The first post of Glory and Horse dealt with "Glory" on coins. This is Part 2 (Forgive my error in the title of this post as "3") and deals with "Horse/s" on coins. (Photos courtesy of Coin Archives unless noted) Our first example transports us back to circa 480 BC a few minutes after the Sicilian mint at Syracuse struck this silver Tetradrachm: http://www.coinarchives.com/a/lotviewer.php?LotID=219008&AucID=309&Lot=30 Here's what the Roman Republic produced circa 138 BC: http://www.coinarchives.com/a/lotviewer.php?LotID=219230&AucID=309&Lot=252 Our next example allows us to view a silver Didrachm which was issued by the Greek City State, Thessaly, circa 350 BC: http://www.coinarchives.com/a/lotviewer.php?LotID=215945&AucID=299&Lot=27 The Athenian City State, Attica, struck this EARTH SHAKING silver Tetradrachm circa 154/3 BC. For your numismatic lesson of the week read text accompaning this photo. (notice horse and horse foreparts on helmet): http://www.coinarchives.com/a/lotviewer.php?LotID=212856&AucID=293&Lot=631 Now let's speed dial ourselves a few more centuries toward the present. The German enclave of Braunschweig-Calenberg-Hannover produced this 1/3 Taler in 1678: http://www.coinarchives.com/w/lotviewer.php?LotID=566933&AucID=414&Lot=505 Now we go to that historical tine (1670 - 1699) when Denmark and Norway was one country ruled by Christian V. This 1673 Mark, usually minted in gold, was struck in silver: http://www.coinarchives.com/w/lotviewer.php?LotID=139351&AucID=110&Lot=582 Want to see a gold Cheval (1 Franc), also known as a Chevalier, coin struck while King Louis De Male ruled Flanders? Here it is: http://www.coinarchives.com/w/lotviewer.php?LotID=391185&AucID=293&Lot=4217 Here's a respite from the old hammered coins. Somehow, in today's journey through the halls of the numismatic chambers of time, we find ourselves momentarily transported to the year 1990 (year of the Horse) in the People's Republic of China and we get a glimpse of a silver 100 Won just before an employee places it into a Proof Coin holder: http://www.coinarchives.com/w/lotviewer.php?LotID=484007&AucID=357&Lot=13050 Whoosh, we find ourselves inside the palace of Charles I of Great Britain and see he's giving his approval to the magistrate of the Tower Mint to strike silver Crowns during his reign (1625-1649). Let's take a look at one: http://www.coinarchives.com/w/lotviewer.php?LotID=530373&AucID=385&Lot=398 Wow! Somehow, because of cataclysmic forces warping our dimensional time tunnel, it looks like we're sojurning inside the work space of a Celtic blacksmith. Let's look inside his wooden change box. That big coin is a silver Iceni of the Face/Horse variety. I believe that puts us somewhere inside the late 1st Century AD: http://www.coinarchives.com/w/lotviewer.php?LotID=58420&AucID=44&Lot=2297 Looks like we're coming back to the future, but there are going to be some momentary stops along the way: Argentine 1979 50 Pesos: Don's Coin Gallery: http://worldcoingallery.com/countries/coin.php?image=img7/7-59&desc=Argentina20km84%2050%20Pesos%20(1979)%20Conquest%20of%20Patagonia 100 Pesos: http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...a km86 100 Pesos (1979) Conquest of Patagonia Canada's contributions: 1973 25 Cent Centennial (Royal Caandian Mounty): http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...ada km81.1 25 Cents (1973) Centennial (Mounty) 1992 Dollar (Stagecoach Service): http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...nada km210 1 Dollar (1992) Stagecoach Service Great Britain's contribution: 1999 2 Pounds (Silver Britannia): http://worldcoingallery.com/countri... km1000 2 Pounds (1999) Silver Britannia 1 oz. To honor Spartacus' revolt, Liberia authorized this 2001 10 Dollar commemorative: http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...a km555 10 Dollars (2001) Revolt of Spartacus United States Contributions: 1899 Lafayette Dollar: Coin Facts: http://www.coinfacts.com/commemoratives/dollar_commems/lafayette_dollar.htm 1925 Stone Mountain Half Dollar: http://www.coinfacts.com/commemoratives/half_dollar_commems/stone_mountain.htm 1982 George Washington Half Dollar: Courtesy Omnicoin: http://www.omnicoin.com/coin_view_enlarge.aspx?id=932617 Watch for Glory and Horse 3 in a few days.... Clinker
Clinker, I'll show you something interesting. Look at that Lot 27 coin. Look at the horse's legs. That accurately depicts how horses move. Now, look at the Lots 505 and 582 coins, which of course came along much later. Do you see how awkward those look? It's the leg positions. Horses don't hop like bunnies. I think it's very interesting that 2200 years before the discovery of photography, the Greeks understood the correct leg positions... Enjoyed these very much...thanks! "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!" Richard III
To eddiespin Thanks for your interesting and correct diagnosis of the horses legs and watch for Glory and Horses 4, 5 and final... Clinker
I agree with your diagnosis on horse legs when they are just walking. But the posture shown in German and Denmark coins are also correct and one can see a horse jumping on front two legs in extreme situations. Here is an image of a great Indian king Maharana Pratap on his horse named Chetak climbing on an elephant's head by resting his two front legs and allowing his master to climb on elephant and fighting with the mughal king. And to make it a coin related posting, here is one from Singapore :smile Regards, Ballabh Garg
I beg to strongly disagree. You've evidently never seen a horse run, nor photos of a horse running. Or, if you have, you never paid any attention to the leg positions. Simply put, the inaccuracy depicted in these two coins is reflected throughout art before the discovery of still photography, and it's actually quite common. You see this inaccuracy all the time...the two sets of legs moving in tandem...the front pair moving forward while the hind pair is moving backwards. Both of these horses would fall flat on their face once those front legs hit the ground with the legs so positioned and their momentum thrusting them forward. Certainly a horse can rear on its hind legs, as depicted in your Singapore coin. That's quite different, however, than in these two coins. These two coins inaccurately depict these charging horses hopping like bunnies...and, the Greek coin (not shown, here), centuries earlier, had the movement of the legs (whether walking or running) correct. And I just think that's interesting from a trivia standpoint, and that's why I pointed it out.
