In another thread https://www.cointalk.com/threads/what-are-the-gaps-in-your-collection.283091/ Doug brought up something that resonated. Here is a recent acquisition of mine. Did you have any idea it existed? Most Roman-coin collectors like portraits of the various rulers and their relatives. If you go a step further, there are Greek kings with portrait coins. For example, the Seleucid series makes a nice run of rulers. How about a tetrarch of Chalcis? What? Where? Who? 20 mm. 6.41 grams. Octavian (later Augustus) right and, on the reverse, a portrait of Zenodorus, a tetrarch (ruler of one of four regions) of Chalcis (a city inland from Beruit in Syria). The story is that Pompey had conquered the region in 64 BC and, for a large bribe, put Chalcis under the control of a local ruler who was succeeded by his son who was overthrown by Mark Antony who gave the region to Cleopatra VII, who leased it to Zenodorus, who was reconfirmed by Octavian. Struck c. 31/30 BC. Why did I buy it? I didn't know their was a portrait coin like that. I'll bet not many CoinTalk members have a portrait coin of Zenodorus!
Yeah, considering all the hundreds of city states and kingdoms in antiquity prior to the Romans, not to mention the hundreds of autonomous cities, regions and/or kingdoms within the Roman Empire, and the great spance of time we are talking about, its not hard to imagine there are probably hundreds of ancient rulers no one owns a coin for in this forum. Add medieval to that and the list only gets bigger. For example, I discovered the other day no one else seems to have any coins of King Sancho IV El Bravo of Castile, Leon and Galicia except for me. It's nice sometimes to be the only one with a coin of a particular ruler, isn't it? Anyway, nice addition. Thanks for sharing. I like the portrait of Augustus on that coin, and Zenodorus is cool too.
i'll be darned, I didn't know that this guy existed, had no clue there was another client king in chalkis after Anthony took it. I do have a coin of his father! Tetrarchy of Chalkis, Coele Syria, Lysanias, 40 - 36 B.C. this coin was in a mixed lot of low grade coins, that turned out to be very interesting. O; female bust, R: double cornucopia, flanked by ligatures, 22 x 24 mm, 5.4 g
A fine example of the concept! This coin made me want, without any research whatsoever, to nominate Augustus as the ancient person who appeared on coins jointly with more different people than anyone else. I do not claim now to be able to list them all and did not previously know of Zenodoros but really doubt any other person shared a coin with even half of the number we have from Augustus. Rhometalkes I and Pythodoris of Thrace How many are there?
Thats a great coin & never heard of the king or seen the coin itself either. Like Doug, I would be more on the lookout. And like Doug, have the same type he has but 1 4 heads. KINGS of THRACE, Sapaian. Rhoemetalces I, with Pythodoris, Augustus, and Livia (Late 1st century BC-AD) Æ 27 O: Heads of Augustus, laureate, and Livia, conjoined right; to right, capricorn right, holding globe. R: Diademed head of Rhoemetalces and draped bust of Pythodoris, conjoined right. 27mm 13.8g Youroukova 182-4, 186; RPC I 1708
Very cool coin @Valentinian - the obscurity makes it all the more interesting and portrait coins interest me. I think Doug made a very good suggestion to post our coins of Augustus where he appears with someone else...except all of mine feature him alone.
