC. AR Tetrobol (11.5mm, 2.24 g). Head of ketos right / Geometric pattern within incuse square. Kagan & Kritt 1 var. (head left); SNG Keckman 920 var. (same); SNG Kayhan 815; Asyut 688 (uncertain mint). VF, toned.
its crazy people thousands of years ago literally spent that stuff and like now we hold the same thing!
Interesting post, Mike! I have a Carian tetrobol similar to the one shown above. Recent scholarship has shown the coins to be from Halikarnassos rather than Kindya (I haven't changed it on my website yet, along with scores of other changes, corrections, and additions). CARIA, Halikarnassos (reassigned from Kindya) 500-496 BCE AR tetrobol, 2.18 gm, 11 mm, Samian standard Obv: head of ketos right Rev: geometric pattern within incuse square Ref: Kagan and Kritt, 'The Coinage of Kindya,' NC 1995, 1 var. (head left); SNG Keckman 920 var. (same); SNG Kayhan 815; "Asyut Hoard" 688
Your pentagram coins @TIF like the one from Mysia(and the hemi from Thrace) also carry the sacred geometry: The branch in the center of the pentagram expresses their knowledge that it holds the pattern of the golden mean/section which is found only in plants and other living organisms. The Greeks were immersed in math as a sacred language as you probably know. Your post on musical instruments also expresses their awareness of music as number in time and we all know about the experiments of Pythagoras with the division of the vibrating string in specific mathematical proportions. These are great areas of interest for a collection of ancients, including music, math/number, geometry as well as cosmology- the four disciplines called the 'Quadrivium".
Linking images from my website is difficult since Wix changed some things. Here's the coin you were trying to link. Thanks for remembering it! MYSIA, Pitane AE, 4th-3rd c. BCE 9 mm, 0.64 gm Obv: Head of Zeus Ammon right Rev: ΠΙΤΑ; Pentagram, branch in center Ref: BMC 5-10 var. (pellet in center)
Cool geometrics @Mike Margolis ! Ionia AR Tetartemorion 4mm 0.13g 530-500 BCE Rosette - Incuse sq punch 5 pellets SNG von Aulock 1807 Iona-Miletos Late6thC fine lion Iona-Miletos AR Obol Late6thC fine lion laying LEFT facing RIGHT India Gandahara AR Bent Bar 11.3g 650-600 BCE RARE two dots - also have on BOTH sides VERY RARE RI Augustus 27BC-AD14 Æ20 5.5g 12h Apameia Phrygia Magistrate Attalos c 15BC Two corn-ears above maeander pattern RPC I, 3125 SCARCE
