Vila Wolf's Dyslexic Folklorist Ranting

The Coin of a Murdered Seleucid King

This extremely rare tetradrachm coin is one of only 14 known examples and is  worth about $25,000.  It was minted in Seleucia Pieria (map) circa 147/6 BC under the rule of Alexander I Balas, King of Syria (c. 152-145 BC). The obverse side shows the laureate head of Zeus and the reverse has the inscription ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, a thunderbolt, ϚΞΡ (= year 166) and a monogram above; below, two more monograms; all within an elaborate laurel wreath with ties.

The head of Zeus, of an archaistic style that harks back to the early 5th century BC, was deliberately chosen by Alexander Balas’ moneyers to remind viewers of the similar coinage struck by Antiochos IV. This was done as a way of stressing Alexander’s claim to be Antiochos IV’s son: it did not do Balas much good in the end since soon after this coin was struck he was deposed by the forces of Demetrios II and, after his flight in 145 BC, murdered by his own officers.

Extremely Rare & Fine Greek Coin Showing Dionysos

This stater is worth about $211,000 and is the finest example of this type known. It’s from the ancient city of Thebes in Boeotia from around 405-395 BC. On the obverse is a Boeotian shield with the reverse side displaying an image of Dionysos wearing an ivy wreath with the letters Θ and Ε.

The mint of Thebes produced a number of unusually fine representations on the reverses of its staters, but this one must be the most startlingly impressive of them all. Dionysos, the god of wine, is clearly a figure of great power and emotion; his eyes are fully open and stare out at us, and his lips are parted so that we can see the teeth within his mouth. The brilliant engraver who created this astonishing head has let us imagine the flush moving over the god’s cheeks, as he gets redder and redder with all the sacred wine he has drunk. This is unquestionably one of the finest facing heads in all Greek numismatic art.

Greek Lysimachos Tetradrachm with the Portrait of Alexander the Great, Lampsakos mint, C. 297 - 281 BC

The obverse shows the now deified King, Alexander the Great. He is shown in the finest Hellenistic style; facing right, his wild, unruly hair held down by a thin diadem, the horn of Ammon curling over his ear, clearly identifying him as Alexander.  The reverse with the goddess Athena enthroned left, holding Nike in her extended right hand, resting her left elbow on a shield with lion headed aegis. The legend reading: BASILEOS LUSIMACOU “Of King Lysimachos.” Crescent and monogram between legend and Athena. Worth $80,000.

Lysimachos (Lysimachus) c. 360 – 281 BC) was a Macedonian officer and diadochus (i.e. “successor”) of Alexander the Great, who became a basileus (“King”) in 306 BC, ruling Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedon.

[ Map of Lampsakos ]

Europa the Nymph

This very rare electrum hekte is from the ancient city of Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. It was struck circa 340 BC and portrays Europa on the obverse wearing a taenia. The reverse shows the profile of two boar’s heads confronting each other.

Europa was one of the many beautiful maidens abducted by Zeus. She was out in the field picking flowers with her friends when a white bull showed up. She climbed on its back and it ran away with her. Later she found out it was really Zeus and she bore him three sons: Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Sarpedon. When she married the King of Crete, he adopted them and they became Kings on their own eventually.

Herakles & The Crab

This silver tetradrachm coin, amongst the finest known and worth about $12,500, is from the island of Kos and was struck around 285-258 BC. The image of Herakles in his lion skin headdress is shown on the obverse. On the reverse is the inscription  K-ΩIO-N  / XANΘIΠΠOΣ (Xanthippos, the magistrate) and a crab with a bow case (gorytus) below it; all within a linear square made from pearls.

In Greek mythology Herakles was the enemy of a giant crab (Karkinos or Carcinus). It assisted the Hydra in its battle with Herakles at Lerna, but he was able to crush it beneath his foot. As a reward for its service, Hera placed the crab amongst the stars as the constellation Cancer. Alternatively, in the mythology of the island of Kos, a crab was said to be the ally of Herakles, but why exactly is unknown since the origin of the story has been lost. Thus, no one is sure why the ancient Koans used the image of a crab on their coins.

The Hellenistic tetradrachms of Kos can be, when they are not badly struck or corroded the way so many are, remarkably attractive. The heads of Herakles they bear are of great elegance, reminiscent of those struck on Alexandrine issues of Ptolemy I (example), as well as those on the much earlier tetradrachms struck by Kamarina (example).

The island of Kos attained the zenith of its prosperity during the Hellenistic era, when it was a valued ally of the Ptolemies, who used its port as a naval base. This alliance also contributed to cultural aspects of the island. As a seat of learning, it arose as a provincial branch of the museum of Alexandria, and became a favorite resort for the education of the princes of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Among its most famous residents were the physician Hippokrates, the painter Apelles, the elegaic poet Philitas, and, possibly, the pastoral poet Theokritos.

Very Rare Greek Coin - One Of The Largest Known

This is the finest of three known Greek silver tetradrachms of this rare type from Eretria, Euboea (map) struck circa 525-500 BC, with a very large diameter of 36 mm. It shows a bull with it’s hind hoof raised to touch its nose. A swallow sits on his back with an E in retrograde below. The reverse has an octopus in an incuse square.

Eretria counts among the first cities in Greece proper to strike their own silver coins along with Athens, Chalcis and Karystos. Analysis of several hoards has shown that the earliest coins struck in Eretria were contemporary with the first Athenian Owl coins.

The representation of a cow recalls the myth of Io. The young woman, after the birth of her son Epaphos by Zeus, was changed into a cow by Hera who wanted to take revenge on her unfaithful husband. According to one tradition, Epaphos was born in Euboea. As for the octopus, it probably alludes to the city’s maritime activities.

Silver Cistophoric Tetradrachm from Tralleis, Lydia, C. 140-135 BC

The coins shows a snake emerging from a cista mystica (a basket used in the worship of Dionysus/Bacchus) surrounded by an ivy wreath. The reverse shows an ornate bow case between two serpents; a star is between the snake’s heads; Helios’ radiate head is to the right and a monogram is on the left.

According to Strabo, Tralleis aka (Tralles, map) was founded by the Argives and Trallians, a Thracian tribe. Along with the rest of Lydia, the city fell to the Persian Empire. After its success against Athens in the Peloponnesian War, Sparta unsuccessfully sought to take the city from the Persians, but in 334 BC, Tralleis surrendered to Alexander the Great without resistance and therefore was not sacked. Alexander’s general Antigonus held the city from 313 to 301 BC and later the Seleucids held the city until 190 BC when it fell to Pergamon. From 133 to 129 BC, the city supported Aristonicus of Pergamon, a pretender to the Pergamene throne, against the Romans. After the Romans defeated him, they revoked the city’s right to mint coins.

Tralleis was a conventus for a time under the Roman Republic, but Ephesus later took over that position. The city was taken by rebels during the Mithridatic War during which many Roman inhabitants were killed. Tralleis suffered greatly from an earthquake in 26 BC. Augustus provided funds for its reconstruction after which the city thanked him by renaming itself Caesarea.

Strabo describes the city as a prosperous trading center, listing famous residents of the city, including Pythodoros (native of Nysa), and orators Damasus Scombrus and Dionysocles. Several centuries later, Anthemius of Tralleis, architect of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, was born in Tralleis.

Medusa the Gorgon

This is a Greek silver drachm from Apollonia Pontica (map), Thrace, c. 450-400 BC. The obverse of this coin displays a fearsome looking Medusa with sharp pointed teeth and the reverse has an anchor with a crayfish and the letter “A” (for Apollonia).

Medusa, the Gorgon of ancient Greek mythology who was killed by Perseus, is not only the ugliest female visage ever to appear on the face of a coin, she’s also, arguably, the ugliest female visage imaginable on a circulating coin. Squirmy snakes rise out of her head and sometimes surround her face. She sticks her tongue out rudely. She bares her boar-like teeth in malevolence, ridicule, or schizoid hysteria. Her steely eyes glower or laugh at you. Sometimes – and interestingly – Medusa can actually be beautiful. This dual nature, and her interpretability, are what make Medusa most intriguing. The mythology behind Medusa is as interesting as the coin itself…

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Extremely Rare Centaur Coin, C. 500-450 BC

Valued at $180,000, this electrum stater was minted by the Orrescii, an ancient Thraco-Macedonian tribe. It shows a centaur carrying off a struggling nymph. The reverse side is a simple quadripartite incuse square. This stater is of the greatest numismatic importance and rarity and is apparently unique and unrecorded. It appears to be lacking a direct comparison in the published numismatic literature. The closest parallel is an electrum stater in the British Museum collection, of similar type, but of a wholly different style and execution.

The Orrescii lived around the ancient city of Lete (map) in Mygdonia, Macedon. They may have been identical to the Satrae and closely connected with the Bessi, or priests of the oracular temple of the Thracian Bacchus. The Orrescii and other Pangaean tribes were miners who worked the mines around the Pangaean range.

Their coins reflected their religious beliefs, the subjects being satyrs and centaurs carrying off struggling nymphs, iconography associated with the worship of Bacchus. The image of a centaur on the Orrescii coins however is more rare than that of the satyr. These coins illustrate the wild rituals which were held in the mountains of Thrace and Phrygia in honor of Bacchus, whose mysterious oracular temple stood on the top of Mount Pangaeum.

Very Rare Coin Issued By Alexander the Great’s Uncle

This excessively rare Greek silver stater was struck circa 334-330 BC at Tarentum (map) under Alexander I the Molossian, King of Epiros (r. 350-330 BC). Alexander I was the brother of Alexander III (the Great’s) mother, Olympias. This coin is possibly the work of the great Tarentine engraver Kal. The obverse shows Zeus Dodonaios wearing an oak wreath. The reverse has the inscription ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟ[Υ] / ΤΟΥ ΝΕΟΠΤΟΛΕ[ΜΟΥ] and a thunderbolt with an eagle to the left.

Alexander the Molossian was not only the King of Epeiros but also, through his sister Olympias, the brother-in-law of Philip II of Macedon and the uncle of Alexander III. At the same time his nephew was beginning his epic march to the East, he was called in by the Greek city of Tarentum to save it from the pressure of the aggressive Lucanians and Bruttians. He arrived with an army in 334 BC and was initially successful; he was, however, killed in a minor engagement in 330 BC. This coin was issued in Tarentum to pay his Epeirote troops. It was struck in the Corcyran standard since they preferred the non-Italic weight standard. The artistry is absolutely superb: the head of Zeus is immediately reminiscent of the contemporary issues of Olympias and of Philip II.