My First Animal On A Coin.

Thanks, @erafjel. I was lucky to get this one.


I couldn't resist this one, Paul, especially with the nicely detailed obverse image. I am also inclined to believe that the bust is of Artemis, more than any of the other gods/goddesses.


It could take a while, Paul, as the "bee coins" seem to be very popular with collectors at the moment.

Thanks, @january1may. That is an interesting couple of points I hadn't thought about the scratches being on the planchet before it was struck.

Indeed, the bee on the coin is indeed a fair bit smaller than an actual bee, and like you, I never cease to be amazed at the craftsmanship of these ancient die-cutters. Without their skills we would not have these beautiful pieces of history.

Jim

That's a lovely looking coin Jim!. And as always with your posts I come away having learnt something new so thanks for the write up.
Really nice patina and the earthen deposits in the fields enhances the details....Sweet coin..


I own only one coin with a depiction of a Griffin minted just down the coast at Phokaia.

Not an individual animal reverse as such, but I was attracted to this coin from Marcianopolis by the rather nice portrait of Septimius Severus, and the Nemean lion being strangled by Herakles.

Roman Marcianopolis (present-day Devnya) was located in the north east part of Moesia Inferior, now known as Bulgaria. It was initially a Thracian settlement, but later occupied by Hellenized settlers from Asia Minor and named Parthenopolis. Following Trajan's campaigns in Dacia to the north, he renamed the settlement Marcianopolis after his sister, Ulpia Marciana, around 106 AD.

Legend has it that Ulpia Marciana's daughter was washing in a spring at this location, and dropped the golden vessel that she was carrying into the spring. It sank down into the mud disappearing below the surface. After a few minutes the vessel resurfaced, and hearing of the strange occurrence, Trajan believed it to be the work of a deity that inhabited the spring. Taking it as an auspicious event, he decided to found a city there and name it after his sister.

Marcianopolis - Moesia Inferior. Dichalkon. 193-211 AD.
Obverse: Septimius Severus, laureate head right. Obverse Inscription: AV K Λ CEΠ CEYHΡOC. Reverse: Naked Herakles left, on ground-line, strangling the Nemean lion. Reverse Inscription: MAΡKIANOΠOΛITΩN. Bronze. Diameter: 21 mm. Weight: 4.5 gr.
References: Varbanov 731; Moushmov 397.

Thanks, @Tngratian.

I didn't have a Boeotian shield in the collection, so when this one came along, even though it's not bronze, the forepart of a horse made it ideal for the menagerie. The original reference was BMC 40, but that is with T-A above and beneath the prancing horse. It would appear that the correct reference is BCD Boiotia 268.

Tanagra, (Tanagraios), was said to have been the most important city in southeastern Boiotia. It was famous for its terracottas, fighting cocks and the best wine in Boiotia. Tanagra was also called Poemandria or Poimandria, and its territory Poemandris, from the fertile lands surrounding the city, or possibly after its founder Poimandrus, who took part in the Trojan campaign. Several ancient writers identified Tanagra with the Homeric Graea (Graia). The earliest inhabitants of Tanagra are said to have been the Gephyraei, who came from Phoenicia with Cadmus, and later emigrated to Athens.

When writing of Tanagra, Strabo said: "Near Oropus is a place called Graia, the temple also of Amphiaraus, and the monument of Narcissus the Eretrian, surnamed Siglus, (the Silent), because passers-by keep silence. Some say that Graia and Tanagra are the same. The territory of Poemandris, however, is the same as that of Tanagra. The Tanagraeans are also called Gephyraeans. The temple of Amphiaraus was transferred by command of an oracle to this place from the Thebaic Cnopia."
The translator's footnote explains: "In modern maps a modern town, Skoimandri, is laid down near the ruins of Tanagra. Pausanias, informs us why Tanagra was called both Poimandria and Graia. Tanagra was the daughter of Æolus and wife of Poimandrus; she arrived at such an extreme old age, as to receive the title of Graia, the Old."
(Extracts from Geography of Strabo. Hamilton & Falconer. Vol 2 1856.)

Boiotia (Boeotia) - Tanagra. Obol. 387-374 BC.
Obverse: Boeotian shield. Reverse: Protome of horse left, below; TA. Silver. Diameter: 10 mm. Weight: 0.93 gr.
Reference: BCD Boiotia 268.

Well maybe not my first one, but one of my first and definitely a favorite!

Bronze tetras from Messana, showing not one but THREE animals.
Octopus, Hare and Grashopper.

Greetings from Athens

Every now and then a little AR comes along that is hard to resist, Bob.

A very nice coin indeed, @Spyros. It is not very often we see three animals on one coin.

I thought that this little coin with a butting bull from Gambrion (or Gambreion, or Gambrium) would make a nice addition to the menagerie. There was not much information regarding Gambrion to be found online, but some of the history was gleaned from Hansen & Nielsen 2004 - Lexique Poleis, and an online essay by Gurcan Imert.

The first mention of Gambrium is in the Hellenica of Xenophon in 399 BC. At that time the ruler of the city, as well as of Palaegambrium, was Gorgion, son of Tiran Gongylos. Gambrion was a town captured by Thibron, but it is also described as a personal fief which had been given by the Persian king to Tiran Gongylos of Eretria in the 5th century BC, and whose descendants were still in control in the early 4th century BC. The Eratrai tyrant Gongylos established a kingdom consisting of four big cities: Myrina, Gryneum, Gambreum, and Palae-Gambreum. He was a very strong ruler and commander, and formed a powerful naval force. He married Ellás and had two sons from this marriage, Gongylus and Gorgion.

While Gongylos was dying, he divided his kingdom between his two sons. Gongylus, the older of the sons, took Myrina and Gryneum, while the younger son Gorgion took Gambreum and Palae-Gambreum.

Gambrion - Mysia. 350-200 BC.
Obverse: Laureate head of Apollo right. Reverse: Bull butting left. Bronze. Diameter: 9 mm. Weight: 1.0 gr.
Reference: BMC 14-16; SNG Cop 157-158

Thanks, @erafjel.

The reverse of this coin from Bithynia depicts the Centaur Chiron, my first centaur. He just scrapes into the menagerie being half of a horse. Chiron (also spelled Kheiron or Cheiron), was skilled in medicine, gymnastics, prophecy, hunting and music. Chiron was wise and just, and was much sought after as a tutor of heroes, such as Peleus, Jason, Aesclepius and Achilles. Homer calls Chiron the "wisest and most just of all Centaurs." Mythology has it that Chiron was the result of a coupling between the titan Kronos, and the nymph Philyra.

The coin is attributed to Prusias II Kynegos (Cynegus) "The Hunter", born 220 BC, the son of Prusias I and Apama III. He took the throne on the death of his father in 182 BC, and reigned till his death in Nicomedia in 149 BC aged 71. On the Wildwinds page: https://www.wildwinds.com/coins/gre...as_II/t.html RecGen 26 monogram 7, the coin is dated 238-149 BC, which is obviously erroneous as Prusias II was not born till 220 BC.

Prusias II Kynegos. Kingdom of Bithynia. 238-149 BC (?) [182-149 BC]
Obverse: Head of young Dionysos wearing ivy wreath, right. Reverse: Centaur Chiron walking right, playing lyre; MTE monogram beneath front leg. Reverse Inscription: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΠΡOYΣIOY. Bronze. Diameter: 20 mm. Weight: 4.6 gr.
Reference: RecGen 26, monogram 7; BMC 9; SNG Cop 639.