Here's a new arrival that I was very pleased to win this past December. It's a rather rare type that I'd never seen before, and more critical to my desire to win it, I'd never seen an ancient coin showing someone riding a camel before! MESOPOTAMIA, Adiabene. Natounia. AE22. 6.62g, 21.8mm. MESOPOTAMIA, Adiabene. Natounia, circa 2nd-1st centuries BC. CSE II 846; Hoover, Natounia Series 1, 1-7; Seyrig, Trésor 13a. O: Radiate and diademed of Helios-Shamash right. R: Rider (Arsu?) on camelback right, holding short staff in right hand; all within wreath border. Oliver Hoover in his paper The Camels of Natounia points out that the rider here may be Arsu, the pre-Islamic Arab god of the evening star. Arsu and his brother Azizu were worshipped in Syria and Mesopotamia as protectors of travelers on the caravan routes. While Azizu was more often shown on horseback, Arsu was typically depicted riding a camel. Arsu Riding a Camel, limestsone relief, circa 2nd century AD (Yale University Art Gallery) Another interesting theory raised in Hoover's paper is for the dating for the issue. While hoard data and the analysis of some overstruck examples narrow the dating to between 120-31 BC, Hoover suggests that the "sudden production" of bronze coinage at Natounia began specifically around 65 BC, when local change was required as trade opened up between locals and foreign soldiers of the Parthian and Roman armies that in turn occupied Adiabene in that year. If that were the purpose, the Natounians certainly came up with a distinctive type for their coins! Please feel free to share your pics of any related coins, coins with camels, or even better, pictures of you on a camel!
Nice and interesting coin. No picture of me on a camel, but a small camel on a Trajan denarius: Trajan AR-Denar Obv.: IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P, laureate bust right, drapery on far shoulder Rev.: COS V P P SPQR OPTIMO PRINC, Arabia standing left, holding a branch and a bundle of cinnamon sticks; at her feet, a camel walking left Ag, 3.44g, 17.5mm Ref.: RIC 142, RSC 89
That is a cool pickup, @zumbly ! The camel-rider scene looks real / in motion. Very nice! I don’t think I have seen a rider on camel before... really nice! Yes, I have me on a camel pic. No, I cannot find it! Tethered Camel Roman Republic Aemilius Scaurus and Plautius Hypsaeus 58 BCE AR Denarius camel scorpion quadriga 4.1g 19mm Rome Craw 422-1b Untethered Camel Roman Empire Arabia Petraea, Bostra. Trajan. A.D. 98-117. AR Drachm (18.57 mm, 2.92 g, 8 h). Struck A.D. 114-116. AYTOKP KAIC NEP TPAIANω APICTω CЄB ΓЄPM ΔAK, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind / ΔHMAPX EΞ UPATO ς, Camel walking left. SNG ANS 1158; SNG von Aulock 6408; Sydenham, Caesarea 205. VF. Ex: Harlan J. Berk. Ex: Agora
@zumbly I love that reverse! Parenthetically, I'm awaiting a coin won in December from a German auction house. Your post gives me hope ...
While some may chide "cowboys" for their bull & bronc riding prowess, we knew all along it had a noble & ancient basis......that one looks like it depicts an 8 second run! Well, to heck with those people (but I don't mean PETA: People Eating Tasty Animals!...I wonder what camel tastes like?...hope it's not chicken!!!)
That's a neat coin with a very interesting reverse indeed. I have not seen that reverse before. I have one coin with a camel on it, the denarius of Trajan which has already been shown. So I wont' show it again. Hang in there, I've received my coin from Germany (auction in november) the second week of January. Reminds me of:
Neat coin @zumbly . I don’t have a relevant coin to share but the Camel rider does remind me of a relief I saw at an exhibit in the Getty Villa showing the soldiers of Tiglath-pileser III chasing down a enemy riding a camel that is thought to probably represent an Arab.
Great coin! So cool that it likely represents one of the pre-Islamic Arab gods, and that looks to be one of the nicest reverses of the type. Coingrats!! My weirdest camel is the countermark at 8 o'clock on the reverse of this coin. It's a forepart of a camel conjoined with an elephant head. AE drachm issued by Hunnic or Turkic warlords in northern Tokharistan, Kobadien, c. 500. Imitating the standard Sasanian king/fire altar type.
Thanks for the comments and for sharing your camel coins, everyone. I hold out hope we'll get a pic of one of our members on a camel yet. Was it tasty? Pics of this feast also welcome. Love that relief! Thanks for sharing it. Wonderful countermark! I would have guessed "camel with deformed turtle's shell and shrimp tail" but defer to your expertise here...
It is the camel hump that is served. It is more fatty, as it is where they store water. But the fat made the taste more succulent. Reminded me of lamb-shank served in British pubs. Good gravy served with it. Yeah, good. LOL, I never really take a lot of pics, especially when eating.