I photographed this Phillip II tetradrachm long ago and pasted up the obverse and reverse like so: I always thought the coin looked kind of goofy and unattractive, when it is really a pretty decent coin. It hit me recently that the obverse was rotated incorrectly like Philip was looking down, maybe hoping to spot a dropped coin? A little rotation and now it looks much better, but maybe I went a little too far? It helps to cover up one picture while looking at the other, at least for me they both look wrong when looking at them at the same time. The second one looks "right" to me when looking at it by itself. Is there some rule of thumb for how to align the bust of a person on coin? I think this was less than 10 degrees of rotation but it makes a big difference. What say you? John
I have no idea but I always try to make the neck line level which makes the bust usually look slightly upward. I always too wondered how they should be rotated. I think the die axis would also give a hint.
Agreed! Looking more upward seems to add more character to the bust. Nice BTW, super Tet, John! It is great. Mine is a little more "head-on" look, but seems to befit a "challenging look" of a King on my coin. Makedon Philip II Tet Pella LIFETIME 353-349 Zeus Horse star spearhd Le Rider 102
A like to have the chin up a little. Adds a little cockiness to the portrait, lol. Never downward. Look like a weakling manlet that way.
I think people agree the portrait needs to look "natural" and maybe a little "cocky" too for a male King or hero. Once I noticed how wrong the original photo looked I have been on the lookout for this in my other photos. Looking at the same coin on acsearch there are a slight variety of angles used, but most at least look ok. John
I think a good rule of thumb is not to make Zeus stare directly at a horse's butt. I suspect it would also help to light the portrait from the front rather than the back, when you get a chance to re-photograph it. Great coin though!! Seller's photo, lit from the back: I still need to take my own photo, lit from the front to see if it looks better.
Right on both counts! Not looking at the horse's butt and lighting from the front make perfect sense. I need to retrieve this from the bank.
LOL! Yeah, looking a Gift Horse in the mouth is MUCH better! I am REALLY glad my Tet is a RIGHT-LEFT orientation!
Nice coin and I prefer the upward slant. Not quite a Constantine eyes-to-heaven thing but a little more impressive.
