What's this?! Must have!

My eyes did a cartoon sproing! when scrolling through a recent NAC auction. It was in a section I usually just breeze through or even skip browsing altogether: Indo-Greeks. I scrambled to find more about it but there's not a lot out there and I didn't have time to become anything but cursorily familiar with the coin before deciding this was going to be my main target. I have a thing for unusual deities and creatures .


Indo-Greek. Telephos, circa 80-70 BCE
Drachm, North Chach 89-70, AR 18 mm, 2.13 gm, 12h
Obv: BAΣIΛEΩΣ EYEPΓETOΥ THΛEΦOY (Basileos Evergetou Telephou ... of King Telephos, the benefactor); Anguipede monster, the limbs terminating in lotus blossoms
Rev: Radiate Helios (sun god) and lunate Selene (moon goddess) standing facing, Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa kalanakramasa / teliphasa; in lower right field, monogram
Ref: SNG ANS –. Bopearachchi, Series 1A. MIG type 451
NAC notes: Very rare. Light iridescent tone, surface somewhat rough, otherwise very fine
Ex CNG sale 87, 2011, 747
This coin is shown on CoinIndia

A deity with snake legs ending in lotus blossoms? Yes please! I felt a little bit guilty bidding on this (and winning) since it's out of my usual collecting area and rare. Probably dashed the dreams of some specialist out there. Hope it wasn't any of my CT friends-- looks like something @medoraman would buy. I expected it to hammer higher and probably would have dropped out after another increment or two so I feel lucky to have acquired it.

So far I've learned very little about the issuer or the obverse deity, who may appear only on drachms and tetradrachms of this obscure issuer. So far I know only what CoinIndia says about the issuer and type:

Telephos (or Telephus) was an ephemeral king in the Gandhara region who perhaps succeeded Maues there. His coins are all very rare and are most unusual in design; none of them bear his portrait. He may have belonged to an Indo-Scythian clan.
An anguiped is a snake-legged deity and the coins of Telephos may be their only appearance on any coinage.

A brief in-hand video:


Do you have any coins that you know little about but just had to have? Let's see 'em, or anything else you feel relates .

 

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Very interesting type! I’ve never seen it before.

 

I have nothing nearly that cool. I've never seen anything like it. Thanks for sharing!

 

Very cool, @TIF!! The only anquipede I have is this monster who took a rock to a spear fight with Athena!

Volusian, AD 251-253.
Roman provincial Æ 29.1 mm, 11.2 g, 6 h.
Cilicia, Seleucia ad Calycadnum, AD 251-253.
Obv: ΑV Κ ΓΑ ΟVΙΒ ϹΑΒΙΝ ΓΑΛΛΟϹ, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust, right.
Rev: ϹЄΛЄΥΚЄ-ΩΝ ΤΩ Π|ΡΟϹ Κ-ΑΛV|ΔΝ, Athena advancing right, brandishing spear, holding shield, attacking serpent-footed giant hurling stone with right hand.
Refs: RPC IX, 1336; BMC 21.141,54; SNG von Aulock 5851; RG 4480 (SNG France 1055); SNG Levante 780.
Notes: Double die match to SNG Levante 780 and RG 4480=SNG France 1055 (BnF); obverse die match to BMC 54.

 

What a wonderful and unique style of art!
That radiate Helios is BOSS. Excellent viddie ta boot!
Reminds me of another, "I blame TIF".... Once she showed me that we have coins celebrating the efficiency of the ancient Roman crapper flushing system (The Cloaca Maxima), I had to have one!...
And it too has Helios from around this time on it!

L. Mussidius Longus
42 BC. RomeFoureé Denarius AR16mm., 3,02g.
Radiate and draped bust of Sol facing slightly right / The shrine of Venus Cloacina; a low circular platform surmounted by two statues of the goddess, each resting right hand on cippus, the platform inscribed CLOAC and ornamented with trellis-pattern balustrade, with flight of steps and portico on left; L•MVSSIDIVS•LONGVS around above.
nearly very fine
Crawford 494/43b. Former Savoca

 

Wonderful and interesting!!!.. amazing coin!
Seems there are many types of "anguiped" deities.
A google search of "Anguipede" results in a Wikipedia article that adds to the weirdness ... including mentioning one with a "head of a rooster" ..




The Anguiped is a kind of divinity that is often found on magical amulets from the Greco-Roman period, and is characterized by having serpents for legs.

Abraxas, the most common kind of Anguiped, is depicted as a creature with the head of a rooster and snakes for legs, symbolism thought to be of Persian origin. Sometimes inscribed below is Iao, a form of the Tetragrammaton – the four letters used to represent the name of the God of Judaism. Such amulets, as well as the usage of the name Iao repeatedly in magical papyri, curse tablets, gems, and other amulets, provide evidence of syncretic cults combining elements of Judaism with paganism. In the Talmud, people who turned away from Judaism to such cults are referred to as minim – often translated as "heretics" or "apostates".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anguiped

 

And here I thought is was a Starbucks token from the early 80s that was redeemable for free coffee for 2 people.

In all seriousness though that is an awesome coin @TIF and I completely understand your reaction. Just from looking at the picture my reaction was one of "Wow I really want one too!" Congrats on such a cool addition to your collection.

 

I recently acquired a couple of those too (Leu... will probably be a month before they arrive)

 

Can't believe I didn't connect those dots! Must be why I was drawn to the coin-- I love Starbuck's dark roasts. Say what you want about the evils of corporate coffee but those folks know how to properly roast the beans!

 

Just...plain...COOL, @TIF !

Personally, this was a “have to have”!


India - Shakya Janapada
AR 5-Shana
6th-5th Century BCE
25mm x 21mm, 7.05g
Obv: Central Pentagonal punch plus several banker's marks
Rev: Blank
Ref: Hirano Type I.8.29
19 known.
Coinage from the Ghaghara Gandak River region
Minted in the Shakya Janaprada during Siddhārtha Gautama's (Later the Buddha) lifetime while he was prince, and under the authority of his father as King

 

Now that is a great coin @TIF (not that I would expect any differently of you). I don't have any anguiped coins in my collection (though I do have a DVD of the movie Abraxas: Guardian of the Universe ) but here is a coin that I knew very little about but had to buy anyway (seller's image as it has not arrived yet):

 

Awesome acquisition, @TIF!! And I admire your gumption to go for it even without knowing much about the coin yet!

Here's my Gnostic amulet:

It says ABP/ACAX on the reverse aka Abraxas. Apparently this dude is also the origin of the word "Abracadabra!"

 

That's a very nice coin indeed! Glad to see you're back / still here, @TIF.

I only have these two, nothing special really:

A drachm of Antimachus II


And another of Menander I Soter.

 

Great addition @TIF Congrats

 

Glad to have you back, intriging coin, and it certainly has the TIF factor , congrats.

Had to have this one:

 

TIF, That's a fascinating & bizarre coin ! So much of ancient Indian mythology seem bizarre to the Western mind...

 

Nice acquisition, @TIF! Did you know that a photo of the same coin type is used to illustrate "Anguiped" on Wikipedia? It's a different example, but it looks like a double die match to your coin.

 

I got this one a couple of months ago (Jaz Numismatics) because I found it a very cool coin, a nice chunky bronze with bi-lingual legends...

Interestingly, someone was selling one (in better condition) on Facebook this week for $1200.




KUSHAN DYNASTY

Vima Kadphises, 95-127 AD.

AE Tetradrachm, 28mm, 16.5g, 2h.

Obv. BACIΛEΥC BACIΛEωN OOHMO MEΓAC OOHM KAΔΦICHC; Kadphises, standing facing, head left, sacrificing over altar to left and holding hand on hilt; to left, filleted trident behind, tamgha and club to right.

Rev: Siva with three heads standing facing, holding trident in raised right hand and resting lowered left hand on bull Nandi standing to right, behind; tamgha above to left.with kharoshthi legend maharaja rajadhiraja sarvaloga isvarasa mahesvarasa.
Mitchner 3040

 

I have a couple of Kushan's too, although planning to sell them to pare back to my core interest (Constantine). There's an interesting switch from Greek to Bactrian legends on the coins of Kanishka I.

Here's a year 1 (127 AD) coin of Kanishka I with a reverse of Helios, with radiate crown, and Greek legend HΛIOC (Helios).



And here's an almost identical looking reverse, but now from year 2 or later with a Bactrian legend identifying the radiate figure as Mithras (MIOPO = Mithro).

 

I saw that . Not a die match though-- either side.