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Stater Of Mazaios , Cilicia , Tarsos

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antwerpen2306's Avatar
Belgium
1194 Posts
 Posted 07/07/2017  11:55 am Show Profile   Bookmark this topic Add antwerpen2306 to your friends list Get a Link to this Message Number of Subscribers
A stater from Mazaios of Tarsos in Cilicia
obv :Baal of Tarsos seated left on throne,head facing;holding eagle,grain ear,bunch of grapes and sceptre ; Aramic inscription B'LTRZ right , under grapes TN , under throne monogram M . Sceptre is ending in a lotus flower.
mint : Tarsos , 24 mm , 10.44 gr ,
Mazaios : 361/360 - 334 - +328.
Ref : Casabonne,Series2,group C
B'LTRZ = Baal (of) Tarsos
MZDI = Mazday = Greek Mazaios
rev : lion atacking bull left , above Aramic inscription : MZDI , under monogran ressenbling an ankh
for Mazaios : http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/mazaeus
I bought this coin for the representation of Baal as model for the representation of Zeus on the coins of Alexander .
The lotus)tipped scepter is also a detail that comes back on different coins of Cilicia , for exemple the coins of Oinoanda .
The reverse also is very interesting : the coin is from the period Mazaios was satrap of Cilicia , in mythology Baal is represented by a lion and Zeus by a bull : so Baal ( the Persian king) is attacking Zeus ( Alexander) , I don t know if it is a correct explanation , but it is possible ,regarding coins as a tool for making propaganda . albert

Stater-Of-Mazaios-,-Cilicia-,-Tarsos

Stater-Of-Mazaios-,-Cilicia-,-Tarsos
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Justinokay's Avatar
United States
564 Posts
 Posted 07/07/2017  12:00 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Justinokay to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Nice coin.
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echizento's Avatar
United States
23731 Posts
 Posted 07/07/2017  12:20 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add echizento to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I'm no expert on this type so I am most likely wrong, but to me the coin doesn't appear genuine. The detail is too soft. The flan is pitted and their appears to be a large bubble right in n the center of the bulls head. The Lions rear leg is detached from the hind quarters. I really hope I'm wrong.
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lrbguy's Avatar
United States
949 Posts
 Posted 07/07/2017  1:05 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add lrbguy to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
The coin looks like it was cast, not struck. I hope it is original.

However, there is a problem with the interpretation of imagery here. For the Achaemenid Persians, Zoroastrianism was the exclusive religion, and even after the conquest of Alexander, the Ahura-Mazda was their only god. In 361 BC I don't think the Persians had much to do with Baal who was originally a Phoenician/Canaanite deity all the way back in in the 2nd millennium BC. This coin comes out of the Phoenician context, not Persian.
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Russian Federation
5172 Posts
 Posted 07/07/2017  1:06 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add january1may to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply


Nowhere near an expert either, but I agree with all of echizento's conclusions above. Really hope I'm wrong too!
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Kamnaskires's Avatar
United States
7066 Posts
 Posted 07/07/2017  1:47 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Kamnaskires to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Here are "Toronto Group" fakes...Hopefully not an exact match, but at first glance sure looks similar.

Stater-Of-Mazaios-,-Cilicia-,-Tarsos
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antwerpen2306's Avatar
Belgium
1194 Posts
 Posted 07/07/2017  3:21 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add antwerpen2306 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
thanks all for your comments .There is a problem with the photo's .I took a copy of the certificate of origine and then by enlarging , I have this result .The details are not soft at all and there is no bubble as Echizento was right to remark .Same problem with the pitted flan . I will make tomorrow,I hope,my own photo's and post it .
I bought the coin about 6 weeks ago in London by a well know coinhouse . The coin has a pedigree of 2 aunctions , 4 years ago in Germany and about 25 years ago in Great Britain .So I hope and think I can be quiet .
@ Irbguy : every region in the big Persian empire had its own gods , Tarsos is a town in Cilicia , with his own pantheon with Baal as principal god , like Zeus it was for the Greek living in Asia Minor .So it is normal that Mazaios , as satrap from this part of the empire,where existed many Greek towns , uses and represents the locals gods on his coins . I have a tetradrachm from Babylon from about the same time (20 years later) with Baal on the obverse and a lion an the reverse , in the same style as Mazaios also made coins for Myriandros .The god Baal was well know as principal god from the mediterranean coast up to Mesopotamia , long before the Persians conquered Asia Minor in Kroisos'time. albert
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antwerpen2306's Avatar
Belgium
1194 Posts
 Posted 07/08/2017  09:47 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add antwerpen2306 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
here

Stater-Of-Mazaios-,-Cilicia-,-Tarsos

Stater-Of-Mazaios-,-Cilicia-,-Tarsos
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antwerpen2306's Avatar
Belgium
1194 Posts
 Posted 07/08/2017  09:49 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add antwerpen2306 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
sorry , I did anything wrong,but the photo's are there. albert
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