ID Help - Ae10 - Near Eastern Minor Kingdom?

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Author	Replies: 4 / Views: 938
Finn235 Pillar of the Community United States 6130 Posts	Posted 08/22/2017 11:12 am Had this little stumper for over a year and a half, and zero progress. This might be in Bob's ballpark. (Took measurements when I took the photos, but neglected to write them down ) AE (obol?) 9-10mm, 0.75-1g Small helmeted bust right Standing figure, head right, holding (lightning bolt?) And (?) No legends visible Came in a lot of other harshly cleaned ancient middle eastern coins, ranging from Ptolemaic to Crusader era. Based on the style, I am leaning toward 100BC-200 AD time frame, probably non-Greek... maybe some tributary state? Obviously very small, but it is too thin to be Elymaean. I'm stumped - any ideas or a nudge in the right direction? Report this Post to the Staff

Spence Moderator United States 34427 Posts	Posted 08/22/2017 8:45 pm Just spit balling here...on the rev is the figure maybe between two stars instead of a lightning bolt and something else. Also, if I squint, it kinda looks like there is a letter B on the rev at about nine o'clock. "If you climb a good tree, you get a push." -----Ghanaian proverb "The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed." -----King Adz Report this Post to the Staff
Kamnaskires Pillar of the Community United States 7066 Posts	Posted 08/24/2017 11:56 pm Stumper, Steve. I have no clue on this one. I do know it's not Elymaean or Parthian, though. I see how you are interpreting the obverse(?) as a helmeted bust, but I'm not entirely certain about it. The garb - tunic? - with its downward-facing points, along with the figure's short legs, kind of reminds me of some South Asian Kushan, earlier Ujjaini, and later Kushano-Sasanian depictions of standing figures - particularly Vasudeva issues. Clearly it's not Kushan - it's too thin, there's no altar, no nimbus, etc. Maybe an unpublished local issue from the general time of the later Kushan Empire? I could be hundreds of years and thousands of miles off...I'm just brainstormin' here, sharing the first things that come to mind. Unfortunately no time to hunt...finishing up the first week of classes...very busy week. Some Vasudeva's with the OP coin below. Report this Post to the Staff
Finn235 Pillar of the Community United States 6130 Posts	Posted 08/25/2017 09:55 am Uh oh, Bob's stumped! Run for the hills! I see the similarities with Kushan, and it's obviously not imperial Kushan. It well could be some sort of Kushan imitation, but stumbling points: - If the obverse isn't a helmeted bust, I'm pretty sure it isn't a blundered Kushan god either - It's faint on the coin, but you can see the standing figure's face; it's not a masterpiece of portraiture, but it's well above the typical skill level of an imitative coin type. Facial features seem to be the first thing to go when a coin design is copied by another civilization. - Imitations in the Indian subcontinent may get wacky in terms of design, but they respected weight standards. No >2g copper existed in the Kushan economy, which makes me think this was part of some other system. Report this Post to the Staff
Kamnaskires Pillar of the Community United States 7066 Posts	Posted 08/25/2017 1:23 pm Agree on all counts, Steve. As I wrote, it's a stumper for sure. Pretty certain I've never seen anything quite like it. I see you posted it at Forum. Hopefully a member of that think tank can pin it down. Report this Post to the Staff
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