Thanks all!
I had this idea kicking around in my head, so I'm excited to get to try it!
This round's challenge: Things that are gone.
Challenge coin:
Turko-Hepthalite kingdom (Afghanistan)
C. 680-720
Ruler "Sri Vajara Vakhu Devah"
Silver drachm
For this round, the goal is to represent in a single coin how completely the world around us can change. This will be geared toward ancient or Medieval coins, but I will try to structure the points so moderns have a shot, too.
Who:
1 point for a coin that depicts a person who is deceased
2 points if that person was alive when the coin was minted
+1 bonus if that person is famous enough that your average (reasonably well educated) person knows who they were (If the person is of national importance but not a major player in world history, that counts too)
+1 bonus if that person is totally lost to history; only attested through coinage
Where:
+1 point if the issuing country no longer exists
+1 point if the civilization or culture that minted it is totally gone
+1 point if the city where the mint was located is just ruins today
When:
1 point if the coin can't be dated to a specific year (frozen dates count)
2 Points if the coin can't be dated to a specific decade
3 points if the coin can't be dated to a specific century (meaning 100 year period)
What:
+1 point if the coin depicts an extinct animal or plant
+1 point if it wasn't extinct when the coin was made
+1 point if the coin depicts a building, object, or landmark that is destroyed or substantially ruined today
+1 point if it was not ruined when the coin was made
+1 point if the coin's legends are in an extinct or functionally extinct language (Latin counts, Greek does not)
+1 point if the alphabet or writing system is one that no living person on earth learns how to write in grade school
(Multiple extinct languages each count separately)
+1 point if the coin serves as religious propaganda for a religion that was once widespread, but is now extinct or reduced to a "fringe" religion with >1,000,000 adherents worldwide
+1 point if the religion is so far gone that we don't fully understand what is represented on the coin.
+1 point if you can demonstrate that the coin was the last issue of its denomination, issuing authority, etc.
Going back to my challenge coin:
3 points for depicting someone deceased, who was alive when the coin was made, who is not otherwise attested outside of his coins.
2 points because the Turco-Hepthalite kingdom was shattered by the joint forces of an internal rebellion from the native Hindus, and constant warfare against the Arabs. It was likely minted in Kabul, which is still inhabited.
2 points for being from an unknown year or decade, but from between 680-720 AD
6 points for the legends; Bactrian written in a heavily modified cursive Greek around the coin, Brahmi written in an extinct predecessor of Devanagari, Middle Persian written in Pahlavi on the reverse
+1 for the Zoroastrian reverse, depicting two attendants guarding the sacred fire of Ahura Mazda. There are fewer than 200,000 Zoroastrian worldwide today, although it once rivaled Roman paganism and Christianity in terms of popularity
Comes to a grand total of 14 points! This round will require some homework, but I am sure that there are plenty of coins out there that will beat my score. Remember that modern commemoratives count, but the bonus points come in for coins that were contemporary to what they depict.
Good luck!
First Page
Previous Page
Posted 03/10/2018 11:22 pm
