| Author |
 Replies: 9 / Views: 1,315 |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Belgium
1194 Posts |
sometime there are a lot of letters or abbreviations on greek coins, very difficult to explane .Are there books or other tools to understand . I was looking in the library of the KUL , but found nothing .Here is such a difficult coin , are it mintmarks , names of magistrates or a combination ? Tetradrachm ,Macedonia , Roman protectorate ,    S (sigma) I T Y D (delta) I R (rho) : SITYDIR  T K -- T Y I E . |
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2100 Posts |
These are monograms created by combining letters. They are often difficult to decode.
|
|
Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
Beautiful First Meris and my favorite coin. One of these days I will own one. Anoob would be the one that knows what the monograms are. I do know that one is the mint mark.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2100 Posts |
Here is my example with slightly different monogram on bottom left.  |
|
Pillar of the Community
 Belgium
1194 Posts |
very nice coin to , if I read well you have : T K I and T Y I E like mine
|
|
Pillar of the Community
3772 Posts |
While I have seen (some time ago) a booklet giving some hints on deciphering monograms, I doubt that there is a general work covering all the combinations. For a specific series there is usually a very good list in the relevant Sylloge Nummorum. Monograms have been used throughout the ages, just look at the various forms of the LIMA mintmark on Spanish colonial coins.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
4208 Posts |
Supposedly these were the mark of the mint which issued it (and the marks of the die sinkers). Some decadrachms are signed by famous ancient celators and finding an example with their mark can net someone a lot of money.
Sometimes other curiousity occur - if you read Victor's thesis, he gives an example of a Chi Rho on a ptolemaic coin - a simple monogram, but gifted greater meaning by more recent events.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
1121 Posts |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
5155 Posts |
More practice...  |
|
Pillar of the Community
Belgium
1194 Posts |
I think on the top : gamma rho epsilon :gre , bottom right : gamma alpha rho : gar , bottom left it is a epsilon ... : I can t see it with my old eyes.
F de Callatay found ,studying 683 coins , 149 obverse dies and 397 reverse dies .He thinks the nimber of obv. dies is 165-170 .He also thinks the monograms are the initial letters of the names of the monetary magistrates .I didn t found listings for Amphipolis .
|
| |
Replies: 9 / Views: 1,315 |
|
Posted 12/30/2014 11:53 am
