Just came across some interesting bronze types issued by three different Thracian Kings, and all from three different centuries BC. The first is a chunky type I wrote about once before on this site, and this is the second example I've come across. The last two I don't believe have ever been shown on CoinTalk. 1. Amatokos, King of Thrace (389-380 BC) ; First reign Obv: Grape bunch Rev: (AMAKO); Labrys with base terminating in a "T" 17mm, 15.3gms (6mm thickness) 2. Kavaros, King of Thrace (225-210 BC) Obv: Laureate head of Apollo right Rev: BAΣIΛEΩΣ KAYAPoY; Nike standing left crowning the king's name with a wreath, monogram to left 18mm, 5.4gms 3. Sariakos, King of Thrace (180-150 BC) Obv: Laureate head of Apollo right Ref: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣAPIAKOY; Corn-ear and club, ΠYP monogram above 18mm, 3.4gms
That super chunky Amatokos is still one of the more interesting Greek bronzes I’ve seen shown here. The diameter-to-thickness ratio is really something else!
I remember wanting to buy that first Amatokos you had when you had it listed in your store but couldn’t since it was out of my budget at the time. I too was very intrigued by its chunkiness and this example is no different. Nice catch Brian (and the other two coins as well).
Great coins, Brian. I really like that Amatokos! Very cool. That would really be a head thunker if tossed around a classroom in an Ancient Academy! (Gosh, I never did anything like that when I was in school.)
Very nice coins @Brian Bucklan, I too am intrigued with the first chunky coin. Here an interesting coin from Thrace, it is not from a Thracian king, but from a Seleukid general who ruled there as dynast during the reign of Antiochos II Theos. Thracian Dynast (Seleukid). Adaios (Strategos). AE coin. Kypsela mint. (Circa 255-245 B.C.) Obverse: Laureate head of Apollo right. Reverse: AΔAIOY. Tripod; to left, goat head right above two monograms. Reference: SNG BM Black Sea 322-3 var. (monograms); HGC 3.2, 1763. 7.62g; 20mm. From ca. 260 BC onward, a certain Adaios, Macedonian by origin and a general of Antiochos II, a Seleukid king, minted numerous bronze coins in his name (six types, some in Seleukid iconography). They were struck most probably at Kypsela or Maroneia and actively circulated in southern Thrace. On the orders of Ptolemy III Euergetes, Ptolemy Andromachou, the king’s half-brother and a son of Ptolemy II by one of his mistresses, launched an attack in southern Thrace and Adaios was put to death at Kypsela ca. 246/5 BC. After this episode and the closure of the Third Syrian War (246-241 BC), the Seleukid territories in southern Thrace came under Ptolemaic control, which lasted until the end of the third century. As a result, new commercial routes were opened and the economic potential of Thrace grew stronger.
Kings of Thrace, Amatokos (First reign, c. 389-380 BC). Æ (19mm, 16.73g, 6h). Grape bunch within beaded border. R/ Labrys, with base terminating in T. Peter p. 134 (Amatokos II); Topalov 92. Green patina, Fair
@Pavlos and @Mike Margolis ; Nice coins and tough to find. I've seen a few of the Adaios types but they're normally pretty worn. Thought I'd throw in another King of Thrace, Seuthes III (225-219 BC) 19mm, 5.4gms Obv: Bearded bust of Seuthes right Rev: Horseman riding right, wreath below
