Unique Characene Tetradrachm - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 5 / Views: 1,706
Ancientnoob Pillar of the Community United States 5155 Posts	Posted 08/23/2015 10:07 am hen we think of Greek coins we think of the owls of Athens, the turtles of Aegina or the colts of Corinth. We picture the beautiful renderings of Gods and Kings of great stature glorified by descriptive titles. Many of these coins are well documented, long studied and admired both in antiquity and the modern era. A collector of ancient coins can not ignore the unmistakable appearance of a fine Greek coin with a beautiful portrait crafted with care so long ago. This coin is certainly no exception. A coin with this date and monogram is considered possibly unique on the FORVM site. "Nicolet-Pierre, "Thionèsis, roi de Characène (25/24-20/19 ou 19/18 avant J.-C.)" in Revue Numismatique. 6e ser. 20 is the primary reference for Attambelos and Thionèsis, his successor. It does not include an example of an Attambelos coin for this date. The date is included in the listing on p. 52 with the note, "Tresor 1976 ?" This note seems to be questioning if an example was in the hoard found in 1976, the hoard which provided the impetus for her research. Prior to discovery of that hoard, and in accordance with Hill, it was believed Attambelos' coinage and presumably his reign ended in Seleukid year 279, 34 - 33 B.C. Nicolet-Pierre includes a specimen dated Seleukid year 288, 25 - 24 B.C.; which is now believed to be the last year of Attembelos' reign" I purchased the coin knowing it was exceptional for having a date (Seleucid Era SE). I didn't realize the date was considered possibly unique Z-Pi;-Sigma;, 7-80-200; SE 287 (BC 26/25). My coin also possess the this Pi; monogram, although it looks a lot like the Hebrew letter TAV... TAV carries a meaning with loosely fits "Truth" The small extension off the left vertical is opposite the top right vertical extension on the Pi; in the date. Has this been properly described? Any correlation? Cross cultural link? I don't know a lot about Hebrew script or the development of regional languages in the area at the time and I am purely making an uneducated and unresearched, observation. The top example at this link is the coin of unique comparison... http://www.forumancientcoins.com/ca...sp?vpar=2025 The coin in the link is markedly heavier than my coin, nearly 4 grams different. My example is clearly debased silver (billon). Having a diameter of 27 mm and a weight of 10.64 grams. This series shows a great fluctuation in weight, while maintaining similar diameter. It must have been more important to look good than weigh good. Along with a lot of text you have a monogram or control mark of which several variations exist. Kingdom of Characene Kuwait, Charax-Spasinu Attambelos I (r. BC 47-24) Bi Tetradrachm (s. ZPi;Sigma; 287 SE AD 26/5) Obverse: Diademed bust of Attambelos I right. Reverse: BASigma;ILambda;E#8486;Sigma; / ATTAMBHLambda;OY behind, Sigma;#8486;THPOSigma; / KAI EYEPGamma;ETOY before, Herakles naked seated left on a cuirass holding club, monogram above arm, Pi; below arm, ZPi;Sigma; (date) in ex. Ref: Unlisted date. Note, Tresor 1976 Note:Unique Date VF, cupric deposit. ex. Mervin Collection 8/2015 Report this Post to the Staff

DavidUK Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 2624 Posts	Posted 08/23/2015 10:35 am Wow, that's a stunner... and very descriptive information. This Attambelos looks an interesting chap, wiki says that he is only recorded on 4 coins dated in the years 10/11, 11/12, 13/14 and 22/23BC. His reign was interrupted by a foreign king in the year 18/19. Jolly decent beard by the looks of it. More is known about him, apparently he is mentioned by Titus Flavius Josephus who was a Jewish historian who wrote many works often used as context for the dead sea scrolls (He also had dealings with Nero,Titus and Vespasian and his writing provided clues as to the whereabouts of King Herod's tomb (although the tomb found was allegedly too simple to be Herod's so there is some debate over it) Report this Post to the Staff
Kamnaskires Pillar of the Community United States 7066 Posts	Posted 08/23/2015 11:12 am I've really liked Characene tets for a long time. This is a beautiful example - and possibly unique to boot. Congrats, Nate. Thanks for sharing. Report this Post to the Staff
chrsmat71 Pillar of the Community United States 4973 Posts	Posted 08/24/2015 12:27 am I'm giving this sucker some fruit1 Report this Post to the Staff
echizento Moderator United States 23731 Posts	Posted 08/24/2015 2:47 pm Leave it to you to find a rare and interesting coin. Very nice. Report this Post to the Staff
lrbguy Pillar of the Community United States 949 Posts	Posted 08/24/2015 7:13 pm How much more can you tell us about the "letters" appearing in the field below the monogram and arm? Are they generally Greek letters, or even Roman? Or a mix of several things? Although the figure on your example does indeed resemble a Modern Hebrew Thaw (modern Th/Tav) it could also be a variant representation of a Greek Pi. Hebrew was not generally a spoken language at this point in history, having been replaced in the vernacular by Aramaic. The usual text type for Aramaic texts of the Jews for this period is Aramaic square character. Politically the time frame for the reign of Attambelos I coincides with the final breakdown of the Hasmonean period in Jewish history, which did not end with a conquest and scattering. So it is hard to imagine why a Hebrew character would appear on any coin so far away, in territory that was under Persian influence and ultimately Persian control. The Parthian reduction of Aramaic square character script used by the Parthians have several characters that bear some similarities to the character on your coin (t/d, q, s, m), and that text type seems to be a more likely candidate for an influence than Aramaic/ Mod. Hebrew. Report this Post to the Staff
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