CoinImages

These are coins which have been acquired mainly for research purposes or because of their scarcity.

Achaian League. Antigoneia (Mantineia). Circa 188-180 BC. Triobol or Hemidrachm (Silver, 14.5 mm, 2.32 g, 2 h). Obv: Laureate head of Zeus to right. Rev: Achaian League monogram between A and N, with a monogram below; all within laurel wreath.

The Achaian league was re-formed in 281 BC by the cities of Dyme, Patrai, Pharai and Tritaia, and membership steadily increased to include most of the Peloponnese. This was not always by consent – in 243 BC Corinth became part of the league by force. The league had a collective army drawn from the independent cities and meetings within the league were attended on the basis of proportional representation, with the larger cities having more input. These meetings were held at the sanctuary of Zeus Homarios at Aigion until 189 BC after when the location of the meetings was rotated between the members of the league. The silver coinage of the league after its reformation in 281 BC consisted of hemidrachms struck on a declining Aiginetic standard known as the Symmachic or Alliance standard. The head of Zeus Homarios ('who unites') on the obverse is paired with the monogram of the league within a wreath appears on the reverse. Early issues don't identify the mint city but the later ones have civic mongrams or badges which do so. In this case of Mantinea (before 222) this is a trident (as with Pantallion); after 222 no symbol.

Aeolis, Kyme, AE12. 1.16 g. Magistrate Heraios. 250-190 BC. Obv: Head of the Amazon Kyme right. Rev: K-Y HΡAIOΣ to left, right and beneath one-handled cup.

In terms of numismatics, Kyme is famous among "everyday" collectors for their issues of small bronzes. Although there were certainly many successive series, they can be divided into two large groups. The first is characterized by the vessel type "skyphos" on reverse, varying somewhat the obverse motive (horse, eagle, etc). Its chronological arc has been set between 350 and 250 BC. The second one presents female bust to the right (the amazon named Kyme who founded the city according to local mythology) on obverse and horse in reverse. This second type was minted between 250 and 190 BC. In both groups the various series differ from each other by the names of the monetary magistrates (initials or monograms) and by the control marks.

Argolis, Argos. Triobol, 320-270, 13.6mm 2.66g. Obv: Forepart of wolf left. Rev: A within incuse square, A-Ρ across upper fields, club below.

In the 8th and 7th centuries BC Argos was a major city and dominated the east coast of the Peloponnese. It had reduced in stature in the following century and suffered a number of defeats, mostly to Sparta. It remained neutral during the Persian wars but over time became closer to Athens, leading to its involvement on the Athenians side at the defeat at the battle of Mantinea (418 BC). It supported the Thebans at the battle of Leuctra and the defeat of the Spartans in 371 BC. Argos began issuing coins on the Aiginetic standard (12.2g to the didrachm stater) at the beginning of the 5th century B.C. with the forepart of a wolf on the obverse and an "A" on the reverse. The wolf was the symbol of Apollo Lykios, who was worshipped in Argos and had a sanctuary dedicated to him near the agora. Argos then perhaps reached its greatest dominance in the 7th century BC under Pheidon, who is credited by some ancient writers with devising a standard system of measures and weights and being the first ruler to mint silver coinage. Under Pheidon, Argos regained sway over the cities of the Argolid and challenged Sparta’s dominance of the Peloponnese.

Attica, Athens AR Drachm. Circa 454-404 BC. Obv: Helmeted head of Athena right. Rev: Owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig and crescent behind; AQE in right field; all within incuse square. Condition: Very Fine. Weight: 3.9g Diameter: 15 mm

The Athenians had issued a variety of silver coins beginning around the year 560 BC during the rule of the tyrant Peisistratus. These archaic coins are known as wappenmünzen (“badge coins”), a term used by 19th-century German numismatists on the theory that symbols appearing on the coins were heraldic badges of the city’s leading aristocratic families, but this is now doubted by most classical numismatists. The well known tetradrachm type of the head of Athena paired with an owl on the reverse occurs very early in Athenian coinage - first archaic type of Athenian owls started around 512 BC - and we know they were referred to as owls at the time as Aristophanes mentions them in his Birds " "Firstly, the owls of Laurium, which every judge desires above all things". These Attic weight coins (17.2g tetradrachms) remained substantially the same in design until around 165 BC, with only stylistic changes for the most part. Beginning in 165 BC the Athenian mint remodelled the traditional tetradrachm. The flans grow gradually thinner and broader and on the last issues of the series the owl is perched on an overturned amphora and the entire reverse is surrounded by an olive wreath. This coinage provides the transition from the old Athenian silver coinage to what is regularly described as New Style coinage. According to Hoover, the Athenian mint struck didrachms, drachms and smaller fractions for local use in the 5th century BC. These almost invariably feature the head of Athena paired with a semi-profile or facing owl. The only exception is the tiny tetartemorion, which replaced the owl with an olive spray on the reverse. This coin is drachm, which shares its type with the more famous tetradrachm. Attic-weight tetrobols were also struck in the third century BC and feature the head of Athena with two owls on the reverse.

Bruttium, Caulonia Drachm circa 500-480, AR 15.00 mm., 1.89 g. Obv: Apollo advancing right, holding branch; small daimon running right on Apollo's left arm; to right, stag standing right, head reverted. Rev: Incuse of obverse, but no branch, daimon, or ethnic.

This coin is of the early incuse type. It is a lot lighter than would be expected @ 1.89g and to be honest I am a bit concerned about that, even given the obvious wear. Unfortunately the drachms of this period are much rarer to find than the staters - there are only two listed on acsearch.info and both have the ethnic on obverse and reverse. These are also 2.40g and 2.27g , which is far closer to the expected weight of the standard of 2.60g. The reference provided also does not match up here are HN Italy 2039 is an incuse drachm with the ethnic, whereas this one is missing the ethnic. Noe does observe that whilst the ones he viewed all have the ethnic, the early staters (to his group D) do not have the ethnic. Maybe therefore this is an earlier fraction associated with the issue of those staters? That does not however explain the deviation from the weight standard. If this is an imitation (or fake) the question has to be asked as to why the ethnic was omitted when the rest of the type is well struck. Also, why include an O on the obverse under the arm of the god? There is a die match for this coin sold at Bertolami Fine Arts in May 2013, which weighed in at 2.24g. They list the obverse as having [KAVΛ]O, suggesting that the O is the remains of the original ethnic which has been obliterated. It is conceivable as the very faint trace of an archaic lambda is discernible - just - on this coin.

Bruttium, Kaulonia, c. 475-425 BC. AR Stater (20mm, 8.06g, 5h). Obv: Nude Apollo walking right, holding branch, holding small running daimon on outstretched arm; before, stag standing right, head turned back. Rev: Stag standing right. Die-break.

This coin is an early double-relief stater minted on the Achaian standard of 7.8g tridrachm, so this one is a bit over weight. The figure on the obverse is commonly identified as Apollo and according to Lacroix it may represent Apollo cleansing his newly won sanctuary at Delphi with laurel branches culled from the vale of Tempe, with the smaller figure being a herald sent to announce his arrival. However there have been many other attempt to explain the symbology here. For a full discussion please see the Coinage of Caulonia by Sydney P. Noe. The stag on the reverse is a symbol of Apollo's sister, Artemis. Noe comments that the coins show that dies were often used after crack-fissures had developed and long beyond the point that they would have been discarded in larger or better regulated mints.

Bruttium, Kroton. Ca. 480-430 BC. AR stater (21mm, 11h). Obv: ϙPO (retrograde), tripod with leonine feet; heron standing left in right field, dotted border on thick raised band. Rev: Incuse tripod, linear outline within tripod; all within striated border on incuse rim.

No gold coinage was attributed to Kroton, but the city minted an extensive silver coinage on the Achaian standard (7.8g to the tri-drachm nomos). This incuse coin has an ornamented sacrificial tripod, legs terminating in leonine feet on the obverse with a heron in the left field. On the reverse is an incuse tripod with a striated border on incuse band partially surrounding. The letters ϙΡΟ (where the ϙ is similar to the koppa that you find on early Corinthian coins) is on the left on the tripod. This example is underweight, but that is easily explained by the obvious metal loss. As a later example, the flan diameter has shrunk to the value that will be found on the double relief coins.

Bruttium, Laus. AR Triobol, c. 500-480 BC. Obv: Man-headed bull to left, head turned backwards; ΛAΣ above. Rev. Man-headed bull to right; ΛAΣ (retrograde) above. 1.33 g. 10.00 mm.

As a colony of Sybaris, Laus struck coins on the Achaian standard and did produce incuse coinage (though I can find only one example). The coins of Laüs are of three classes, (i) and (ii) staters (8.36g max.), thirds (2.72g.), and sixths (1.36g), mostly belonging to the period of archaic art, i.e., to the end of the sixth and first decade of the fifth century BC, and (iii) Bronze coins, all of which are subsequent to the silver and (perhaps with a few exceptions) later than 350 BC. It is difficult to see in this poor example, but this sixth has a man-faced bull on the obverse and a reverse-facing man-faced bull on the reverse. At 1.36g it is exactly on weight for a sixth stater. Note that reverse-facing bulls are a type of Sybaris but they were never man-faced.

Bruttium, Rhegion Æ Obol. Circa 260-218 BC. Obv: Head of Artemis right, bow and quiver over shoulder. Rev: PHΓI-NΩN, lyre. 5.49g, 21 mm

According to Oliver D Hoover the system of denominations and the standard lion and Apollo head types remained in place during the late fourth and early second centuries BC. However, the typology began to change, and denomination A/B was reintroduced in the period between the opening of the Pyrrhic war and the second Punic war. The traditional lion head obverse was abandoned in favour of the head of Apollo or that of his sister Artemis, while reverse types tended to feature and advancing lion or Apollo’s attributes (tripod or Kithara)

Calabria, Tarentum AR Drachm. Circa 281-276 BC. Zor..., magistrate. Obv: Head of Athena to right, wearing crested Attic helmet adorned with Skylla preparing to hurl a stone, Rev: Owl standing to right on olive branch, head facing; ZOR to right, TAP to left. 3.07g. / 16mm

There were continuing battles between the local peoples and the Tarentines through the fourth century and the mounting danger lead to them appealing to Sparta for assistance in 340 BC, receiving help first from Archidamos III and then, in 332, from Alexander of Molossus (uncle and brother in law of Alexander the Great). They had an uneasy relationship with the strongest of the local cities, Rome, and in 302 BC Rome declared war on Taras. The Tarentines invited King Pyhrros of Epirus (nephew of Alexander the Molossian) to assist them and in the Phyrric wars that followed (280-275 BC) the Romans and the Tarentines fought each other to a virtual standstill, ending with the surrender of Taras in 275 from which point it became a Roman allied city (though it briefly allied with Hannibal in the second Punic war and was subsequently sacked by the Romans). This drachm is minted on the Tarentine standard (6.6g didrachm). There is no ethnic on it but on the right field of the obverse you can make out the letters IO. This does not correspond to any magistrate initial listed in Hoover but does correspond to IOP listed in Rutter.

Calabria, Taras, ca 272-240 BC. AR Nomos (19.5mm, 6.38 g, 9h) Reduced standard. Obv: Youth on horseback left, crowning horse and holding rein; ΣY to right, ΛYKI/NOΣ below. Rev: Phalanthos, preparing to throw trident left, on dolphin left; to right, owl standing left, head facing.

There were continuing battles between the local peoples and the Tarentines through the fourth century and the mounting danger lead to them appealing to Sparta for assistance in 340 BC, receiving help first from Archidamos III and then, in 332, from Alexander of Molossus (uncle and brother in law of Alexander the Great). They had an uneasy relationship with the strongest of the local cities, Rome, and in 302 BC Rome declared war on Taras. The Tarentines invited King Pyhrros of Epirus (nephew of Alexander the Molossian) to assist them and in the Phyrric wars that followed (280-275 BC) the Romans and the Tarentines fought each other to a virtual standstill, ending with the surrender of Taras in 275 from which point it became a Roman allied city (though it briefly allied with Hannibal in the second Punic war and was subsequently sacked by the Romans). This coin does not appear to be underweight for a coin on the Tarentine standard of its period, the so-called reduced standard. When introduced in about 510 or 500 B.C., the Tarentine Nomos weighed about 7.8 grams on the Achaean standard, and its weight remained steady until about 280 BC, when it was reduced to about 6.6 grams (Tarentine) during the Phyrric war, perhaps to match the Roman weight standard of 6 scruples. This coin was minted on that reduced standard, which was used until the occupation of Taras by Hannibal in the second Punic war, when it changed to the Punic standard (7.2g shekel).

Campania, Neapolis. Circa 300-275 BC. Didrachm or Nomos (Silver, 20 mm, 7.14 g, 3 h), Chari..., magistrate. Obv: Diademed head of a nymph to right, wearing pendant earring and necklace; below, XA; behind, kantharos. Rev: [ΝΕΟ]ΠΟΛΙΤΩ[Ν] Man-headed bull walking to right, head facing; above, Nike flying right to crown the bull.

The original Euboïc standard of the mid-fifth century BC (17.2g to the tridrachm stater) was quickly superseded by the Phocaic standard (16.1g tetradrachm), evolving into the Campanian standard (7.3g didrachm) by the late 5th century. The standard and the type of Parthenope (the city also had a temple to Demeter so the attribution to Parthenope is not clear) on the obverse and Achelous on the reverse survives until the mid-third century, when the final type of Apollo/Cavalryman signals the end of independent civic coinage in the city. The types of the Neapolitan coins are probably agonistic (relating to the athletic contests). The head of most frequent occurrence on the obverse is Parthenope variously represented in profile, and occasionally facing with flowing hair. In honour of Parthenope, identified as the local goddess of Neapolis, annual games were celebrated. The man-headed bull on the reverses is thought to be the River-god Achelous. While this coin may be of the same type as HN Italy 579 it is missing the monogram underneath the bull and the magistrates name is absent on the obverse - there is lettering which may be XA (corresponding to XAPIΛEΩΣ) but it is very indistinct and partially missing, I guess because it was struck off-center.

Epirus, Ambrakia . Circa 404-360 BC. AR Stater. Pegasos flying right; A below / Helmeted head of Athena left; bunch of grapes and kylix behind.

Ambrakia minted staters on the Corinthian standard (8.6g tridrachm stater) in the fifth and fourth centuries BC, also adopting the same Corinthian Athena/Pegasus types as other Corinthian colonies. All coinage ceased in the third century BC, only being revived under the Roman influence in the second century BC. You can differentiate this from the Corinthian Pegasi as it has an Alpha mint mark (very faint on this coin under the Pegasus). Corinth would typically have a Koppa mint mark. Koppa Ϙ, ϙ is a letter that was used in early forms of the Greek alphabet from Phoenician qoph. It was originally used to denote the /k/ sound (for Corinth), but fell out of use in favour of Kappa (K).

Islands off Ionia, Chios circa 431-412 BC. Bronze Æ. 10 mm, 0.97 g. Obv. Sphinx seated right, grapes to right. Rev. Amphora, magistrate name [E] ΡΜΩ [N]

Chios was an early adopter of coinage, unsurprising given its proximity to Lydia. It initially minted in electrum on the Milesian standard (14.2g stater) but by the end of the 6th century it was using silver instead on the Chian standard (15.6g tetradrachms). The types of drachms and fractions were consistent a sphinx paired with an incuse punch, the punch being replaced with a cross coupled with a magistrates name in the 4th century BC. At this time it also introduced bronze coinage in three denominations, featuring sphinx paired with an amphora. This coin is an example of denomination D/E with magistrate EΡΜΩN. It moved to the attic standard in the 3rd century BC under the influence of the Macedonian empire. Interestingly, the vast majority of Chian coins have the sphinx facing left. This bronze is a rare exception

Ionia, Ephesos. AE 18, 4.57g, ca. 350 BC. Obv: Bee. Rev: Stag standing right, date palm behind, ΩΣ monogram to right.

Ephesus was founded as an Attic-Ionian colony in the 10th century BC and was famous for its Temple of Artemis, completed around 550 BC and which, according to Pausanias, was the largest building of the ancient world [4.31.8]. More importantly for numismatists, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus has provided evidence for the earliest coins yet known from the ancient world. These were found in the early temple layer as offering gifts for goddess and date from around 630 BC. According to Barclay Head the Ephesian goddess identified with Artemis is represented as a female figure, the body a mummy- like trunk with the feet placed close together. She is many-breasted, and from each of her hands hangs a long fillet with tassels at the extremities. On either side stands a stag raising its head to the image of the goddess. The usual symbols of the cult of this nature-goddess are the Bee and the Stag, and it is noteworthy that the high-priest of the temple of Artemis was called ‘the king bee,’ while the virgin priestesses bore the name of Melissae or Honey-Bees. It is not surprising therefore that the principle type on the coins of Ephesus is the bee and the stag (as with this coin). Note: There are almost 1,000 known varieties of the bronze and silver bee/stag coin types, with unpublished types appearing every year.

Ionia, Miletos. AE 19mm. 2nd Century BC. Obv: Laureate head of Apollo right. Rev: Lion standing right, head turned back; star above

The profile-Apollo/standing-lion type that was introduced with the fourth century Rhodian silver continues in the third century, but under two new weight standards: a reduced-Rhodian standard used for an early didrachm issue (described below), and a Persic standard used for an extended issue of didrachms, drachms, and hemidrachms from about 260 BC onward. The early reduced-Rhodian didrachms were minted in parallel with a small group of profile-Apollo/standing-lion bronzes (also described below), while the later Persic-standard silver was minted in parallel with bronzes of a new type, featuring a three-quarter facing head of Apollo on the obverse. A comparatively rare bronze issue that restored the profile-Apollo obverse may have been minted during a gap in the facing-Apollo series, but its exact placement is uncertain.

Ionia, Teos. Hemidrachm. 400-300 BC. Obv: Griffin. Rev.: Kantharos. 1,53 g.

In 544 BC, after the conquest of Lydia by the Persians in 546 BC, Teos was partially abandoned. Strabo notes that the "the Teians abandoned their city and migrated to, Abdera, a Thracian city, being unable to bear the insolence of the Persians; and hence the verse in reference to Abdera "Abdera, beautiful colony of the Teians'. But some of them returned again in later times." [Geography 14.1.30]. Note the populace also d went to Phanagoria on the Cimmerian Bosporus. A J Graham in states that "We can confidently accept that at some time in its early history Teian Abdera sent sufficient settlers back to her mother city for this to count as a re-foundation. It cannot be certainly established when Abdera refounded Teos. The two most probable occasions are shortly after the evacuation of the city in c. 545 and shortly after the Ionian revolt." [he Journal of Hellenic Studies , 1992, Vol. 112 (1992), pp. 44-73]. The fact that the town was not entirely abandoned or was refounded is evident in the continuance of its coinage. According to Head, some early electrum pieces with a Griffin’s head, a type common both to Teos and to Phocaea may have been struck there, as Phocaea, with Mytilene and Cyzicus, continued to be the three chief mints of the electrum currency down to the middle of the fourth century. The early silver coins of Teos from the sixth century BC down to about 400 BC are apparently adjusted to the Aeginetic standard. Graham notes " The first coins of Abdera and the first silver coins of Teos are so closely alike that it seems probable that these coinages 'were started in planned conjunction". From the end of the fourth century until the beginning of the second it would seem that Teos struck no coins.

Caria, Rhodes, ca 350-300 BC. AE 10mm. Obv: Diademed head of Rhodos right, in earring and necklace. Rev: rose

Silver coinage on the island was struck on the Chian standard (15.3g tetradrachm) and had the type of Helios/Rose. From the 340s through the third century the Rhodian standard (6.8g didrachm) was used, whilst continuing the previous type. Rhodes produced bronze coinage from the close of the 5th century BC until the 1st century BC. The earliest bronze coinage feature Rhodos and the rose, giving way later to Helios. This coin is denomination D/E.

Lucania, Herakleia circa 432-330 BC. Diobol AR 13 mm, 1.01 g. Obv: Helmeted head of Athena right. Rev: Herakles standing facing, half-turned to right, wrestling the Nemean lion.

Heraklea was a Greek colony but founded at a period considerably later than most of the other Greek cities in this part of Italy. The foundation of the new city is placed by Diodorus in 432 BC, fourteen years after the settlement of Thurium. The territory in which it was established had previously belonged to the Ionic colony of Siris and after the fall of that city seems to have become the subject of contention between the neighbouring states. The Athenians had a claim upon the territory of Siris and it was probably by virtue of this that their colonists at Thurium, almost immediately after their establishment in Italy, advanced similar pretensions to the region. These were resisted by the Tarentines and war ensued between the two states, which was at length ended by an arrangement that they should jointly found a new colony in the disputed district, which should be designated as a colony of Tarentum. Despite being designated as the capital of the Italiote league established to protect the Greek cities from the indigenous peoples, it temporarily fell to the Lucanians in around 340 BC, only being liberated by Alexander of Molossus in 332 BC. It accepted a treaty with Rome in 272 BC. Heraklea began minting its silver coins to the Achaian standard soon after its foundation. The obverse was usually Athena and the reverse showed Herakles wrestling the Nemean lion (this coin) or standing holding a club and bow. The silver staters and fraction had similar types. At the time of the Pyrrhic war (280-275 BC) the weight declined from the Achaian standard to that of the Tarentine of 6.6g didrachm.

Lucania, Metapontum. Diobol circa 440-340, AR 10.00 mm., 0.63 g. Obv: Ear of barley. Rev: Head of river-god Acheloos

Johnson notes that the fractional coinage of Metapontum is extremely rich, apparently from the very outset. This diobol is double relief and so of a later period that the earlier incuse fractions. There is an interesting correspondence of reverse symbols to denominations in the silver fractions of this period as also noted by Johnston. The obverse image is the ear of barley, but the reverse of •an annulet (0.33 to 0.48g) is an obol •3 crescents (0.49 to 0.64g) is a trihemiobol •Achelous head with 2 annulets (0.69 to 0.8g) is a diobol; and finally, •5 crescents (1.01g) is 2 ½ obols ( and yes, that is a rather unusual denomination). So this coin is a slightly light diobol. The man-faced bull is first seen on an incuse silver drachm from Rhegion in c. 510 BC and then on the incuse coinage of Laus from 510-500 BC. Whilst it also appears on coins from Metapontion between 440 to 430 BC it does not seem to have featured on those of other important cities of Magna Graecia such as Sybaris, Taras or Croton, perhaps because they already had well established types. The man-faced bull is often associated with Achelous. Flowing water was extremely important to ancient peoples and Achelous was the river god of the most powerfully flowing river in Greece. He was the oldest of the 3000 sons of Oceanus and Tethys and as such was worshipped throughout Greece and the wider Greek world. His name in religious rites became synonymous for any stream, and sacrifices to Achelous were always prescribed along with the prophesies given out by the Oracle of Dodona. In Ovid’s Metamorphoses Achelous addresses the king of Calydon saying, In me you see the lord of the waters, that flow in winding rivers, through your kingdom. The man-faced bull was one of the aspects of Achelous, as Ovid describes in the subsequent battle between Achelous and Herakles over the favour of Dejanira, the daughter of the king: “…only my third, fierce, bull-shape remained. So I fought on, my limbs those of a bull. From the left he threw his arms round my bulging neck; and followed me as I charged off; dragging at me, my horns piercing the hard ground as he pulled me down; and toppling me into the deep sand. As if that was not enough, holding the tough horn in his cruel hand, he broke it and tore it away from my mutilated brow.” The horn taken by Herakles would become the Cornucopia, or Horn of Plenty.

Lucania, Metapontum. AE Obol, c. 400-350 BC. Obv: Head of Nike right; O behind; below, [NIKA]. Rev: [M]-E. Ear of barley with six grains; ithyphallic herm to left. AE. 5.97 g. 21.00 mm.

Bronze coinage was introduced in Metapontion in the late fifth century BC, with the obol (such as this) being discontinued by the min-fourth century BC. This coin has the typical barley ear on the reverse, this time with an ithyphallic herm to the left (a herm is a sculpture with a head and perhaps a torso above a plain, usually squared lower section, on which male genitals may also be carved at the appropriate height).

Lucania, Metapontion. 280-270 BC, Diobol, 1.02g. Obv: Helmeted head of Athena right. Rev: Wheat ear, META to left, leaf and cornucopia to right.

Metapontion minted coins on the Achaian standard (7.8g tridrachm) and so this coin is a little overweight for a diobol (should be 0.86g). I find this is a common feature on the coins of Southern Italy and a quick browse through auction examples shows them consistently at 1.05- 1.15g. Hoover has an earlier date for this type (HGC 1.1078) of 325-275 and lists as Achaian standard diobol of 0.86g. Therefore either this is a light triobol and is just consistently misdescribed or the weight standard had altered before the Phyrric wars (280-275) to have a lighter drachm. Hoover does note that the drachms of the early third century BC are struck on the Tarentine standard (6.6g didrachms) but does not list any smaller fractions issued at that time (it would place a diobol as 1.10g). I would therefore suggest that this type is later than Hoover attributes it and is a diobol on the Tarentine standard.

Lucania, Metapontum, AR diobol, 325-275 BC. Obv: helmeted of Athena to right. Rev: Barley ear with leaf. On the left, MET. To the right, cornucopia. 1.02 g.

For the most part the silver fractions of Metapontion reflect the types of the staters however in this case you find the helmeted head of Athena on the obverse and the barley ear relegated to the reverse. It is minted on the Achaian standard, but is overweight for a diobol (1.02g rather than 0.86g). It does make you wonder if it is an example of the elusive 2.5 obol coins referenced by Hoover (HNG 1, 1074) though the type is different.

Lucania, Sybaris, c. 453-448 BC. AR Triobol (8mm, 1.05g, 11h). Obv: Poseidon advancing right, wielding trident. Rev: Bird standing r. within circular incuse.

Sybaris was founded in 720 BC by Achaean and Troezenian settlers and quickly became very wealthy on agriculture and trade, possibly through taxes gained by allowing ships to dock in Sybaris and transport goods overland to its’ daughter city, Laüs, so avoiding the need to navigate the treacherous straights of Messina. Between 530 and 510 BC Sybaris formed an Italiote League together with Metapontion and Kroton, the primary objective of which was the destruction of the neighbouring Ionian city of Siris. Subsequent to this the oligarchic government of Sybaris was replaced by a demagogue named Tylis as tyrant and the oligarchs fled to Kroton. The refusal of Kroton to return them was the basis for the subsequent war which led to the destruction of Sybaris in 510 BC, when the survivors fled to Laüs. In 467 BC the Sybarites attempted to reclaim their city and expel the Krotonite governor. This bid for renewed autonomy failed and the city was recaptured by siege, an appeal to Hieron I at Syracuse having failed . They would seem to have found a home in Laüs, Scidrus, and probably also in Poseidonia. In 453 BC with the help of the people of Poseidonia they rebuilt their ruined city at a short distance from the ancient site. This new Sybaris enjoyed but a short lease of life, for the Krotonites expelled the colonists and levelled to the ground their newly built wall in 448 BC. This coin is a small triobol which has degraded but is a period III coin minted during this short revival of the city. The obverse is Poseidon advancing with trident (a type common to Poseidonia) and is one of the only available pieces of evidence that this refoundation was assisted by Poseidonia. Heroditus does not mention it "When the Milesians suffered this treatment from the Persians, the men of Sybaris, who were dwelling in Laos and Skidros, being deprived of their own city, did not repay like with like: for when Sybaris was taken by the men of Croton, the Milesians all from youth upwards shaved their heads and put on great mourning: for these cities were more than all others of which we know bound together by ties of friendship." [Histories 6.21]

Lucania, Sybaris. AR Obol, circa 530-510 BC. Obv: Bull standing to left, head to right. Rev: Large M V

This is a Sybaris I coin (so pre-510 BC) fabricated on the Archaean standard of 7.90g to the tri-drachm nomos. The type of this coin this matches a recorded obol (HN Italy 1738). However, this coins is 9.2mm and weighs 0.21g, which is about half the weight of an Achaean standard obol. So, is this a hemi-obol? There is no reference to a hemi-obol of this period in the Handbook of Coins of Italy and Magna Graecia by Oliver D. Hoover, nor in Coins of Magna Graecia by W. A. Hands nor Greek Coins and their Values by Sear. Indeed, Sear and Hands have the lightest period one coin of Sybaris at 0.65g. The Inventory of Greek Hoards from the AMS does not record any smaller fractions for Sybaris (though that could be because they were not worth hoarding). So, is this evidence of smaller fractions existing in Sybaris before 510 BC? Update: This is what I love about researching coins - there is always more to learn. So, from an excellent NGC article on incuse coins https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/8345/Ancient-Greek-coins-Italy/, "Also from early phases of Sybarite coinage are the three fractional pieces above. First is a triobol showing an incuse amphora on its reverse, next is an obol with an incuse acorn on its reverse, and the last is a hemiobol, weighing merely 0.18 grams, which has an incuse bull on its reverse."

Lucania, Sybaris, c. 510-475 BC. AR Triobol (11mm, 1.00g). Obv: Bull standing right, head left. Rev: Incuse acorn.

Following its defeat to Croton in 510 BC many of the inhabitants of Sybaris fled to neighbouring cities, including Poseidonia and Laus. Refugees at Laus appear to have struck a rare series of staters, triobols and obols using the types of their original city. This Triobol is one of those coins (Sybaris II) and on the obverse you can see the reverse-headed bull type of Sybaris. The reverse employs the incuse technique used at Sybaris married with an amphora. Notwithstanding the above, the weight of this coin is particularly problematic. According to Rutter in Historia Numorum Italy, which is the standard reference for Greek coins of Southern Italy, group 2 triobols had an amphora on the reverse and obols had an acorn on the reverse. An triobol on the Achaian standard should weigh about 1.30g and an obol 0.43g. This coin is 1.0g, which does not fit in but would suggest a light triobol (there are no listed diobols for Sybaris II). The amphora seems to confirm that. Just to confuse matters, on purchase it was described as an acorn on the reverse but if you check a good example of the Laus acorn in my Laus gallery you can see that it does not match.

Lucania, Velia. AR Nomos, circa 334-300 BC. Obv: Helmeted head of Athena left; monogram behind neck guard. Rev: Lion standing left, devouring prey; Φ between legs; YEΛHTΩN in exergue

Velia produced an extensive coinage on the Phokaian standard (80.g didrachm) from the late 6th century BC, which is at the foundation of the city in c. 535 BC by settlers from Phokia fleeing the Persians. The type of a lion devouring its prey found on the reverse of this coin reflects the type that was used in its original coinage (drachms). Staters were introduced in the early fifth century, initially pairing a head of the the nymph Hyele with the lion, however this was subsequently changed to the head of Athena. This coin is slighly light for standard at 7.39g however there is some obvious wear which would account for this.

Lycia, Aruwatijesi. Circa 400-370 BC. AR Drachm (3 Gr. 16mm.). Obv: Lion scalp facing. Rev: Triskeles.

The Lydians were given the right to coin by the Persians and the first coins with Lycian letters on them appeared not long before 500 BC under Kubernis, the second king of the Lycian dynasty centred at Xanthos. Although many of the early coins produced in the ancient world illustrated the images of various gods, the first portraiture of actual rulers appears with the coinage of Lycia in the late 5th century BC. Aruwatijesi was a dynast from approximately 390–370 BC and whose coins were found in a hoard from Cingirik Hill, 1.5 km northwest of Upper Olympos on Musa Mountain (which is located on the borders of Yazır Neighbourhood, Kumluca District, Antalya Province in southeast Lycia), together with those of another dynast, Mithrapata. The name Aruwatijesi is noted on the Pillar of Xanthos, again together with Mithrapata which suggests the were contemporaneous dynasts. "The first thirty lines of the next side of the inscription (b, east) continue the account of war-like events in which Trbbenimi, Mithrapata, Aruwatijesi, and Kherei take part." William Childs notes that Lycia had internal geographic divisions as indicated by the coinage from about the middle of the fifth century since a light standard (equal to the Attic) was used exclusively in the west (essentially the Xanthos valley and adjoining areas) and a heavy standard (basically Persian) in the east (Phellos to Limyra). He further notes that although some dynasts minted on only one or the other standard, several minted coins on both standard. The lettering on this coin is worn to the point of being indecipherable and so I cannot confirm its attribution specifically to Aruwatijesi, although the type is Lycian. The one notable piece of script visible is the T under one arm of the triskeles, but unfortunately I have been unable to find a die match for that.

Lydia, Sardes, AE21, civic issue, 7.82 g. Obv: Draped bust of Artemis right, bow and quiver behind shoulder. Rev: ΣAΡΔIANΩN, Athena standing left, holding Nike and spear, shield at her side.

In 189 BC Lydia was annexed to the kingdom of the Attalids, and, between this date and 133 BC, when it was included in the Roman Province of Asia, and even after that date, Sardes was one of the mints from which cistophori were issued. The autonomous bronze coinage of Sardes is contemporary with the cistophori and may extend down to the early part of the first century BC, after which there is here, as in most other towns in Roman Asia, an interval before the coinage begins again in Imperial times. The inscription on the autonomous bronze coins is ΣΑΡΔΙΑΝΩΝ, and they bear magistrates’ names, either in monogram form or at full length, in nominative case, without titles, but frequently with the addition of the patronymic.

Macedonia, Emathian District, Lete c. 530-480 BC. 1/8 stater, 1.27g. Obv: Satyr squatting right, to right and left pellet. Rev: Incuse square, rough

Its best to rely wholly on Hoovers summary of this problematic issue. He describes this coinage as follows "A vast silver coinage struck to the Thassian standard (c. 9.8g stater) in the late sixth and early fifth centuries BC was attributed to Lete since the nineteenth century on the basis of an extraordinarily worn inscription read on a single stater. In the early twentieth century, this inscription was reread as the name of Sirrai, a Paionian tribal capital on the Strymonic plain. More recently, it has been shown the apparent inscription is actually the product of wear and flan cracks and that the entire 'Lete' series is in fact anepigraphic. Released from the strictures imposed by the false legend, current scholarship has attempted to place the coinage at Eion, per perhaps most plausibly, at Berge in the Thasian peraia (mainland possessions). However, as the question of the mint attribution still remains a matter of controversy it seemed best to list the coinage under 'Lete' for the sake of convenience." [HGC 3, p200]. This coin was sold as an 1/8 stater (or trihemiobol) which would equate to 1.225g .

Macedonia, Philipp II of Macedonia AE15, 8.40g, 15.80 mm. 359-336 BC. Obv: Head of Apollo right, wearing taenia. Rev: Naked youth on horse prancing right, Π below

Soon after his coming to power the minting of Philip's silver coins started in Pella, and around 357/56 BC in Amphipolis as well . With his monetary reforms that were implemented in 345 BC, Philip II introduced a gold denomination for the first time in the history of Macedonia. The gold stater (104), as well as its fractions: 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 and 1/12 from the stater, were minted in the same mints. The Attic weight standard was used for the staters, while the local Macedonian one was used for the tetradrachms. The monetary system of Philip II was tri-metallic and his bronze coins were probably minted in both Pella and Amphipolis. Coins in all three metals continued to be minted in his name long after his death. The reverse-types of Philip’s coins are nearly all agonistic and refer either to the games celebrated by him at Dium in honour of the Olympian Zeus, or, preferably, to the great Olympian games where his chariots were victorious. We have, indeed, the direct assertion of Plutarch (Alex., c. 4) in favour of the latter hypothesis. There were two types in the issue of Philip II bronze coinage - youthful male head/youth riding horse prancing, and head of Herakles/charging horseman (smaller issue). This is likely Hoover denomination C.

Charles A. Lindbergh Medal of Congress; Obverse: profile bust of Lindbergh wearing a leather flight helmet, embossed letter text "LINDBERGH MEDAL OF THE CONGRESS UNITED STATES OF AMERICA"; Reverse: a relief of a lone eagle in flight through day and night depicted.

Charles Lindbergh flew the Spirit of St. Louis from Roosevelt Field on May 20, 1927, landing safely in landed at Le Bourget Aerodrome 33 hours and 30 minutes after leaving New, making him the first pilot to fly trans-Atlantic flight solo. The plane was a custom-built, single-engine monoplane designed for long-distance flight. Note that the Atlantic had been crossed before in 1919 by Alcock and Brown in a Vickers Vimy, but this was not solo and was Newfoundland to Ireland rather than spanning the mainland continents. In 1927 the US Congress authorized the creation of a gold medal to be presented to Lindbergh. This resolution also included a provision for the US Mint to strike up to 10 million bronze replicas of the medal for public distribution. Any profits over $500,000 were to be spent on aviation research. It is difficult to date this example of the replica medal they were produced over such a long period, however later ones have US Mint inscribed on the edge (this example does not). The medal was engraved by Laura Gardin Frazer, who by this time was already a celebrated sculptor and artist. In addition to the Lindberg medal she engraved the George C. Marshall and Benjamin Franklin Congressional Medals of Honour. Her husband, James Earle Fraser, was responsible for the design of the iconic buffalo nickel.

Mysia, Kyzikos. AR Trihemiobol. 1.03 g. After 480 BC. Obv: Forepart of running boar left, tunny fish swimming upwards behind. Rev: Head of roaring lion left, within shallow incuse square.

The early silver fractional coinage of Kyzikos emerged alongside its renowned electrum currency, likely in the late 6th or early 5th century BC. These silver coins were issued in small denominations, such as hemiobols (half-obols) and diobols, to facilitate everyday transactions. While the electrum coins were reserved for larger trade and wealth storage, the fractional silver coinage served the local population and smaller-scale exchanges. The designs on these coins typically mirrored the themes found on the electrum series, with the tunny fish as a central symbol representing Kyzikos' maritime economy. Other imagery included mythological figures and animals, often tied to local legends or the city's prosperity. Silver coinage of this period was minted on the Milesian standard (6.0g drachm).

Mysia, Pergamon. 133-67 BC. Cistophoric Tetradrachm. Obv: Serpent emerging from cista mystica; all within ivy wreath. Rev: Bow-case with two serpents; monogram within wreath and AP above, monogram in left field, serpent-entwined thyrsus right.

Archaeological finds can place the settlement of Pergamon to the late 8th century BC based on fragments of pottery imported from the west, particularly eastern Greece and Corinth. The earliest mention of Pergamon in literary sources comes from Xenophon's Anabasis, since the march of the Ten Thousand under Xenophon's command ended at Pergamon in 399 BC. At this time Pergamon was in the possession of the family of Gongylos from Eretria, who had taken refuge in Asia Minor and obtained the territory of Pergamon from Xerxes I. Later Pergamon was part of the Attalid kingdom, created when Philetairos, one of Lysimachus' lieutenants, rebelled and took the city. The cistophorus was introduced shortly before 190 BC to provide the Attalid kingdom with a civic identity separate from that expressed by the tetradrachms of Seleucus and Philetairos. The term cistophoric refers to the sacred chest (Latin: cista) of Dionysus which features on the obverse. It was tariffed at four drachmas but weighed only as much as three Attic drachmas (12.75g). The evidence of hoards suggests that it did not travel outside the area which Pergamum controlled. It is therefore probable that it was overvalued in this area. In any case, the result was a closed monetary system such as that found in the Ptolemaic Kingdom. These coins continued to be minted and circulated by the Romans with different types and legends, but the same weight, long after the kingdom was bequeathed to Rome.

Pamphylia, Aspendos, AR Stater. ca. 465-430 BC. 18.5 mm, 10.80 g. Obv: Naked warrior walking right, holding sword, shield on left arm. Rev: Triskeles of human legs in incuse square.

In 5th century BC, the Pamphylians started producing coins in Aspendos. The city’s mint was prolific in ancient times, reflecting the city’s prosperity. Aspendos' first staters figuring a warrior on the obverse had a triskeles as the main type on the reverse, which subsequently became a symbol figuring in the field alongside the main reverse type (slinger) on the wrestler staters. The triskeles proper, composed of three human legs, is younger than the triple spiral, found in decorations on Greek pottery especially as a design shown on hoplite shields, and later also minted on Greek and Anatolian coinage. An early example is found on the shield of Achilles in an Attic hydria of the late 6th century BC. It is found on coinage in Lycia, and on staters of Pamphylia and Pisidia. The meaning of the Greek triskeles is not recorded. Generally, two Greek letters or symbols appear between the legs and are thought to be abbreviations for the Magistrates name having mint jurisdiction during the time of engraving and striking.

Constantine I the Great AD 306-337. Antioch. Follis Æ. 16 mm, 1,60 g

Constantine I, also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, and the first to convert to Christianity. Born in Dacia, he was the son of Flavius Constantius, a Roman army officer of Illyrian origin who had been one of the four rulers of the Tetrarchy. His mother, Helena, was a Greek Christian of low birth. Constantine served with distinction under the Roman emperors Diocletian and Galerius. He began his career by campaigning in the eastern provinces (against the Persians) before being recalled in the west (in AD 305) to fight alongside his father in Britain. After his father's death in 306, Constantine became emperor. He was acclaimed by his army at Eboracum (York, England), and eventually emerged victorious in the civil wars against emperors Maxentius and Licinius to become the sole ruler of the Roman Empire by 324. Upon his ascension to emperor, Constantine enacted numerous reforms to strengthen the empire. He restructured the government, separating civil and military authorities. To combat inflation, he introduced the solidus, a new gold coin that became the standard for Byzantine and European currencies for more than a thousand years. The Roman army was reorganized to consist of mobile units and garrison troops which were capable of countering internal threats and barbarian invasions. Constantine pursued successful campaigns against the tribes on the Roman frontiers—such as the Franks, the Alemanni, the Goths and the Sarmatians—and resettled territories abandoned by his predecessors during the Crisis of the Third Century with citizens of Roman culture.

Constantine I the Great, 307-337 AD. Bronze follis, struck 324-325 AD. Obv: His laureate head right, CONSTANTINVS AVG Rev: Roman castle camp-gate with two turrets, star above, PROVIDENTIAE AVGG; Mintmark below.

The Camp-Gate Follis of Constantine I is a notable coin from the Roman Empire, minted between 307-337 AD. The obverse features CONSTANTINVS AVG, a laureate head of Constantine I facing right. The reverse depicts a camp gate with two turrets and a star above, symbolizing protection and divine providence. This type of coin was widely circulated and represents Constantine's efforts to stabilize and defend the empire. The Trier mint produced many of these coins, making them relatively common but historically significant

Sicily, Gela. AR Didrachm (8.44g). c. 485-475 BC. Obv: Horseman riding right, preparing to cast javelin. Rev: ΓΕΛΑΣ, forepart of man-headed bull right within incuse circle.

Gela started to produce silver coinage on the Attic standard (17.2g tetradrachm) in the early 5th century BC. The initial coinage featured a cavalryman on a horse on the obverse and either the full man-faced bull or the forepart on the tetradrachm and didrachm respectively. The didrachm featured here was discontinued by Hieron I. The man-faced bull is often associated with Achelous and is first seen on an incuse silver drachm from Rhegion in c. 510 BC and then on the incuse coinage of Laus from 510-500 BC. Whilst it also appears on coins from Metapontion between 440 to 430 BC it does not seem to have featured on those of other important cities of Magna Graecia such as Sybaris, Taras or Croton, perhaps because they already had well established types. The first depictions in Sicily are in around 490 BC on the coins of Gela.

Sicily, Morgantina. AE 16 mm, c. 340 BC. Obv: Head of Apollo right, laureate. Rev: Tripod. 3.44 g. 16.00 mm.

The history of Morgantina is not very well documented and the earliest date mentioned in relation to it is in the writings of Diodorus Siculus "While these events were taking place [459 BC], in Sicily the king of the Siceli, Ducetius, a man of famous family and influential at this time, founded the city of Menaenum and distributed the neighbouring territory among the settlers, and making a campaign against the strong city of Morgantina and reducing it, he won fame among his own people." Morgantina was a native Sikel city which adopted Greek culture including the production of silver coinage on the Sicilian standard (0.86g litra) in the late 460s and bronze coinage in the late 4th century. The civic coinage of Morgantina typically has a full or abbreviated Greek legend containing the name of city, in this case [Μ] ΟΡΓΑ [ΝΤΙΝΩΝ]. This denomination (Hoover refers it as type C) has the head of Alkos on the obverse and a tripod on the reverse. Note that the reference to Alkos originates from text found on the obverse, which Barkley Head ascribes to a local river god, whereas the portrait is typically referred to as Apollo. We know that Morgantina endured well into the Roman period as it is referenced again by Diodorus when describing the Second Servile War "one of the leaders of the revolted slaves in Sicily, had been accustomed to play on the flute in the orgies of the women, and was supposed to have a knowledge of divination, for which reason he was elected king by the slaves in B. C. 103. He displayed considerable abilities, and in a short time collected an army of 20,000 foot and 2000 horse, with which he laid siege to Morgantina, a strong city in Sicily"

Sicily, Syracuse, under Hiketas. AE 25, 288-279 BC, 25.0mm 8.64g. Obv. ΔIOΣ EΛΛANIOY Laureate head of young Zeus Hellanios right. Rev. ΣYΡAK-OΣIΩN, Eagle standing left on thunderbolt

Hiketas was tyrant of Syracuse, during the interval between the reign of Agathocles and the arrival of Pyrrhus of Epirus (fresh from his wars in Southern Italy). Hiketas was assigned as leader of the army of Syracuse by the Fourth Democracy (289-287) to defend it against an attack by Mainon of Segesta, who is believed to have poisoned the previous ruler Agathocles, supported by the Carthaginians. Hiketas was defeated and had to provide hostages for good behaviour to the Carthaginians but the settlement allowed him to stay in power as tyrant of Syracuse. This does not seem to have worked as Hiketas attached the Carthaginians again a few years later and suffered another defeat at the battle of the Terias River, while within the city he had been deposed by Thynion. The Carthaginians then besieged Syracuse and Pyrrhus is invited to defend the city. Dionysius I had introduced broad changes to bronze coinage together with the removal of civic silver coinage. This bronze coinage was increased in diameter and weight and was produced in large quantities, serving as token ('fait') coinage, perhaps indicating a dearth of silver available for domestic use rather than the payment of mercenaries. This bronze coinage continued to evolve and under Hiketas it was struck in two series. One of these features Persephone/Quadriga as types, and the other Zeus Hellianos/Eagle on thunderbolt, of which this coin is an example.

Sicily, Syracuse. Time of Hieron II. Obv: Laureate head to left; wheel(?) behind. Rev: Warrior, holding couched lance, on horse prancing to right

Hieron II (c. 305 BC – 215 BC) was the Greek tyrant of Syracuse from 270 to 215 BC. He was a former general of Pyrrhus of Epirus and an important figure of the First Punic War. On the departure of Pyrrhus from Sicily (275 BC) the Syracusan army and citizens appointed him commander of the troops and he immediately took control of the city. He then led his troops against a group of unemployed Campanian mercenaries called the Mamertines, after the Oscan war god Mamers. They were defeated (and Hieron II left his own mercenaries on the field to be slaughtered). In 264 BC he again sortied against the Mamertines at their base in Messana and defeated them at the battle of the Longanos river. However, the Mamertines were re-enforced by Hannibal, causing Hieron II to ally with Rome in response. This conflict was the start of the first Punic war and he remained their ally throughout both this and the second Punic war. Hieron struck extensive bronze coinage after he was declared King in 264 BC. This coin is denomination A, pairing the royal portrait (first laureate then diademed) on the obverse with a charging cavalryman on the reverse. The bronze litra was divided into twelve onkiai, from which the Roman uncia would derive its name. Unlike the cities to the east, those of Magna Graecia, and especially Sicily, often engraved a denominational mark on their bronze fractions, composed of pellets relative to the size of the fraction. The hemilitron, or 6 onkiai, with a mark of value composed of six pellets, was also struck, as well as the pentonkion (5 onkiai; five pellets), the tetras (4 onkiai; four pellets), the trias (3 onkiai; three pellets), the hexas (2 onkiai; two pellets), and the onkia itself (one pellet). This bronze has no pellets evident. A Hemilitron was 0.43g of silver but here you need to convert to bronze (The litra was at first represented by a small silver coin weighing 0.86 g). I can’t find a direct silver-bronze conversion in the texts but given this17.61g coin is referenced as a Hemilitron is it too much of a stretch to say that in Sicily 17.61g of bronze = 0.43g of silver, so about 40:1.

Sikyona, Sikyon. Hemidrachm, 330-300 BC, 16.0mm 2.77g. Obv. Chimera passing left. Rev. Dove flying left

Sikyon was an ancient Greek city state situated in the northern Peloponnesus between Corinth and Achaea. An ancient monarchy at the times of the Trojan War, the city was ruled by a number of tyrants during the Archaic and Classical period and became a democracy in the 3rd century BC. The list of the 26 mythical kings of Sikyon ends with Agamemnon, king of Mycenae. For some centuries it remained under the control of Dorian Argos, but after 676 BC Sicyon regained its independence under a line of tyrants called the Orthagorides. During the Persian Wars, the Sicyonians participated with fifteen triremes in the Battle of Salamis and with 3,000 hoplites in the Battle of Plataea. On the Delphic Serpent Column celebrating the victory Sicyon was named in fifth place after Sparta, Athens, Corinth and Tegea. In the Peloponnesian War Sicyon followed the lead of Sparta and Corinth. During the 4th century BC, the city reached its zenith as a centre of art: its school of painting gained fame under Eupompus and attracted the great masters Pamphilus and Apelles as students, while Lysippus and his pupils raised the Sicyonian sculpture to a level hardly surpassed anywhere else in Greece. In 303 BC Sicyon was conquered by Demetrius Poliorcetes who razed the ancient city in the plain and built a new wall on the ruins of the old Acropolis. Sikyon produced coinage on the Aeginetic standard (12.2g Didrachm) from the middle of the 5th century BC. The standard type of the period was a dove of Aphrodite and the letter San (early version of sigma). The coins of Sikyon filled the vacuum left by the cessation of coinage from Aegina after the expulsion of that population by the Athenians in 431 BC. The obverse was changed to a Chimera from the start of the 4th century BC. The drachms feature the same chimera/dove combination, but the obols have a dove on each side, or a dove paired with the head of Apollo. In the late fourth century the mint only produced hemidrachms, of which this coin is an example.

Thessaly, Kierion. Circa 350 BC. Trihemiobol (Silver, 15 mm, 1.19 g, 12 h). Obv: Head of the nymph Arne to right. Rev: KIEPIEIΩΝ The nymph Arne kneeling right, head to left, playing with astragaloi.

Little is known of the appearance or political history of Kierion in antiquity. It was situated in a plain and defended by a circuit wall and fortified acropolis, but few architectural remains survive. Inscriptions indicate the presence of sanctuaries dedicated to Artemis, Herakles and Poseidon Kourerios. It is assumed that Kierion with the rest of the Thessalian League fell under the domination of the Macedonian king, Phillip II. Silver coinage begins at Kierion in the mid-fifth century BC and according to Hoover, after a hiatus in minting during the mid-fourth century BC, production seems to have resumed in the late 4th Century BC with two series of Aiginetic-weights issues. What appears to the be earlier of the two involves trihemiobols pairing the head of Arna with her full figure playing knucklebones and obols featuring a prancing horse and a hero derived from depictions of Ajax on contemporary issues of Opountian Lokris. This coin is an example of the former with the name KIEPI-EIΩN in the reverse field.

Thessaly, Perrhaebi. 300-200 BC. AE Trichalkon (19.5mm, 7.38g). Obv: Laureate head of Zeus right. Rev:ΠΕΡΡΑΙΒΩΝ, Hera, wearing chiton and veil, seated right on stool, holding sceptre, ΣΩ to inner right.

The Perrhaebi were an ancient Greek people who lived on the western slopes of Olympus, on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, having been driven there by the Thessalians between 900 and 700 BC. Herodotus lists them as contributing to the army of Xerxes in his invasion of Greece and indeed the invasion came through their land "they were informed that there was another pass besides this to the Thessalian land by upper Macedonia through the Perrhaebians and by the city of Gonnos, the way by which the army of Xerxes did in fact make its entrance." [Histories 1.173]. While subject to Thessaly, they did have some degree of political independence, as illustrated by their vote in the Amphitryonic league.* Perrhaebi was annexed by Phillip II during the Third Sacred War between the Amphitryonic league and Phokis and did not regain their independence until the end of the Second Macedonian war in 198 BC when it was declared free by the victorious Romans. Perrhaebian coinage was introduced in the 5th century BC with a series of obols on the Aiginetic standard (12.2g didrachm stater), with a type similar to that of Argos (wolf/bull and head of horse in incuse square). This issue was later expanded to include drachms and other fractions. Silver coin production ceased under Macedonian control and restarted after the Third Macedonian War on the Attic standard (17.2g tetradrachm). Bronze coinage - denomination C - was introduced in the late fourth century (mint may have been Ososson or Phalanna) and by the late third century BC this denomination is replaced by denomination D pairing the head of Hera and a standing Zeus. In the second century BC it was replaced by denomination B again pairing Zeus and Hera. This coin is an example of denomination B. *[Courtesy of Wikipedia] An Amphitryonic league is an ancient religious association of tribes formed before the rise of the Greek poleis. The oldest religious Amphitryonic League was known as Anthelion league because it was centred on the cult of the chthonic goddess Demeter at Anthela.

Thrace, Byzantion. Ae (3rd century BC). Alliance issue with Kalchedon. Obv: Veiled head of Demeter right, wearing grain wreath. Rev: BYZAN / KAΛXA. Poseidon seated right on rocks, holding aphlaston and trident; ΔA to inner right. Weight: 10.57 g. Diameter: 27 mm.

Byzantion was founded by Megarian colonists in 657 BC, a few years after the foundation of Kalchedon was established, and was named after their leader Byzas (in myth Byzas is the son of Io and Zeus). Its position at the mouth of the Bosporus meant it could control the Black Sea's only entrance. The city was captured by the Persian Empire at the time of the Scythian campaign of King Darius I in 513 BC. It joined the Ionian revolt of 499 BC but was recaptured by the Persians at the end of the war. According to Heroditus "The people of Byzantion and those of Chalcedon opposite did not even wait for the coming of the Persian ships, but had left their own land first and departed, going within the Euxine; and there they settled in the city of Mesembria " [Histories 4.87]. The city was occupied by the Great King and put under the control of the pro-Persian Greek Ariston, recovering its independence as part of the Delian league in 478 BC. In its later history it joined the Northern League formed to oppose the northern expansion of the Seleucid empire. Bronze coinage appears in the late fourth century BC and several issues were struck in the second and third centuries BC in alliance with Kalchedon based on type B (coupling the head of Demeter with Poseidon on the reverse). The names of both cities are on the coinage. These coins serve as historical evidence of the close relationship between Byzantion and Kalchedon during that period. The exact reasons for their alliance are not explicitly documented, but it likely involved shared interests, trade, and mutual defence. Such alliances were common among ancient Greek city-states for economic, strategic, and cultural reasons. An Aphlaston is the upward curving stern of an ancient warship.

Thrace, Thasos, 510-490 BC. AR Stater. Obv: Naked ithyphallic satyr carrying off a nymph who raises her arm in protest. Rev: Quadrapartite incuse square.

The early coinage of Thasos appears from about 550 BC and was minted on the Babylonian standard (8.4g didrachm). Thasos was under the influence of the Persians and around the time of the Ionian revolt Darius I compelled them to surrender their ships and tear down their city walls. After the successive defeats of the Persians Thasos joined the Delian league in 478 BC, and coinage would have stopped from 450 BC in response to the Coinage Decree. It revolted from the league in 411 BC, accepting a Lacedaemonian governor; but in 407 BC the partisans of Lacedaemon were expelled, and the Athenians under Thrasybulus were admitted. The consistent type of the coins down to the time of Phillip II was a satyr carrying off a nymph, sometimes described as a maenad (maenads were the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of the Thiasus, the god's retinue. Their name literally translates as "raving ones". During the orgiastic rites of Dionysus, maenads roamed the mountains and forests performing frenzied, ecstatic dances and were believed to be possessed by the god). Coinage ceased under Phillip, Alexander and Lysimachus but was active again for a few years around 280 BC. It was not until the closing of the Macedonian mints in around 148 BC that you get the enormous quantities of Thassian staters in the new style (broad flans with the head of Dionysius matches with Herakles holding a club). There are three types of the "satyr carrying off a nymph" silver coin types which help to date them: 1. Early issues (ca 550-478 BC) show the nymph's raised hand with palm and thumb only, like a wide V 2. Intermediate issues (ca 480- 404 BC) show her raised hand with three or four fingers and a thumb 3. Late issues (ca 411-371 BC) have the nymph's hand on the shoulder behind the satyr's head On this basis, the coin illustrated here is an early drachm.

Troas, Gergis. Ae (4th century BC). Obv: Laureate head of Sibyl Herophile facing slightly right. Rev: ΓΕΡ. Sphinx seated right. Weight: 0.73 g. Diameter: 90 mm.

Bostock in his commentary on Pliny's Natural History describes Gergis as "a town in the Troad, north of Scamander. It was a place with an acropolis and strong walls. Attalus, king of Pergamum, transplanted the people of Gergis to another spot near the sources of the Caïcus, whence we afterwards find a place called Gergetha or Gergithion, in the vicinity of Larissa. The old town of Gergis was by some said to have been the birth-place of the Sibyl, and its coins have her image impressed on them." The Sibyl (or prophetess) in this case maybe sibyl at Erythrae, thought to have lived in the eighth century BC. The sibyl on the obverse of this coin references that association. The city was certainly old and Heroditus describes the inhabitants as a remanent of the ancient Teucrians [Histories 5.122]. In Homer's Odyssey the people of Troy often referred to themselves as "Teucrians". For example, Aeneas is called the "great captain of the Teucrians". So it may be interesting to imagine the inhabitants of Gergis as being the last remnants of the Trojans. As a tie back to the sibyl, the Erythraean Sibyl to have predicted the Trojan War and prophesied to the Greeks who were moving against Ilium both that Troy would be destroyed and that Homer would write falsehoods.

Achaia, Achaean League, Antigoneia (Mantineia) Silver Hemidrachm c188-180 BC. Obv: Laureate head of Zeus right. Rev: Achaian League monogram; A-N across field, monogram below; all within wreath

In the First Macedonian war in 212-205 BC the Achaian league sided with the Macedonians against the Romans but switched sides in the Second Macedonian war, during which it defeated the Spartans to take control of the entire Peloponnese and bring Sparta into the League. Although the league supported the victorious Romans in the Third Macedonian war, Rome sought to reduce Greek power and in addition to harsh penalties to those who opposed them, it took 1,000 Achaeans perceived to have supported Perseus of Macedon back to Rome for trial (one of these was the historian Polybios). After the Fourth Macedonian war tensions within the Achaian league itself, with Sparta seeking to regain its independence from the league, erupted into war in which the Spartan succession was prevented but only at the cost of further involvement of Rome. This friction and the leagues high-handed treatment of Roman representatives lead to war between Rome and the Achaian league itself in 146 BC. The league was defeated and only continued to exist wholly subservient to the authority of Rome. The silver coinage of the league after its reformation in 281 BC consisted of hemidrachms struck on a declining Aiginetic standard known as the Symmachic or Alliance standard. The head of Zeus Homarios ('who unites') on the obverse is paired with the monogram of the league within a wreath appears on the reverse. Early issues don't identify the mint city but the later ones have civic monograms or badges which do so. In this case of Mantinea (before 222) this is a trident (as with Pantallion); after 222 no symbol.

Aiolis, Kyme circa 350-250 BC. Obv: Eagle standing right. Rev: K-Y to left and right of cup with one handle, one pellet below

Kyme occupied a high ridge dominating a good harbour at the river mouth, which has silted up so as to become almost unusable. The abundant coinage of the city shows that it was a significant economic centre, but almost nothing is known of its history. Although Kyme joined the great Ionian revolt against the Persians (499-493 BC), it does not appear to have been severely punished by victorious Achaemenids. Indeed Ephorus of Kyme writes between 400 and 330 BC that while the events he wrote about were taking place, his fellow Kymeans had for centuries sat idly by and kept the peace. For thoughts on the coins of Kyme I turn to a summary by Aeteritas Numismatics In terms of numismatics, Kyme is famous among "everyday" collectors for their issues of small bronzes. Although there were certainly many successive series, they can be divided into two large groups. The first is characterized by the vessel type "skyphos" on reverse, varying somewhat the obverse motive (horse, eagle, etc). Its chronological arc has been set between 350 and 250 BC. The second one presents female bust to the right (the amazon named Kyme who founded the city according to local mythology) on obverse and horse in reverse. This second type was minted between 250 and 190 BC. In both groups the various series differ from each other by the names of the monetary magistrates (initials or monograms) and by the control marks.

Attica, Athens. Obol (Circa 515-510 BC). "Wappenmünzen" type. Obv: Wheel with four spokes. Rev: Quadripartite incuse square, divided diagonally. Weight: 0.53 g. Diameter: 8 mm.

The first mention of coinage in Athens is made by Aristotle, who refers in chapter 10 of his Athenaion Politeia to the reforms of weight, measures and coinage introduced by Solon (630 – c. 560 BC), including a move away from the didrachm as the standard unit. This places Athenian coins amongst the earliest in Greece. However there is much controversy around this and recent numismatic studies now lead to the conclusion that Athens probably had no coinage until around 560 BC, well after Solon's reforms. By 560 BC Solon had given way to another tyrant, Peisistratus, who was extremely popular with the people and laid the foundations for Athens expansion and commercial success. This was aided by the discovery of a new and particularly rich vein of silver in the mines of Laurium, which were controlled by Athens. Peisistratus died in 527 BC, and was succeeded by his sons Hippias and Hipparchus. With Hipparchus assassinated, and the unpopular Hippias overthrown with the help of an army from Sparta, Cleisthenes took charge in 510 BC and established democracy in Athens. The Athenians had issued a variety of silver coins beginning around the year 560 BC during the rule of the tyrant Peisistratus. These archaic coins are known as wappenmünzen (“badge coins”), a term used by 19th-century German numismatists on the theory that symbols appearing on the coins were heraldic badges of the city’s leading aristocratic families, but this is now doubted by most classical numismatists. About 14 different designs exist, none bearing an inscription of any kind. It is possible that the designs were changed annually. Given that the coins are attributed to the Peisistratids this means that the types were produced in a reasonably short timeframe before settling on the ubiquitous owl (via a Gorgonian transitional type). John H Kroll interprets this, not as heraldic badges, but " to be understood within the context of established Greek minting practice, their types must be recognized as the signatures of individuals entrusted with the minting of the successive issues."

Bruttium, The Brettii. AE 18 mm 4.60 g., c. 214-211 BC. Obv: Diademed bust of Nike left. Rev: Zeus striding right, brandishing thunderbolt and holding sceptre; to right, cornucopia.

According to Strabo, the Brettii were originally subservient to the Lucanians (an indigenous Oscan people). "The name of the tribe was given to it by the Leucani, for the Leucani call all revolters "brettii." The Brettii revolted, so it is said (at first they merely tended flocks for the Leucani, and then, by reason of the indulgence of their masters, began to act as free men)" [Geography 6.1.4] Hoover places this at around 356 BC. The Brettii were in constant conflict with the Greek cities of the region and in the middle of the fourth century they were responsible for the destruction of a weakened Sybaris (now on the river Trais) as well as the capture of Thurium, Hipponium and Terina. It was their subsequent alliance with the Lucanians that caused Taras to seek the help of Alexander the Molossian who was eventually defeated at the battle of Pandosia in 331 BC. They sided against the Romans in the Phyrric wars and in defeat were forced to become Roman allies, which ended with the invasion of Hannibal in the Second Punic war (218-201 BC). After defeat in that conflict they ceased to be a separate people and disappear from the historical sources. Strabo notes: "I have already spoken of those whose territory borders on the Tyrrhenian sea, while those who hold the interior are the people who live above the Gulf of Tarentum. But the latter, and the Brettii, and the Samnitae themselves (the progenitors of these peoples) have so utterly deteriorated that it is difficult even to distinguish their several settlements; and the reason is that no common organization longer endures in any one of the separate tribes; and their characteristic differences in language, armour, dress, and the like, have completely disappeared; and, besides, their settlements, severally and in detail, are wholly without repute. " [Geography 6.1.2] This coin dates to the middle of the Second Punic War, during which the Brettians struck extensive silver coinage on a distinct Brettian standard (4.7g drachm), having previously minted on the reduced Tarentine standard (5.8g didrachm stater). They also struck substantial bronze coinage in five denominations. This coins is an early issue of denomination C. All bronze coins are stamped with the full legend BΡETTIΩN. No specific mint for these coins is noted, perhaps because they had no principle city of their own.

Bruttium, Kaulonia circa 475-425 BC. 1/3 Stater AR. Obv. Apollo advancing right brandishing laurel branch. Rev. Stag standing right.

In common with these cities the early coinage was incuse and on the Achaean standard (7.9g to the tri-drachm stater). The coinage of Caulonia has two clear-cut divisions: namely, incuse and double-relief. The incusi are separable according to flan-diameters. Four steps or gradations are distinguishable. The broadest flan-diameters are found on the earliest coins and the changes to smaller flan-diameters are abrupt rather than gradual. The earliest at 30mm down to the size found in the double relief staters at 21mm. The last incuse staters approximate in size the first double-relief coins as well as contemporary coins of the neighbouring cities of Croton, Metapontum, and Tarentum. The drachm here is underweight at 2.0g which is understandable given how worn it is. Apollo advancing right brandishing laurel branch; stag standing on reverse. Should have a karanthos above and Φ below. There is very faint lettering on the obverse where you can just about make out KAV.

Bruttium, Kroton, AR Diobol c.280-250 BC. Obv: Head of Athena in Corinthian helmet right. ϘΡΟT above. Rev: Herakles standing right leaning on club.

This diobol shows Heracles which I have seen as described with a club but more likely according to Hoover is that it is infant Heracles strangling snakes to kill him sent by Hera. If it aligns to HN Italy 2198 then the reverse will say OIKITAΣ, the obverse has KPOT. This is on the Tarentine standard (Drachm @ 3.3g makes an obol 0.55 g and a diobol 1.10g – this is 1.14g).

Bruttium, Kroton. 525-425 BC. Obv. Delphic tripod. Right, ϘPO (retrograde). Rev. Pegasus in flight left, Ϙ below.

Kroton has a very considerable output of staters, which appear to be accompanied by practically no fractions down to about 480; thereafter (the dumpy incuse phase) there appear a few drachmae, a number of triobols, a very few diobols, and very rarely an obol. This is an early and underweight triobol (1.15g instead of c1.3g) with the Krotonite tripod on the obverse and a Pegasus on the reverse. The lettering uses the archaic ϙ on both sides. The resemblance to the obverse of the archaic drachms of Corinth should be noted (see Calciati, Pegasi 2, SNG Lockett 2018).

Bruttium, Locri Epizephiroi. AE 23 mm. period of Pyrrhus, c. 280-275 BC. Obv: Head of Athena left, wearing plain Corinthian helmet, without neck-guard; behind, barley ear. Rev: Pegasos flying left; below, monogram and ΛOKPΩN. 10.87 g. 23.00 mm.

When Locrian coinage appeared, it seems to have been on dual standard. Fourth century staters and fractions were minted on the the Achaian standard (c 7.9g to the tridrachm stater) with the type of the head of Zeus and an eagle or an eagle with a thunderbolt. In parallel with this are staters and drachms minted on the Corinthian standard (c. 8.6g to the tridrachm stater), which also mirrored the Corinthian types of Pegasus and the head of Athena. Bronze coinage was introduced at the same time as the silver staters and by the time of the Phyrric war there were five bronze denominations. Denominations A and B (and one issue of denomination C) feature Athena paired with Pegasus. All of the bronze coins carry the full or abbreviated legend naming 'the Lokrians' as the issuing authority. This coin is denomination A/B.

Bruttium, Terina, c. 300 BC. AR Drachm (15mm, 2.33g, 12h). Obv: Female head left, wearing triple-pendant earring; [triskeles] behind. Rev: Nike seated left on cippus, holding bird in extended right hand; monogram to left

Coinage began in Terina c 460 BC and consisted of staters on the Achaian standard (7.8g to the tridrachm nomos) and smaller fractions. Over its entire production, the coinage features a female head on the obverse and Nike in various poses on the reverse. In this example Nike is sitting on what is possibly a cippus - a low, round or rectangular pedestal set up by the Ancient Romans for purposes such as a milestone or a boundary post - or a pedestal. This coin is underweight (should be c. 2.63g) but that can be attributed to the obvious wear. Hoover tightens up the date of this issue to 299-289 BC, when the city would have been under Brettian control.

Calabria, Taras. Obol, 280-228 BC, 9.0mm 0.63g. Obv: Shell. Rev: Dolphin above a thunderbolt.

The Tarentines invited King Pyhrros of Epirus (nephew of Alexander the Molossian) to assist them and in the Phyrric wars that followed (280-275 BC) the Romans and the Tarentines fought each other to a virtual standstill, ending with the surrender of Taras in 275 from which point it became a Roman allied city (though it briefly allied with Hannibal in the second Punic war and was subsequently sacked by the Romans). This particular type with the shell on the obverse was used over an extended period but the closest I can assess, given its degraded state, is that it is a later issue and that is based on the thunderbolt on the reverse. If this attribution is correct then this is a tenth stater (which would be about right in terms of weight on the Tarentine standard of the date).

Campania, Neapolis. AR Didrachm, c. 300 BC. Obv: Head of nymph right, surrounded by dolphins. Rev: Man-headed bull right; above, Nike flying right, placing wreath on bull.

The original Euboic standard of the mid-fifth century BC (17.2g to the tridrachm stater) was quickly superseded by the Phocaic standard (16.1g tetradrachm), evolving into the Campanian standard (7.3g didrachm) by the late 5th century. The standard and the type of Parthenope (the city also had a temple to Demeter so the attribution to Parthenope is not clear) on the obverse and Achelous on the reverse survives until the mid-third century, when the final type of Apollo/Cavalryman signals the end of independent civic coinage in the city. The types of the Neapolitan coins are probably agonistic (relating to the athletic contests). The head of most frequent occurrence on the obverse is Parthenope variously represented in profile, and occasionally facing with flowing hair. In honour of Parthenope, identified as the local goddess of Neapolis, annual games were celebrated. The man-headed bull on the reverses is thought to be the River-god Achelous. This particular coin was sold as HN Italy 576 but there seem to be very few examples of this with the dolphins surrounding on the obverse, which is more reminiscent of Syracuse. I would reference this as SNGCop 413, SNG Lockett 89. This is Period II, ending 241 BC.

Caria, Halicarnassus. C. 510-480 BC. AR hecte (12mm). Obv: Head of ketos right, with pointed ear, pinnate mane, long snout, and mouth open with protruding tongue. Rev: Design with four lattice concave sides, segmented border, and central starburst; all in square incuse. .

At an early period Halicarnassus was a member of the Doric Hexapolis, which included Kos, Cnidus, Lindos, Kameiros and Ialysus; but it was expelled from the league when one of its citizens, Agasicles, took home the prize tripod which he had won in the Triopian games, instead of dedicating it according to custom to the Triopian Apollo. Halicarnassus' history was special on two interlinked issues. Halicarnassus retained a monarchical system of government at a time when most other Greek city states had long since rid themselves of their kings. And secondly, while their Ionian neighbours rebelled against Persian rule, Halicarnassus remained loyal to the Persians and formed part of the Persian Empire until Alexander the Great captured it at the siege of Halicarnassus in 333 BC. [Wikipedia]. Nonetheless, most people would be familiar with it as the home of one of the wonders of the ancient world - the mausoleum of Halicarnassus, otherwise known as the Tomb of Mausolus. Mausolus (377–353) was claimed by Strabo to have extended Halicarnassus by amalgamating six other cities into the exiting city, which had originally been called Zephyra. [Geography, 13.1.59]. This coin features a Ketos on the obverse, which was in mythology the sea monster than Perseus slayed to save Andromeda. Andromeda had been chained to a rock on the Ethiopian littoral by her parents to appease Poseidon, whom they had offended by saying that she was more beautiful than the Nereids.

Euboea, Histiaia. AR tetrobol. 196-146 BC; 14.0 mm, 1.75 g. Obv: Head of nymph Histiaia right, wreathed with vine. Rev: Nymph Histiaia seated right on stern of galley, holding naval standard

Histiaia produced no independent coinage until the mid-4th century when it struck octobols, drachms and tetrobols on the Attic standard (17.2g tetradrachm). The mint did not produce coins from the end of the fourth to the early third centuries BC, but when it recommenced it struck exclusively the tetrobols, with the weight decreasing until by the time of the Third Macedonian war (171 - 168 BC) they weighed round 2.0g. This coins is minted in that later period and even then it is light at 1.75g.

Ionia, Ephesos, AR drachm, 500-420 BC. Obv: Bee surrounded by EΦ-EΣI-O-N. Rev: Four-part hollow square. 3.29 g.

Ephesos was home to the temple of Artemis, who aligned with the old Asiatic nature goddess whose symbols were the stag and the bee. The high priest of the temple of Artemis was called the 'King bee' and the virgin priestesses were called Melissae or honey-bees. The iconography of the bee can clearly be seen on the obverse of this coin.

Alexander III AR Drachm. c310-301 BC. Kolophon mint. Obv: Head of Herakles right, wearing lionskin headdress. Rev: AΛEΞANΔΡOY, Zeus seated left, holding eagle and sceptre, K to left, crescent beneath chair.

Alexander's coins, the most familiar being the silver issues bearing a head of Herakles on one face and a seated Zeus with the king's name on the other, were struck throughout the empire. Such coins were not only minted during Alexander's lifetime, but their issue was continued in the two decades following his death by the Macedonian generals who divided the empire between them and created the Hellenistic kingdoms. Even as the successor kings initialled coinages in their own names and with their own types the "Alexanders" lived on for two centuries during which time they were issued by independent cities as an international coinage. Given this was minted over centuries it is difficult to place but a match based on the K (with bar) monogram in the left field, no text on left and what seems to be a crescent moon beneath the chair (I have seen described as a Phrygian cap) is possibly Price 1825b. The match on Wildwinds is listed as Kolophon mint and the dimensions are spot on at 17mm. The weight of 4.09g is well under this coin at 4.42g but interestingly the Price example is listed as 4.04g, so about spot on. Give the date and mint location, this is an Alexander type minted under Antigonus I Monophthalmus.

Ionia, Miletos. AR 1/12 Stater. c 525 BC. Obv: Lion's head right. Rev: Star ornament within incuse square

These coins are most often described as Lydo-Milesian twelfth staters with a standard weight of 1.18 g, but in SNG Copenhagen (1982: #944–955) it is conjectured that there may in fact be two denominations within the type: “diobols” in the 1.07–1.24 g range, and “trihemiobols” in the 0.89–0.92 g range. This coin falls slightly on the high side at 1.27g however BMC 1994,0915.145 is an attributed example at 9mm (vs 8.8mm) and 1.28g (vs 1.27g)

Cycladic Islands, Delos. Bronze, 280-166 BC, 9.7mm 0.84g Obv: Laureate head of Apollo. Rev: Kithara, Δ-Η separated left and right.

As pointed out by Oliver Hoover “Technically speaking, Delos is not a Cycladic Island, but rather the island that the Cyclades are considered to encircle. According to mythological accounts, Delos was a free-floating island that provided refuge to the Titaness, Leto, when she gave birth to the twin deities, Apollo and Artemis.” The Homeric Ode to Apollo capture this as Leto says "Delos, if you would be willing to be the abode of my son "Phoebus Apollo and make him a rich temple — ; for no other will touch you, as you will find: and I think you will never be rich in oxen and sheep, nor bear vintage nor yet produce plants abundantly. But if you have the temple of far-shooting Apollo, all men will bring you hecatombs and gather here, and incessant savour of rich sacrifice will always arise, and you will feed those who dwell in you from the hand of strangers; for truly your own soil is not rich." From the mid-10th century BC, the island was populated by Ionian Greeks and established a sanctuary dedicated to Apollo. Delos was therefore a sacred island and its temple complex received patronage from the surrounding islands and also from powerful families in the Greek mainland. Peisistratus, the tyrant of Athens (546-518 BC) is said to have performance a ritual purification of the island. In 478 BC Delos became the centre for the Delian League and Thucydides notes of the league members “Delos was their common treasury, and the congresses were held in the sanctuary.” In 426 BC, an overweening Athens purified the island once again and four years later drove out the native inhabitants on charges of ritual impurity. They returned after the Peloponnesian war. It subsequently became a hub for discontent between Spartan and Athenian factions. It did not avoid contact with the Diadochi, being made the centre for the Nesiotic league founded by Antigonos Monophthalmos and later taken over by Ptolemy I. It then become independent until the Romans placed it once again under Athenian control as a free port in 166 BC. Coinage was minted on the Attic-Euboïc standard (17.2g tetradrachms) with the prevalent type being the a kithara (associate with Apollo). Production ceased in 470 BC and did not recommence until the third century BC on the Rhodian standard (13.6g tetradrachm). It also struck two denominations of bronze coinage, of which this is an example of denomination E.

Islands off Troas, Tenedos. Early-mid 5th century BC. AR Hemidrachm (14mm, 1.77 g, 8h). Obv: Archaic janiform head, male on left, female on right (Zeus and Hera?). Rev: Labrys within pelleted border within incuse square.

Tenedos appears prominently in ancient literature. Homer mentions Apollo as the chief deity of Tenedos in his time "Hear me, god of the silver bow, who stand over Chryse and holy Cilla, and rule mightily over Tenedos" . According to him, the island was captured by Achilles during the siege of Troy, where Achilles killed the founder of the city, Tenes. Nestor obtained his slave Hecamede there during one of Achilles's raids. Nestor also sailed back from Troy stopping at Tenedos and island-hopping to Lesbos. Virgil, in the Aeneid, described the Achaeans hiding their fleet at the bay of Tenedos, toward the end of the Trojan War, to trick Troy into believing the war was over and allowing them to take the Trojan Horse within Troy's city walls. In Aeneid, it is also the island from which twin serpents came to kill the Trojan priest Laocoön and his sons as punishment for throwing a spear at the Trojan Horse. More historically, there is evidence of settlement in Tenedos since the bronze age, and it was settled by Aeolian Greeks from Lesbos before the 8th century BC. The early coinage of Tenedos was minted on the Phocaic standard (16.6g stater) - also used by Lesbos. From the mid-fifth century it moved to the Samian standard (13.08g stater). The type of the poleis has a joined male-female head, identified as either Zeus/Hera or Tenes/Hemithea, on the obverse and a double headed axe on the reverse (called a pelekys). This may be attributed to Dionysius Pelekys, though Aristotle believes it relates to a Tenedian law against adultery, punishable by beheading, while Plutarch as a different view "the inhabitants of Tenedos always kept a consecrated axe, a fancy taken from their esteem of the crabs that breed in that island near the promontory of Asterium, they being the only crabs that carry the figure of an axe upon the upper part of their shells ". The grapes appearing below the pelekys would seem to point to Dionysius and align with the symbology of the nearby island of Thasos, and also Maroneia. The lettering on this coins is retrograde, which I have not seen described elsewhere, although there are other examples of this to be found e.g. Jean Elsen & ses Fils 148,86 and also in the British Museum collection [1843,0726.9].

Lucania, Metapontum. Triobol circa 470-440, AR 12.00 mm., 0.97 g. Obv: Barley ear. Rev: Incuse bucranium.

Johnson notes that the fractional coinage of Metapontum is extremely rich, apparently from the very outset. However, there is no simple method of assigning these to a particular Noe class within the incuse period. There are sufficient numbers of dies for the fractions to be associated with each grouping (spread, thick and dumpy). There was apparently one obol with an incuse ox head design similar to the example here within the Taranto hoard. The other coin is a miniature of the stater and drachm, with an incuse ear of barley on the reverse. The copious number of fractions (as opposed to Taras or Croton for example, where fractions are fairy scarce) is explained by Stazio as the requirement for silver fractions to facilitate trade in agricultural projects. According to Hoover, for the most part Metapontine fractions mirror the types of the staters but there are example, such as this, of other types. Triobols of the early fifth century BC pair a grain ear with the incuse head of an ox. In the same period an unusual 2.5 obol denomination features five crescents on the reverse, while that of the diobol features a barleycorn or the head of Achelous. Diobols and obols of the fifth century occasionally carry the respective value marks o and oo. This coin is therefore a diobol of the ear of barley/barleycorn type with marks of value. Note that the descriptions of these small fractions seem to be all over the place in catalogues. Theoretically an Achaian standard obol should be 0.43g, a diobol double that and a triobol weighing in at 1.30g. So both of these coins are sitting in the region of heavy diobols. SNG Lloyd has fractions as ox-head triobols and barley corn diobols - not a mixture of obols and diobols. The most interesting aspect of this is the incuse reverses which is seen nearly uniquely in Southern Italy between 550 and 470 BC. This was achieved by creating a deep intaglio-carved obverse-die and a cameo-carved reverse die in high relief. There is no conclusive evidence why this particular technique was chosen, but it may be found on the early coinage of Croton, Caulonia, Metapontum, Sybaris, Taras, Laus and Poseidonia (and one example from Zankle in Sicily).

Lucania, Metapontion Æ 15mm. Circa 250-207 BC. Obv: Athena Promachos advancing to left, brandishing spear and shield. Rev: Owl standing on grain ear to right, head facing; META upwards to left. 3.12g, 15mm, 12h.

In the second half of the sixth century BC the city was producing Achaian weight nomoi (staters) and fractions featuring the city’s grain ear emblem on the reverse. Bronze coinage was introduced in the late 5th century BC and the types mirror those found on the silver issues. By the early third century the initial two bronze denominations (C and D) had risen to four main denominations with some unusual intermittent types. This coin is an example of one of the more unusual types, pairing Athena Promachos (first in battle) with an owl. Note that while it is usually difficult of impossible to align ancient Greek bronze coins with their equivalent silver value (except in Sicily), there is an example of a late 4th century BC Metapontion bronze inscribed with the word Obol, presumably to indicate the representative value.

Lucania, Metapontion. AR Nomos. Circa 340-330 BC. Obv: Head of Demeter left, wearing wreath of grain ears, single-pendant earring, and pearl necklace. Rev: Barley ear with leaf to right; to left, kerykeion above ΛY; ME-TA upward to right. 6.69 gm, 20 mm.

About the middle of the fifth century BC the distinctive incuse fabric gave way to more compact flans with raised designs on both the obverse and reverse. The early coins of this era feature a standing figure of Apollo, Heracles or Achelous. Later these were abandoned for portrait heads and the grain ear was relegated to the reverse. This is a typical portrait head coins featuring Demeter on the obverse. Its reference is HN Italy 1556, which has a leaf at left or right dividing ethnic (ME-TA) and a caduceus at the base of the ear. A caduceus is a herald's staff, and in Greek mythology specifically by Hermes. By extension of its association with Mercury and Hermes, the caduceus is also a recognized symbol of commerce and negotiation.

Lucania, Metapontion, c. 300-250 BC. Æ (15.5 mm, 2.7 g). Obv: Head of Demeter left, wearing barley-wreath and pendant earring. Rev: META, barley-ear with leaf to right, above, flower (?).

In the second half of the sixth century BC the city was producing Achaian weight nomoi (staters) and fractions featuring the city’s grain ear emblem on the reverse. Bronze coinage was introduced in the late 5th century BC and the types mirror those found on the silver issues. By the early third century the initial two bronze denominations (C and D) had risen to four main denominations with some unusual intermittent types. This coin is an example of denomination C/D. Note that while it is usually difficult or impossible to align ancient Greek bronze coins with their equivalent silver value (except in Sicily), there is an example of a late 4th century BC Metapontion bronze inscribed with the word Obol, presumably to indicate the representative value.

Lucania, Posidonia. AR Diobol, c. 410-350 BC. Obv: Poseidon advancing right, wearing chlamys and wielding trident; before, traces of ethnic; behind, II (mark of value). Dotted border between double linear border. Rev: Bull walking left; above, two annulets (mark of value).1.07 g. 9.00 m

Early coinage included the broad flans and incuse fabric of Southern Italy but was abandoned at the end of the 6th century and replaced by double relief coins with a more compact flan. The bull of the staters is replaced by a four spoked wheel on the obols and the hemiobols have a diverse array of types including the head of Poseidon or Athena. The coins of Poseidonia regularly carry abbreviated Greek legends naming the city and are written in an epichoric alphabet featuring San instead of Sigma until the late 5th century BC, when more familiar Ionic forms are used. A W Hands divides the coins of Poseidonia into 4 series (i) those issued between 550 and 480 BC (ii) those issued after the fall of Sybaris (iii) those issued by the Lucanians; and (iv) the bronze coins of the Roman colony of Paestum. This coin is therefore series 3. Hoover notes that at least some of the silver issues struck in the late 5th and early 4th century BC must have been produced under Lucanian rule but are clearly the work of Greek die engravers.

Lucania, Sybaris. AR Triobol, c. 446-440 BC. Obv. Head of Athena right, wearing wreathed Attic helmet. Rev. Bull right, head turned back; in exergue, ΣΥΒΑ. ΑR. 1.16 g. 13.00 mm.

The Achaian city of Sybaris, founded in around 720 BC, was completely destroyed by Croton in 510, it's citizens fleeing to neighbouring cities including Laus and Poseidonia. An attempt to resettle at Sybaris in 453 BC was thwarted by Croton and the citizens appealed first to Sparta and then to Athens to send more settlers. Athens answered the call and ships containing peoples from across Greece sailed for Sybaris in 446 BC. For six years Sybaris was renewed (often referred to as Sybaris IV) , however Aristotle tells that the “Sybarites quarrelled with those who had settled there with them, for they claimed to have the larger share in the country as being their own, and were ejected.” [Politics 1303a]. Strabo confirms this “Later on, the survivors, only a few, came together and were making it their home again, but in time these too were destroyed by Athenians and other Greeks, who, although they came there to live with them, conceived such a contempt for them that they not only slew them but removed the city to another place nearby and named it Thurii.” [Geography 6.1] This coin was minted in Sybaris during those six years. On the reverse is the reverse-facing bull, which is the type found on the earliest incuse coinage of Sybaris through to its destruction by Croton. The legend ΣΥΒΑ is clearly that of the city although, in common with other Greek coinage of the period, the character San found on the earlier coinage has given way to Sigma and the name is no longer retrograde. If the reverse is a clear reminder of the original Sybaris, the obverse type is that expected of Athens, with the head of Athena in an Attic helmet looking right. At the new city of Thurium Athena remained on the obverse and the Sybarite bull was transformed into one which paws the ground, its head no longer reversed. It is unusual to be able to date an early Greek coin from Southern Italy so precisely, as kings and dynasts are never portrayed to allow a fixed historical context. The coin remains on the Achaian standard common to Southern Italy (3 drachms to the 7.8g nomos).

Lucania, Sybaris. AR Drachm, c. 550-510 BC. Obv. Bull standing left, head right; VM in exergue. Rev. Incuse of obverse, but no ethnic. 2.51 g. 18.00 mm.

This Sybaris group I coin is minted on the Achaian standard (7.8g tridrachm). The ethnic is retrograde and uses the epichoric San rather than Sigma. An interesting thing to note in the incuse drachms especially is that there tends to be some irregularity outside the boundary of the surrounding slots/beads, which may indicate that the flans were not prepared very carefully. There are no surviving contemporary accounts of ancient coin manufacture, and no illustrations. Only three or four of the dies once used for striking coins in ancient Greek mints survive today. Therefore, what we know about the earliest history of coin minting is derived from a study of the coins themselves. The most interesting aspect of this is coin the incuse reverse which is seen nearly uniquely in Southern Italy between 550 and 470 BC. This was achieved by creating a deep intaglio-carved obverse-die and a cameo-carved reverse die in high relief. The technique of doing so is described by C. H. V. Sutherland in The “Incuse” Coinage of Southern Italy [ AMS, Museum Notes iii, 1948] "Each of these intaglio types (or, as may be termed, the “negative” types) was so designed and struck as to secure a normally exact correspondence between the area of the flan occupied by the obverse (or “positive”) type and that occupied by the negative: that is to say, the dies were so adjusted that, at the moment of striking, the raised pattern of the reverse die would press the silver precisely into the corresponding hollowed-out pattern of the obverse die." There is no conclusive evidence why this particular technique was chosen, but it may be found on the early coinage of Croton, Caulonia, Metapontum, Sybaris, Taras, Laus and Poseidonia (and one example from Zankle in Sicily). Some have postulated that the incuse reverse indicated some sort of federal coinage amongst the Achaian cities of the region, but if so, no-one told the Tarentines that they couldn’t use it (Taras was founded in 706 BC by Dorian settlers from Sparta).

Lucania, Sybaris. Drachm from ca. 550-510 BC. Obv: Bull standing left, head turned back. In exergue VM.
Rev: same type, incuse.

There are two drachms in the collection, both are group 1 and feature the typical incuse reverse of that period. Minted on the Achaian standard, they should both be around 2.60g. However, while one is within expected tolerances at 2.52g the other is underweight at 2.23g (this coin). Some of this may be attributed to wear, though there is no evidence of clipping and so in brings into focus the question of whether there was strict adherence to the approach that the type was a guarantee of the weight of silver in the coinage and so avoided the need to weigh it. The converse argument was that the type (which in effect makes these coins rather than bullion) was the city state underpinning the value, in which case small deviations in weight may have been allowable, with a degree of mutual faith in the currency filling in the gaps. This is a reasonable view where the coins traded locally only – it is easier to trust people within your own social grouping – but would not have been suitable where the coins were traded more widely and so such trust would not exist. If this argument holds true then you would expect the coins of Aegina, Corinth and Athens to have tight adherence to standard, with looser adherence in coins less widely distributed. With this argument in mind, it is worth reflecting the observation of Colin M Kraay that “the movement of local coins outside of southern Italy and Sicily is soon dealt with, for there is practically none.” [Greek Coins and History – Some Current Problems, p52]. From a Swiss collection from Tessin assembled in the 1920’s

Lycia, Kherẽi ? (Circa 430-410 BC). Obol. Obv: Helmeted head of Athena right. Rev: Head of Kherẽi right, wearing kyrbasia; all within pelleted circle within incuse circle. Weight: 0.62 g. Diameter: 9 mm.

Lydia, Sardes. Xerxes. Siglos. Carradice type IIIa style, light standard, without pellets. Obv. Persian king with beard and crown, wearing kidaris and kandys, quiver over shoulder, in kneeling-running stance right, holding transverse spear in right hand and bow in left. Rev: Oblong incuse punch

Siglos Type IIIb ("King running with lance"), from the time of Xerxes and after, 485 - 470 BCE (Klien). Xerxes ruled from 486 to 465 BCE. Possibly Type IIIa. Lighter weight standard, c. 5.30 - 5.39 g, is the most important distinction from Type IIIb (5.55 – 5.60g) but it is difficult to determine intended weight with wear. This coin is 5.44g so right in between. Cyrus the Great introduced coins to the Persian Empire after 546 BC, following his conquest of Lydia and the defeat of its king Croesus, whose father Alyattes had put in place the first coinage in history. With his conquest of Lydia, Cyrus acquired a region in which coinage was invented, developed through advanced metallurgy, and had already been in circulation for about 50 years, making the Lydian Kingdom one of the leading trade powers of the time. It seems that Cyrus initially adopted the Lydian coinage as such and continued to strike Lydia's lion-and-bull Croeseid coinage. The stater coins had a weight of 10.7 grams, a standard initially created by Croesus, which was then adopted by the Persians and became commonly known as the "Persic standard". The Persians also minted posthumous Croeseid half-staters, with a weight of 5.35 g, which would become the weight standard for the later Sigloi, introduced at the end of the 6th century BC. According to numismatist Martin Price, there is no doubt that the Darics and Sigloi of Types I and II were minted at Sardis and immediately followed the production of the Croeseids, since they adopted similar weights and were of the same fabric. He insists that the finds of the Croeseids and the "Archer" types of Darics and Sigloi indicate that they were not an Imperial coinage, but rather the coinage of the Satrapy of Lydia. Although the gold Daric became an international currency which was found throughout the ancient world, the circulation of the silver Sigloi remained very much limited to Asia Minor. Xerxes the Great, was the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, ruling from 486 to 465 BC. He was the son and successor of Darius the Great (522 – 486 BC) and his mother was Atossa. He ruled from 486 BC until his assassination in 465 BC at the hands of Artabanus, the commander of the royal bodyguard.

Macedonia, Philip II (359-336 BC). Tetradrachm. Amphipolis. Obv: Laureate head of Zeus right. Rev: ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΥ. Youth, holding palm frond, riding horse right. Controls: monogram below horse, Λ below raised foreleg. Weight: 13.34 g. Diameter: 24 mm

Soon after his coming to power the minting of Philip's silver coins on the Macedonian standard (14.4g tetradrachm) started in Pella, and around 357/56 BC in Amphipolis as well . The reverse-types of Philip’s coins are nearly all agonistic and refer either to the games celebrated by him at Dium in honour of the Olympian Zeus, or, preferably, to the great Olympian games where his chariots were victorious. We have, indeed, the direct assertion of Plutarch (Alex., c. 4) in favour of the latter hypothesis. This coin would seem to not conform to the standard, being closer to the light Macedonian standard of a 13.6g tetradrachm. This coin is pretty rough and in design feels more akin to the copies of the tetradrachms minted by the Celtic tribes.

Macedonia, Amyntas III. 394/3-370/69 BC. AR Stater (20mm, 8.87 g, 12h). Aigai or Pella mint. Obv: Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin. Rev: Horse standing right within linear border within incuse square.

Amyntas III came to power in 393 BC by murdering the previous king, Pausanias, but was nearly immediately driven out of the kingdom by an Illyrian incursion from the Northwest and sought assistance from Thessaly. With their support he was restored to power in 392 BC. In 382 BC he then sought the help of Sparta to recover lands he had previously placed under the control of Olynthus, which was part of the Chalkidian league at that time. The purpose of this land grant was to keep them out of the hands of potential invaders. The Olynthian war lasted 3 years and cost the Spartans their king, but the lands were returned to Macedon. He subsequently sought to cement his rule through alliances with both Athens and the Thessalian League. He died of natural causes in 370 BC and was succeeded by his son, Alexander II. During his rule, Amyntas III produced coinage on the light Thraco-Macedonian standard of 10.9g to the five-drachm stater, however according to Hoover the weights were often erratic and the coinage was frequently debased with copper. This coins is almost 20% underweight for the type and so is presumably an example of this variation, which is to great to be attributed to wear only.

In the early days of flight in Europe increases in height and distance that could be achieved by aeroplanes, which were often constructed by pilots themselves, was measured in feet. The first monoplane that achieved successful flight managed only 40 feet on March 18, 1906. Lord Northcliffe, a powerful British newspaper magnate played a significant role in promoting aviation during its formative years by offering cash prizes to achieve ever more aeronautic innovation. On July 25th 1909 in a 37 minute flight in a Bleriot XI monoplane, Louis Bleriot made with a somewhat rough but triumphant landing near Dover Castle and claimed the £1000 prize offered by the Daily Mail. France was undoubtedly the leader in the earliest days of aviation and after the flight David Lloyd George, chancellor of the Exchequer, said, "Flying machines are no longer toys and dreams, they are established fact. The possibilities of this new system of locomotion are infinite. I feel, as a Britisher, rather ashamed that we are so completely out of it." This medal was designed by Charles Desvergnes for the Aeronautique Club de France. The medal is a blank however we can date from an example in the Princeton library, which is inscribed on the reverse “Aviation fortnight at La Bate de Seine 25 August to 6 September 1910.” It was therefore a medal produced as a prize or souvenir of the French concours in Paris the year after Bleriot's ground-breaking flight. The Bate to Seine was an aviation meeting comprising multiple competitions and prize events over two weeks. This included a 3‑day challenge to fly between Le Havre and Trouville and back, with 15-minute stops or five laps, highest-number-of-crossings wins. It was won by Hubert Latham and the constructors prize was won by Louis Bleriot (Latham had attempted the first crossing of the English Channel, flying an Antoinette IV, but was forced to ditch in the sea due to engine failure)

Obv: TRAVERSEE EST-OUEST DE L’ATLANTIQUE NORD PAR COSTES ET BELLONTE. Bustes accolés à gauche de Costes et Bellonte, au-dessous signature LEMAITRE ÉD et L. DESVIGNES.
Rev: Carte de l’Atlantique nord et trajet des aviateurs, cartouche avec HISPANO-SUIZA/ AUX ARTISANS DE LA VICTOIRE/ SEPTEMBRE 1930

The Atlantic had been conquered by Lindbergh in 1927, but the west-east route taken by the young American aviator was more favourable because of the winds. The first successful crossing east-west by air was actually accomplished prior to this by the German airship LZ 126 in October 1924, however the challenge to complete the journey in a fixed wing aircraft remained. Many aviators had already lost their lives in the attempt, such as the Frenchmen Nungesser and Coli, who disappeared in 1927. This was first achieved in April 1928 by a Junkers W 33 monoplane which flew between Ireland and Greenly Island in Canada piloted by Hermann Köhl accompanied by an Irish co-pilot, James Fitzmaurice and Baron von Hünefeld, who was the challenge sponsor. This medal celebrates the August 1930 crossing from Paris to New York by Dieudonné Costes and Maurice Bellonte in a Breguet XIX specially modified for this type of attempt. Equipped with a 600-horsepower Hispano-Suiza engine and carrying more than 5,000 litres of fuel they made the crossing in 37 hours and 18 minutes, landing at the Curtiss Fielf airfield in New York where they were greeted by a crowd which included Charles Lindbergh and the ambassador of France. They were therefore the first to fly directly from mainland Europe to the USA. The medal was engraved by Louis Desvignes, a listed sculptor born in 1908 in Creusot, France. He studied under Vernet, H. Dubois and Auban and was member of the Society of French Artists, exhibiting at the Salon des Artistes Français, where he obtained an honourable mention in 1907. The question mark on the medal reflects the name of their aircraft the Point d’Interrogation, hopefully not representing any doubts on their ability to complete the flight!

Mysia, Parion. Hemidrachm (4th century BC). Obv: ΠΑ / ΡΙ. Bull, with head right, standing left on ground line; bee below. Rev: Gorgoneion. Weight: 2.11 g. Diameter: 13 mm.

Parion, located in the region of Mysia on the northwest coast of Asia Minor, was a significant port and commercial hub in antiquity. Parion began minting silver coins in the 5th century BC. These coins are notable for their fine craftsmanship and rich iconography, reflecting the city's prosperity and cultural ties with the Greek world. This hemidrachm features a Gorgoneion—the head of Medusa—on the obverse, a symbol believed to ward off evil. The reverse depicts a bull, an emblem associated with strength and possibly linked to local cult practices or the city's foundation myths.

Mysia, Pitane, AE11, civic issue, 400-300 BC. 1.25 g. Obv: Head of Zeus Ammon right. Rev: Π-I-T-A-N around pentagram with dot in centre.

Heroditus lists Pitane as one of the twelve Aeolian cities of Asia (which became 11 "since one, Smyrna, was severed from them by the Ionians"). The Aeolians migrated there from Greece before 1000 BC. Pitane was sited on the coast near the river Kaikos and according to Strabo it had two harbours. Artemis seems to have been the patron deity of the city Callimachus "for Pitane too is thine — or in Limnae or where, goddess, thou camest from Scythia to dwell" [Hymn to Artemis, 172]. Just need to be careful in attribution as Pitane was also a district in Sparta. In the fifth century BCE, Pitane was a member of the Delian League and is recorded as paying a tribute of 1,000 drachmas. We also know that it was besieged sometime before 330 BC during Alexander II 'liberation' of the Greek cities of Persia, as recorded by Diodorus Siculus, "Parmenion took by storm the city of Grynium and sold its inhabitants as slaves, but when he besieged Pitane Memnon appeared and frightened the Macedonians into breaking off the siege." [Library 17.7] Barclay Head notes that the city did produce silver fractions at the end of the 5th century BC and bronze coinage in the fourth to first centuries BC. The usual types were the head of Zeus Ammon in profile or facing paired with a pentagon.

Pamphylia, Side. Circa 205-100 BC. Tetradrachm (30mm, 16.3 g). Obv: Head of Athena to right, wearing Corinthian helmet; c/m: quiver and bow. Rev: Nike alighting to left, holding wreath in her outstretched right hand and fold of her drapery with her left; to left, pomegranate.

The coinage of Side is representative of a fine Hellenic style, often featuring the Helmeted busts of Athena on the obverse and the figure of Nike on the reverse. A frequent theme on Side coinage was the pomegranate fruit, as Side was the name for pomegranate in the local language. It was minted on the Attic standard (17.2g tetradrachm though by this period it had declined to c. 16.8g).

Roman Republic, Cn. Lentulus Clodianus, Rome, 88 BC. AR Denarius (18mm, 4.00g, 7h). Obv: Helmeted bust of Mars right, seen from behind. Rev: Victory driving biga r., holding wreath and reins.

Lentulus Clodianus was one of the triumvirs in 88 BC and followed on to have a career both as consul and as a rather unsuccessful general. He was adopted into the patrician Cornelii Lentuli and in 75BC he was elected quaestor, and then in 72 BC he was elected consul, probably due to his close connections and support of Pompey. He returned the favour by legislating to validate grants of citizenship by Pompey in Hispania and also for the recovery of funds confiscated by Sulla during the proscriptions of the Social war (91-87 BC). He was appointed together with his consular colleague Publicola to confront the rising threat of Spartacus, who was leading a slave revolt in Italy. They divided the forces and were defeated in succession by Spartacus, with the Clodianus’ first defeat taking place in the Lentula valley. Both consuls were subsequently retired back to Rome and replaced by Crassus, who was more successful in quelling the revolt. In 70 BC, Clodianus helped contribute to Cicero's famous prosecution of the corrupt governor Verres by submitting evidence in support of Cicero's case (Verres was notoriously corrupt and had pillaged Sicily for personal profit). A clue to his character may be found in an extract quoted from Sallust "But Gnaeus Lentulus, his colleague, surnamed Clodianus, a man of patrician family — and it is not at all easy to say whether he was more churlish or more unreliable — proposed a bill for exacting the money which Sulla had remitted to the purchasers of property." The coin itself is quite traditional, almost a throwback, with the head of Mars on the obverse and a biga racing right on the reverse, driven by Nike. Grueber in Coins of the British Museum notes that there were two ordinary moneyers in this year, of which Clodianus was one, and two extraordinary ones - M. Fannius and L. Critonius, who issued a joint coinage in their capacity as aediles.

Scythia, Borysthenes (Olbia) circa 437-410 BC. Cast dolphin Æ. 24mm 1.58g

The Greek city of Borysthenes was founded in the 7th century BC by colonists from Miletus and was one of the main trading centres on the Black Sea for the export of cereals, fish, and slaves to Greece, and for the import of Attic goods to Scythia. From Strabo " On sailing up the Borysthenes two hundred stadia one comes to a city of the same name as the river, but the same city is also called Olbia; it is a great trading centre and was founded by Milesians. " [Geography 7.1.17]. Borysthenes expanded off its original island settlement onto the mainland and that part of the city was called Olbia. Its prosperity came from its strategic geographical position between the Scythian tribes and the Euxine, although the composition of the city may have been as much Scythian as Greek. Herodotus notes of the inhabitants of the city "To the northward of which are Scythians who get their living from the land and are known to Greeks on the river Hypanis as Borysthenites. they call themselves Olbiopolites. These Scythians extend eastward as far as a river named the Panticapes - the distance of a three days journey." [Histories 4.18]. The city came under siege in 325 BC by the Alexandrine governor of Thrace, but seems to have survived. However it fell into decline and by the early second century BC it was under the protection of the Scythian kings, to whom they paid tribute. It was eventually incorporated into the empire of Mithridates VI. Most of the coinage produced by Borysthenes (Olbia) was in the traditional Greek style with the standards used changing with the times (Milesian, Attic, Aiginetic, Chian, Rhodian etc.), however the influence of Olbia can be seen in the distinctive cast bronze money during the 5th century BC in both the form of circular tokens with Gorgon heads and unique coins in the shape of leaping dolphins (taking over from arrowhead coinage). This form of money is said to have originated from sacrificial tokens used in the Temple of Apollo Delphinios. Most of the dolphins are rather crudely cast but the better specimens show dorsal fins and eyes as well as a mid fin that runs along the body. This bronze cast coins lasted into the fourth century BC.

Sicily, Messana. c310-288 BC. AE Litra. Obv: Head of Pelorias left, wearing wreath of grain; two dolphins before. Rev: MEΣΣANIΩN, naked warrior advancing left, holding shield & spear.

The obverse is the head of Pelorias left, wearing wreath of grain, two dolphins before. It is too worn to see but it would have said ΠEΛΩΡIAΣ right field. The reverse is a naked warrior advancing left, holding shield & spear with MEΣΣANIΩN in right field. The nymph Pelorias is the local heroine. Hoover identifies the hoplite on the reverse as Pheraimon, the brother of the king of Calabria (Iokastos), who was commemorated on coins of Messana and Tyndaris. This coin would have been produced immediately before the fall of Messana to the Mamertines.

Sicily, Syracuse. Hieron I (475-470 BC). Tetradrachm. Obv: Charioteer driving quadriga right; above, crowning Nike flying right. Rev: Diademed head of Arethusa right; four dolphins around.

Syracuse started to mint coins in the decade between 520 and 510 BC. They copied the types from Olynthus in northern Greece, not only in design (a quadriga) but also the weight standard, which corresponds to the Euboean stater and the Athenian tetradrachm (17.2g). The smaller denominations of Syracuse also reflect the Attic standard. This coin is 17.29g. There is a large test cut in the coin where a moneyer has checked the silver is at the core of the coin.

Sicily, Syracuse Dionysius I to Dionysius II. Obv: Head of Athena head left wearing Corinthian Helmet. Rev: Sea (8-rayed) star between 2 dolphins

Syracuse was founded by settlers from Corinth in around 733 BC and rose to become the most powerful city in Sicily. From 410 BC however all of Sicily was under the control or threat of the Carthaginians and the people of Syracuse turned to Dionysius, who had been successful against the Carthaginians at the Battle of Akragas in 406 BC. He was given the overall command of the Syracusan forces and he took advantage of that to make himself tyrant, so ending the Second Democracy. His campaign against the Carthaginians was unsuccessful and despite some temporary gains he was forced to come to terms which, while leaving him in control of Syracuse, ceded much outside of the east of Sicily. He therefore turned his attentions to Southern Italy before turning back to his wars with Carthage in 397-392 and again in 368. He died a year later and was succeeded by his son. While waging further wars in Southern Italy, Dionysius II his uncle, Dion, marched on Syracuse and established a short lived rule before he was assassinated by his own mercenaries. Amid the ensuing chaos Dionysius returned to Syracuse in 346 BC but was forced to surrender to Timoleon and was exiled to Corinth in 343 BC. When Dionysius I came to power in 406 BC the existing bronze coinage was greatly increased in diameter, weight and quantity and this coinage continued in production to the removal of Dionysius II in 343 BC. It consisted of only two denominations both of which had the head of Athena on the obverse. One had two dolphins surrounding a sea-star of hippocamp on the reverse (this coin), the other had only a hippocamp on the reverse. Although fiat currency, the large denomination was equated to a drachm. Note that these issues are sometimes attributed to Timoleon in some early catalogues, as this coin was when purchased, but hoard evidence makes this impossible.

Sicily. Tauromenion. (305-289 BC) Æ Hemilitron. (14mm, 2,18g). Obv: laureate head of Apollo right. Rev: tripod.

The early coinage of Tauromenion was produced on the local Sicilian Litra standard (0.86g litra with other denominations as multiples). Early silver coins featured either the head of Dionysus/Grapes, or Apollo/Tripod (much like this bronze). The standard was changed to a reduced Corinthian standard with only drachms of around 1.07g being produced. According to Hoover, the bronze civic coinage was produced in four denominations, almost all of which featured the head of Apollo Archagetas (‘leader’ or ‘founder’) and a bull on the reverse. The bronze weight was reduced in the third century BC, with the tripod being introduced on denomination B. I have some doubts as to the denomination of this coin as all other examples of a hemilitron that I have been able to find are about 20-23mm and 5.00 - 6.00g, so substantially larger. Stylistically, this bronze resembles the gold trihemiobols produced late in the cities span but I have not been able to match it to listed examples of the bronzes – denomination B has Apollo facing left and the ethnic is written in full. So maybe an unlisted denomination D, as that would at least put it in the correct weight range (1.72 – 2.9g).

Thessaly (Magnesia), Magnetes circa 196-146 BC. Bronze Æ. 21 mm, 8,81 g. Obv: Wreathed head of Poseidon left. Rev: MAΓNHTΩN Cheiron prancing right, raising arm and holding branch over shoulder.

In the second book of the Iliad, Homer includes the Magnetes in the Greek Army that is besieging Troy, and identifies their homeland in Thessaly, in a part that is still known as Magnesia "the Magnetes had as captain Prothous, son of Tenthredon. These were they that dwelt about Peneius and Pelion, covered with waving forests." - Iliad, 2.755. In terms of coinage, the first was struck as silver hemi-drachms during the Third Macedonian War (171-168). Bronze coinage seems to have been introduced at the same time. The largest bronze denomination features the head of Zeus with the Centaur Charon on the reverse. It would have been struck at Demetrias, which was the capital of the Magnesian league. An interesting note is that Col. William Leake, in his Travels in Northern Greece, seems to identify Argalasti as the origin of the coins "The former [Argalasti] I take to have been the district of Magnesia, or the city of the Magnetes, where the coins of that people were struck; for although this place is scarcely ever mentioned in history, its existence is proved from Demosthenes, from whom we learn that it was taken and fortified by Phillip, but afterwards restored to the Thessalians. "

THESSALY, Krannon. AE17, 400-300 BC, 16.8mm 4.45g. Obv: Horseman in chlamys and petasos galloping right. Rev: Hydria mounted on wheels on one of which stands a raven.

Krannon was originally named Ephyra as noted by Strabo "not far from Gyrton is a city Krannon, whose citizens were called by a different name, 'Ephyri', and are referenced as such by both Pindar and Homer. It contained temples to Athena Polias and Asclepios. According to Hoover, Krannon enjoyed some fame for its unique rain-making device In times of drought, a hydria (water jar) on a wheeled cart was pilled in procession through the city accompanied by a supplication to Apollo. If a crow (a bird sacred to Apollo) settled on the wheels of the car, it was taken as a sign that the god would grant prayers for rain. This coin illustrates this procession. In the first year of the Peloponnesian War (431 BCE) the Krannonians, together with some of the other Thessalians, sent troops to the assistance of the Athenians. Late in the fourth century BC the bronze coinage expanded to include some additional denominations. One of these (denomination C) was revised to depict the hydria in procession.

Thessaly, Peuma. Chalkous (Circa 302-286 BC). Obv: Wreathed head of Achilles right. Rev: ΠEYMATIΩN. AX monogram; Phrygian helmet to right.

There is no literary mentions of Peuma outside of a single reference in a description at Delphi, which indicates that it participated in a territorial dispute with the neighbouring Melitaia; however its remains are reasonably well preserved and can be seen today east of the village of Kallithea. The monogram on the reverse is also seen on other bronze coins of cities in Achaia Phthiotis (one of the regions of Thessaly) such as Halos, Thebai Phthiotides and Larisa Kremasete and so may indicate some type of federal organisation. ★ From the BCD Collection ★

Thrace, Thasos. c404-340 BC. Trihemiobol AR. 10 mm, 0.82 g. Obv: Satyr kneeling left, carrying kantharos. Rev: Amphora.

Troas, Birytis, AE, (Bronze,5.48 g 17 mm), 4th-3rd centuries BC. Obv: Head of Kabeiros left, wearing pilos; star to left and right. Rev: B - I / P - Y in two lines around downward club; all within wreath.

Birytis is situated in the Troad, not too distant from Ilium (In The Troad, An Archaeological Topographical Study, J M Cook notes "We were shown a bronze coin of Birytis, which, however, was said to have been found in a grave at Hisarlik (Troy)". It is possible that the people of this city is the same as the Berysioi mentioned in the tribute records of the Delian league between the years 454/3 and 446/5 BC [cf. The Athenian Tribute-Quota Lists, .D M Lewis]. Little is known of Birytis however Cook quotes it as having been identified as a neutral market-place lying between Skepsis and Kreben. The obverse is referenced as having the head of Kabeiros on it [see Historia Nummorum - Barclay Head]. According to Numiswiki " Greek mythology, the Cabeiri, (Cabiri, Kabeiroi, Kabiri) were a group of enigmatic chthonic deities. They were worshiped in a mystery cult closely associated with that of Hephaestus, centred in the north Aegean islands of Lemnos and possibly Samothrace —at the Samothrace temple complex— and at Thebes". There is a sanctuary of the Kabeiroi is situated in a stream valley west of Thebes. On coinage, a sole figure portrayed and/or mentioned in inscription takes the singular form 'Kabeiros; and can also be found on the coins of Lampsakos and Myletene (interestingly the latter also with stars above).

Troas, Neandria c. 400-300 BC. Obv: Laureate head of Apollo right. Rev: barley corn; NEA left, grape bunch to right. 10.2mm 1.33g

A tradition known to the author of the 4th century AD work Dictys Cretensis Ephemeridos belli Trojani claimed that Neandreia had been the home of the legendary king Cycnus who was killed on the first day of the Trojan War by Achilles and his city sacked. However, there is no archaeological evidence for settlement in the second millennium BC.