| Author |
 Replies: 9 / Views: 1,797 |
|
|
CCF Advertiser
 United States
1252 Posts |
|
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1554 Posts |
Edited by Kushanshah
05/26/2020 02:03 am
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1543 Posts |
An quote from Catalogue of the Greek Coins of Troas, Aeolis, and Lesbos that I found interesting. Quote:
Mionnet describes a coin of Poroselence of Faustina II with a type of dolphin, in which is a hook; and Cavedoni, assuming (perhaps too readily) that is description is accurate, recalls the curious statement of Pausanias that he had actually seen at Poroselene a boy riding on a dolphin, the graduated of which the boy had earned by healing a wound inflicted on it by some fishermen. Aelian, citing Leonides of Byzantium as an eye witness, gives a still more elaborate account of the tame dolphin of Poroselene. |
|
CCF Advertiser
 United States
1252 Posts |
Kushanshah;
Thanks! I was sure Bob L would have jumped on and told me there was an easy reference but that might not be the case and I am now more impressed by the old estate tag as I never know if these past people who had the coins before me spend a lot of time or not on these. My 10 weeks of teaching the full year general chemistry starts today, and it is all online for this summer, so knowing me I'll spend 10 hours locked in front of a microphone in the basement so I was lucky to post this before my radar got off coins again. Thanks again for your help Kushanshah and Gincoin43!
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1543 Posts |
The auction seems to be doing well, I am very curious.to see what.it goes for.
|
|
New Member
United States
10 Posts |
An attribution to Poroselene (perhaps the same place as Nesos) would be consistent with the piece at https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/4/10503 except for size, weight, direction of dolphin ride, and perhaps some other design details, but the general design type occurs at other cities which (since the present and RPC coins do not share dies) leaves us looking at the reverse inscription for a positive attribution. I don't see how the unfortunately partial inscription agrees with any of the reverse inscriptions I've seen used by Poroselene or the other cities that show dolphins. I only see one case of a city whose coins show a similar reverse inscription to the present piece. That city is Carrhae (in Greek, Karreon or Karrenon), whose inscription form ΘEIΩN [AVPHΛI] KAPP could be the same as the present coin's if read clockwise beginning at the 9 o'clock position and if a gap is left between the city name's KA and PP for the legs of the dolphin rider (identified by some as Arion). The inscription would refer to Aurelius which would apparently also be appropriate for Faustina on the obverse (on which the first letter though appearing to be a Latin F could be an incomplete and unclear Greek Phi). If the inscriptions could be Latin, the PP near the bottom could be related to a Carthage inscription CICDDPP or Utica inscription MMIVLVTICDDPP, or if DD is intended there are many cities with related inscriptions, but I do not know if any of their coins show dolphin riders. I also do not know if the inscription on the present piece is blundered or if the piece is an imitation. However, since I don't know of a dolphin rider on coins of Carrhae, I suspect that either I've missed something or the present coin type is not known. This is certainly possible, considering that the referenced Pordoselene coin at RPC Online is shown as having only one known example. By the way, the name of the latter city was recorded to have been changed from the earlier form of Pordoselene because the latter was thought to sound like some form of the Greek words Perdomai (to break wind) and Selene (Moon goddess). Nobody wants to be around when a deity is insulted! |
|
Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
4991 Posts |
Quote:
I only see one case of a city whose coins show a similar reverse inscription to the present piece. That city is Carrhae (in Greek, Karreon or Karrenon), whose inscription form ΘEIΩN [AVPHΛI] KAPP could be the same as the present coin's if read clockwise beginning at the 9 o'clock position and if a gap is left between the city name's KA and PP for the legs of the dolphin rider (identified by some as Arion). I think the legend ΘEI[ΩN] [...]I KA-PP is exactly what I read on this coin (modulo the uncertain but possible ΩN); I can't quite read what exactly is in the [...] part, though, and what little I do see doesn't look like AVPHΛ to me. I'm guessing that "ΘEIΩN AVPHΛI" is "of Divine Aurelius"; what would "of Divine Faustina" have been? I think I'm seeing a C that would be consistent with this theory.
|
|
New Member
United States
10 Posts |
You must have a much better screen definition than I do to read the letters after the first five. The feminine of ΘEIΩN may be ΘEIAN, if I recall correctly, but her name is variously spelled on coins as either ΦΑVCTI or ΦΑVCTEI. That said, it seems to be only the KA-PP (for KARRHNΩN or KARRHΩN) that explicitly indicates the name of the city's inhabitants, and I did not know that they lived anywhere near dolphins or had any other reason for or history of using dolphins on their coins. However, if you can read more letters, that's wonderful progress!
|
|
New Member
United States
10 Posts |
PS I've seen ΘEAN used for the feminine form, also with the name ending with AN. In any case, though, even on coins with portraits of an empress, from what I've seen of inscriptions of this type on the reverse, they can be expected to name the emperor (such as Aurelius) rather than the empress.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
1144 Posts |
A most unusual and interesting coin, @louisvillekyshop.
The quote from the catalogue makes the coin come alive, @Gincoin43. Knowing how intelligent and friendly dolphins can be, the story is most likely true.
Jim
|
| |
Replies: 9 / Views: 1,797 |
|
Posted 05/26/2020 04:03 am
