One I Needed, From Elymais

Thanks, David. There are plenty of gaps remaining in my Elymaean collection, especially from the Kamnaskirid Dynasty, meaning from prior to the late first century B.C. My collection is not extensive. I have fewer than fifty coins from Elymais, but hope to add more on a regular basis. Given all the sub-types in Van't Haaff, I could probably focus all my time and resources on Elymais and never exhaust the possibilities. But at a certain point the nuances that distinguish some of the sub-types are really subtle and not worth the effort of getting that nit picky.

Hoping to snag another Elymaean later this week. If I manage to do so, I'll post it.

Nice pick up!

I for one would like to see a "Bob's Elymaeans" thread

Thanks, Steve.

Albert, I watched the Lanz uploads daily. Clearly those coins were all from the same hoard, likely a recent find given the lack of cleaning/conservation. There were some types I really need for my collection, but I was off-put by the poor condition of the coins overall - the encrustations looked really thick and some had BD.

Yes, the issue of the weak and degenerated reverses on coins of the Elymais Arsacid Dynasty (the period from which the Lanz coins came) is a mystery. The degeneration of the reverses began even while the obverses maintained some of their artistic merit. As van't Haaff states it, "Such a difference in quality between obverse and reverse designs cannot be attributed to a lack of professional skill of the engravers." One theory is that an early Parthian vassal king in Elymais "not wanting to disrupt the monetary situation, gradually erased the reference to the former rulers on the reverse of their coins, which accounts for the slow degradation of the reverse designs." That theory does not explain, however, why the even later reverses depicting Artemis, Belos, and others are also cruder than obverse depictions of the current rulers.

It also doesn't explain the reverses consisting of dashes in regular or irregular patterns on some of the later issues. From my essay on Elymean coins:

"Several Elymaean specialists, including de Morgan and Dobbins, have convincingly suggested that the dashes are not the residue of progressively degenerated imagery but, rather, represent intentional - and perhaps symbolic - design motifs. The more orderly patterns have been associated with corn kernels, laurel wreaths, and palm leaves. Regarding the dashes, Dobbins also posits (in his 1992 article in 'The Celator') this somewhat ambiguous theory, left unclarified: 'One possibility is that the uniqueness of a design recognizable by touch served a beneficial purpose for commerce in the area.' This could be taken to mean that in quick transactions, with speedy exchanges of coinage, the coins' feel could perhaps have reinforced individuals' confidence that the correct units were being used.'"

But, basically, who knows?

A very educational and enjoyable thread.