Unkown (to me) ancient acquired while in Spain.

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Cliff Reuter, May 21, 2022.

  1. Cliff Reuter

    Cliff Reuter Well-Known Member

    Greetings. I recently went to Spain at the invitation of my son. He did all the planning and managed to survive 10 days of me misplacing/losing things.

    We managed to visit Plaza Mayor in Madrid on two consecutive Sundays where this coin caught my eye as a great memento of the trip. Since I know virtually nothing about ancients I thought of this forum on CT because of how knowledgeable and enthusiastic everyone here is. (Hopefully, it's real.)

    From what I can tell after I returned and started taking images, the details do jump out but someone did a poor job of accentuating those devices. There are lite trenches in the remaining soil around most details.

    Let me know if more or close-up images will help.

    Obv.-
    Female(?) bust facing right with OBVLOO

    Rev.-
    Plow above
    Two rows of Letters/Characters (Greek?)
    Wheat Ear vertical across the bottom.

    Thanks in advance for any help with any info.

    EDIT: Forgot to include the weight and diameter.
    13.3 grams
    26.3 to 28.5 mm
    AncientPlowCoin-Obv2.JPG AncientPlowCoin-Rev2.JPG
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2022
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  3. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    2nd century BC bronze from Obulco in Iberia. Similar to this one (but with different characters in the reverse inscriptions).
     
  4. Cliff Reuter

    Cliff Reuter Well-Known Member

    Thank you Roman collector.

    It seems to have the hall marks of that coin. I'll have to look more closely later tonight and see how closely this die pair/variety might match the one in the link.
     
    Roman Collector and Inspector43 like this.
  5. David@PCC

    David@PCC allcoinage.com

    Unfortunately there are a lot of variations of these. You could probably find an exact match from a book like this one. Here is mine with different Iberic inscription.

    c009.jpg
    Obulco
    After 150 BC
    AE As
    Obvs: OBVLCO, Female head right.
    Revs: Iberic inscription Tikueki & Botilkes between plow and wheat ear.
    23x29mm, 10.34g
    CNH 347.38
     
    Orielensis, doucet, Edessa and 11 others like this.
  6. Cliff Reuter

    Cliff Reuter Well-Known Member

    Thank you David@PCC. I'll take a look at your link.
    But you're right about many varieties.

    I did notice a close resemblance to the coin in the link from RomanCollectors link and some differences. The biggest is the inscription between the plow and wheat ear.

    I did find a reference for Iberian characters that I was going to use to try to decipher the inscription.
     
  7. Herodotus

    Herodotus Well-Known Member

    I believe this may be a match:
    upload_2022-5-21_21-21-29.jpeg
    CORREO. HISPANIA ANTIGUA (Ancient Hispania)
    OBULCO. As.
    A/ Cabeza femenina a dcha; delante ly. Int.: OBVLOO.
    R/ Arado y creciente a izq; entre ellos y en dos líneas ly. Ib.: "ILTIREUR"/"KABESURITU". C-15 (Vte.) Pát. oscura. 15,12 g. ESCASA. MBC

    O/ Female head to right; OBVLOO in front of.
    R/ Plough and (grain stalk)growing to the left; "ILTIREUR"/"KABESURITU" between them in two lines.
     
    Orielensis, doucet, Edessa and 7 others like this.
  8. Cliff Reuter

    Cliff Reuter Well-Known Member

    Well, thank you very much Herodotus. That info is going on the label.

    I believe you are correct with an overall match for the ID. There seems to be slight variations in the dies. ie: the last O (of OBVLOO) is positioned a little differently in relation to the chin. Same for the letters of the two lines. All the letters seem to be there, just slightly different.

    Thanks again. You made my day.
     
  9. Spaniard

    Spaniard Well-Known Member

    Nice pick up....

    Spain, Obulco. Circa 150 BC. AE As (14.94 gm, 30mm).
    Obv.: OBVLCO, female head right.CX behind.
    Rev.: L.AIMI-M.JVNI AVD, between plow and grain ear. SNG BM 2, Spain 1410-2; Villaronga pg. 343, 16; Burgos 1395. normal_obulco.jpg
     
    Cliff Reuter, doucet, Edessa and 4 others like this.
  10. Black Friar

    Black Friar Well-Known Member

    I'm curious, did you have any trouble getting through US Customs, or did you hide it in your shoe or another inconspicuos spot. Great little coin.
     
    Cliff Reuter likes this.
  11. robinjojo

    robinjojo Well-Known Member

    That's a wonderful coin with a minimalist almost Picasso-like obverse.
     
    Cliff Reuter likes this.
  12. David@PCC

    David@PCC allcoinage.com

    I started collecting celtiberian until I ran out of money :smuggrin:
    Couldn't pass that one up when I saw it.
     
    Cliff Reuter likes this.
  13. Edessa

    Edessa Well-Known Member

    Iberia. Obulco. Late 2nd century BC. Æ As (25x28mm, 14.46g, 2h). L. Aemilius and M. Iunius, aediles. Obv: Stylized female head right wearing double-beaded necklace, diadem, and drop earring; [OBVLCO] before. Rev: [L•A]IMIL [M•I]VNI in two lines; AID to right, plough above, grain ear below. Ref: ACIP 2222; FAB 1807; CNH 44; SNG BM Spain 1451-1455; SNG Copenhagen 238-240; SNG München 310. Good Very Fine with beautiful dark green patina, but off-center on both sides.
    aaa.jpg
     
  14. Cliff Reuter

    Cliff Reuter Well-Known Member

    Thanks to everyone for the likes, comments, and links to possible candidates. It's a great physical reminder for me of the trip with my son.

    It was just in the top of my checked bag with other smallish items. I kept a couple of items together so if there was an issue they could be addressed simultaneously.

    At first, I actually thought this might be a token or medal of some sort celebrating a local person and farmers with the agricultural items on the reverse and not even a coin. Not being familiar with ancients I thought the bust might have been a monk wearing some sort of cap with lines on it. When I started taking images back home I saw what I think is a hair bun and decided it was more likely a woman.
    (In hindsight, I probably had monks on my brain after visiting the Montserrat monastery in Catalonia. LOL Absolutely stunning views there, BTW.)

    A couple of the things I liked about this coin were how well centered the strike was, how well the lines of the hair stood out, and the wheat grain on the reverse (since my main interest is US wheat cents).
     
    Last edited: May 24, 2022
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