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Coinage of the Dorian Cities of Halikarnassos and Knidos

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The coins of Halikarnassos.

By Dr. Steve Benner for CoinWeek …..
This is the second article (Part I here) in a two-part series on the six cities of the Hexapolis located in Doris, a small region on the southwest coast of Asia Minor (see Figure 1) that later became part of Caria. The region was settled by the Dorians at the end of the Bronze Age (3300-1200 BCE) and was probably part of the Sea Peoples’ invasions of Greece and the Middle East. Ancient Greeks, such as the Spartans, believed this area was the home of the original Dorian invaders of the Peloponnese that proliferated the Doric dialect.

Established after 1100 BCE (all dates are BCE unless otherwise noted), the Dorian Hexapolis was a federation of six cites: Kos on the island of the same name; Knidos on the Triopian promontory (Datca peninsula); Halikarnassos on the mainland; and Lindos, Ialysos, and Kamiros on the island of Rhodes. This article covers Knidos and Halikarnassos since the first part covered those of Rhodes and Kos, a large and wealthy city with a rich history, would require an article unto itself.

The Hexapolis became prosperous around 700, and the cities were known for their seamanship. They would celebrate a festival with games near Knidos in honor of the Triopian Apollo. The prize of the games was a brass tripod that was to be dedicated to the Temple of Apollo. Halikarnassos was later expelled from the federation after a certain Agasicles improperly handled the tripod after winning it, thus turning the hexapolis into a pentapolis. The federation was dissolved around 560.

Map of the Aegean Sea and its surrounding cities, circa 7th-5th centuries BCE.
Map of the Aegean Sea and its surrounding cities, circa 7th-5th centuries BCE.

Coins of Halikarnassos

Halikarnassos was established on the site of a Mycenean (1700-1100) settlement and over 40 Mycenean beehive tombs (tholoi) are located near the city. It was founded by Dorians (probably from Troezen and Argos) around 900 on the Gulf of Kerme (see Figure 1). Anthes, a son of Poseidon, was considered its founder. When Cyrus the Great conquered Caria in 545, the city did not resist, and Cyrus placed a satrap in charge of the city. Unlike its Ionian neighbors, Halikarnassos did not rise against Persia during the Ionian Revolt (499-493) and thus did not suffer the consequences. In 520, the city’s satrap was Lygdamis, who established the Lygdamid dynasty. Lygdamis’ daughter was Artemisia I, who was put in charge of some of Xerxes’ forces during his losing effort to conquer Greece in 480.

After Lygdamis II, Artemisia’s grandson, died in 450, Halikarnassos joined the Delian League and remained a member until the end of the Peloponnesian War (404), when the League was disbanded. In 395, the city returned to Persian rule, and a new satrap named Hecatomnos was appointed to rule. When Hecatomnus died, he was succeeded by Mausolus (reigned 377-353) with his sister/wife Artemisia II. Upon his death, Artemisia commissioned the building of the Mausoleum (her husband’s name was the origin of the word) as a tomb for her husband. Completed only by 350, after both Mausolus’ and Artemisia’s deaths, this beautiful building became one of the “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World”.

On his way to conquer Persia, Alexander the Great arrived at the city in 334 and laid siege. It was taken with some difficulty and was extensively burned, never regaining its former glory. Halikarnassos was fought over by Alexander’s successors, except for a short period when it came under Rhodian rule in the second century BCE. After the death of the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII in 30, the city was incorporated into the Roman Republic. The “Father of History”, Herodotus, was born in Halikarnassos (484) during Lygdamid rule but had to flee the city in 454, due to his connection with an uprising. The city had a theater (that is being restored), an agora, temples to Hermes and Ares, and city walls. Also nearby was a sanctuary of Apollo.

One of my sources says that Halikarnassos began to mint electrum staters and fractions around 600, but I could not find any corroboration in other sources. Therefore, ignoring the electrum coins, Halikarnassos began minting silver coins around the end of the fifth century. It appears that the first coins had either the head of Ketos (a sea monster) or its entire body with scales, forked tail, and sail on the obverse with both having a geometric pattern on the reverse. The former are hektes (2.09 grams) struck to the Milesian standard, and the latter are half staters struck to the Aeginetic standard (Figure 2). These coins are crudely done and don’t seem up to the standard of a major Greek city. Their minting was discontinued around 480.

Figure 2: Halikarnassos, CARIA. AR Half Stater. Aeginetic standard. Circa 510-480 BC. Ketos with scaled body, forked tall and dorsal sail to right / Geometric pattern In star format, grain ear to right and uncertain legend (AGI...NOS?) around; all within shallow incuse circle, 19mm, 5.94 g., Ct. Kritt, Kindya, pl. 47, 4. (Roma Numismatics 15, Lot: 259, $2000, 4/9/19).
Figure 2: Halikarnassos, CARIA. AR Half Stater. Aeginetic standard. Circa 510-480 BC. Ketos with scaled body, forked tall and dorsal sail to right / Geometric pattern In star format, grain ear to right and uncertain legend (AGI…NOS?) around; all within shallow incuse circle, 19mm, 5.94 g., Ct. Kritt, Kindya, pl. 47, 4. (Roma Numismatics 15, Lot: 259, $2000, 4/9/19).

At about the same time, small silver fractions were struck, some with the forepart of the winged horse Pegasos on the obverse and the forepart of a goat on the reverse (Figure 3). The city ethnic of ALI is on the reverse. The early versions of this coin type were as crude as the Ketos type, though they quickly improved in quality and artistry. Other small fractions had a ram’s head obverse and either Apollo’s head, a young female’s head, or a lion’s head reverse. These continued to be minted well into the fourth century.

Figure 3: Halikarnassos, CARIA. Obol (5th century BC). Obv: Forepart of Pegasos right. Rev: AN - I. Forepart of goat right within incuse circle, ALI , 9mm, 0.71 g., SNG Kayan I 757-8 var., (Numismatik Naumann 52, lot 191, $100, 7/2/17).
Figure 3: Halikarnassos, CARIA. Obol (5th century BC). Obv: Forepart of Pegasos right. Rev: AN – I. Forepart of goat right within incuse circle, ALI , 9mm, 0.71 g., SNG Kayan I 757-8 var., (Numismatik Naumann 52, lot 191, $100, 7/2/17).

There was no change to the coinage until the beginning of the fourth century when Halikarnassos began minting very attractive tetradrachms, drachms, and hemidrachms with Apollo facing slightly right on the obverse and an eagle spreading its wings in an incuse square on the reverse (Figure 4). The city’s/people’s name of AΛIKAPNAΣΣEΩN is shown around the eagle. This coin is probably based on civic and Rhodian coinage and is in marked contrast to earlier coins, which were not artistically appealing. The city must have hired gifted celators (artisans who engraved coin dies) or had them minted elsewhere. The city’s first bronze coins started to be minted at this time.

Figure 4: Halikarnassos, CARIA. Circa 400-387 BC. AR Tetradrachm. Head of Apollo, wearing laurel wreath, facing slightly right / Eagle standing half-right, wings spread; AΛIKAPNAΣΣ-EΩN around, star to right; all within incuse square, 21.5mm, 15.19 g., HN Online 637.2 (this coin). (Triton XXIII, Lot: 427, $95,000, 1/14/20).
Figure 4: Halikarnassos, CARIA. Circa 400-387 BC. AR Tetradrachm. Head of Apollo, wearing laurel wreath, facing slightly right / Eagle standing half-right, wings spread; AΛIKAPNAΣΣ-EΩN around, star to right; all within incuse square, 21.5mm, 15.19 g., HN Online 637.2 (this coin). (Triton XXIII, Lot: 427, $95,000, 1/14/20).

In the fourth century, the satraps of Caria, including Mausolos, Hidrieus, Pixodaros, and Orontobates, began minting tetradrachms and didrachms similar to the type shown in Figure 4. The difference is that these coins had Zeus Labraundos standing right holding a staff on the reverse instead of the eagle (Figure 5). The name of the satrap is also on the reverse. They are of the same high quality as the previous coin. The didrachms are fairly common, but the tetradrachms are rare, with only a handful known. In addition to the silver coins, the satraps also minted gold staters. Two of the known examples are a hemistater (4.25 grams) with Apollo’s head facing right and the same reverse as Figure 5 and a 1/24 stater (0.34 grams) with Apollo facing left obverse and a labrys (double-bladed axe) reverse.

Figure 5: Halikarnassos, CARIA. Pixodaros. Circa 341/0-336/5 BC. AR Tetradrachm. Halikarnassos mint. Struck circa 341/0 BC. Head of Apollo facing slightly right, wearing laurel wreath, drapery at neck / Zeus Labraundos standing right; ΠIΞOΔAPOY to right, 24mm, 15.25 g., Pixodaros 7–8 (unlisted dies) (this coin). (Triton XXIV, Lot: 717, $90,000, 1/20/21).
Figure 5: Halikarnassos, CARIA. Pixodaros. Circa 341/0-336/5 BC. AR Tetradrachm. Halikarnassos mint. Struck circa 341/0 BC. Head of Apollo facing slightly right, wearing laurel wreath, drapery at neck / Zeus Labraundos standing right; ΠIΞOΔAPOY to right, 24mm, 15.25 g., Pixodaros 7–8 (unlisted dies) (this coin). (Triton XXIV, Lot: 717, $90,000, 1/20/21).

Alexander’s siege ended the dynasts of Caria, and the city retained the right to mint bronze coins. There was a large variety of types, some of which were based on the silver coin types. Very few coins were struck until the second century when Halikarnassos came under Rhodian control (c. 188-166). Then the city produced silver drachms of 4.21 grams, as well as some fractions like the hemidrachm and trihemiobol. Examples of the types were Helios facing forward/bust of Athena; the head of Apollo/lyre; and the bust of Athena/owl. Figure 6 shows an example of the hemidrachm.

The silver coins and bronze coins continued to be produced until the middle of the first century.

Figure 6: Halikarnassos, CARIA Circa 2nd - 1st Century BC. AR Hemidrachm. Laureate head of Apollo right / Lyre, AΛIKAPNAΣΣEΩN, 2.40 g., SNG von Aulock 2528; SNG Helsinki 44. (CNG 61, Lot: 739, $220 , 9/25/02).
Figure 6: Halikarnassos, CARIA Circa 2nd – 1st Century BC. AR Hemidrachm. Laureate head of Apollo right / Lyre, AΛIKAPNAΣΣEΩN, 2.40 g., SNG von Aulock 2528; SNG Helsinki 44. (CNG 61, Lot: 739, $220 , 9/25/02).

Coins of Knidos

Knidos was located on the coast of Caria opposite the islands of Nisyros and Telos. It was built partially on the island of Triopion and connected to the mainland by a causeway, which formed two harbors, one military and one commercial. The island was settled by Spartans in the first millennium and later by Argives (people from Argos), and the city was built on a series of terraces rising to an acropolis. The Temple of Apollo near Knidos was the site of the Dorian Games. Also, temples to Poseidon, Artemis Hyakinthotropos (the patron goddess), and Aphrodite Euploia were located there. The later deity was likely inherited from the Phoenicians and was much older than the others, with the goddess appearing on most of the city’s coinage.

Knidos also had a council chamber, a stadium, a theater, and a portico. It produced wine, onions, medicinal oils, and reeds for pens, and accumulated enough wealth to colonize the island of Lipara (north of Sicily) and the city of Kokyra Nigra (in the Adriatic Sea). It submitted to Persia after 546, joined the Delian League after 479, and revolted against the League in 412. The city’s oligarchy was replaced by a democracy in the fourth century, but after Alexander the Great’s death Knidos came under Ptolemaic control. It was under Ptolemaic rule that the architect Sostratus of Knidos designed and completed the Lighthouse at Alexandria. The city came under Rhodian control in the early second century, and then under Roman control around 129.

Most of the coinage of Knidos has the head of a roaring lion on the obverse and the head of Aphrodite on the reverse (see Figure 7). The minting of drachms of about six grams (Aeginetic standard) began about 520 BCE, with the head of Aphrodite appearing archaic. Later into the fifth century, the head became more classical, and the city ethnic K-N-I was added to the reverse. The silver fractions, such as diobols, obols, etc., were first minted in the fourth century and used the same classical style.

Figure 7: Knidos, CARIA. Circa 500-490 BC. AR Drachm. Head of lion roaring right / Head of archaic Aphrodite right, wearing stephanos and with hair in sakkos within incuse square, 16.5mm, 6.13 g., SNG Copenhagen 202. (CNG 102, Lot: 510, $1200, 5/18/16).
Figure 7: Knidos, CARIA. Circa 500-490 BC. AR Drachm. Head of lion roaring right / Head of archaic Aphrodite right, wearing stephanos and with hair in sakkos within incuse square, 16.5mm, 6.13 g., SNG Copenhagen 202. (CNG 102, Lot: 510, $1200, 5/18/16).

Around 400, Knidos adopted the Rhodian standard of 3.9 grams per drachm. Between 394 and 390, Knidos was a member of a Federation with the cities of Iasos, Rhodes, Samos, Ephesos, and Byzantion and minted tridrachms of 10.9 grams to match the group. Figure 8 shows Knidos’ federal coinage, which has an obverse of baby Herakles killing two snakes and a reverse of Aphrodite facing right. The obverse has the legend SUN (“Federation”) and the reverse has the city ethnic KNIDIWN.

Figure 8: Knidos, Caria. 405-394 BC. AR Tridrachm O: SUN; the childlike Heracles strangles snakes. R: KNIDIWN, Aphrodite's head with earrings and necklace right, the hair in sphendone, prow below chin. Everything in square incuse, 10.7 g., Keckmann 164. (Roma Numismatics 13, Lot: 334, $9800, 3/23/17).
Figure 8: Knidos, Caria. 405-394 BC. AR Tridrachm O: SUN; the childlike Heracles strangles snakes. R: KNIDIWN, Aphrodite’s head with earrings and necklace right, the hair in sphendone, prow below chin. Everything in square incuse, 10.7 g., Keckmann 164. (Roma Numismatics 13, Lot: 334, $9800, 3/23/17).

In about 390, the city began minting very beautiful tetradrachms (15 grams), didrachms, drachms, and hemidrachms with Aphrodite on the obverse and the head of a lion on the reverse (see Figure 9). A magistrate’s name could appear on the reverse along with the ethnic KNI. This type was continued into the third century. A hemidrachm was also produced that had Aphrodite on the obverse and a bull’s head facing on the reverse. In the mid-third century, the tetrobols and hemidrachms were changed to have Artemis on the obverse and a tripod on the reverse (see Figure 10).

Figure 9: Knidos, CARIA. Circa 350-330/20 BC. AR Tetradrachm. Theumelon, magistrate. Head of Aphrodite right, hair tied at back, wearing stephanos, triple-pendant earring, and pearl necklace; behind neck, Phrygian helmet right / Forepart of lion right; ΘEYMEΛΩN to upper right, KNI below, 27.5mm, 15.00 g. Ashton, Late 14 (A8/P14). (CNG 105, Lot: 371, $16,000, 5/10/17).
Figure 9: Knidos, CARIA. Circa 350-330/20 BC. AR Tetradrachm. Theumelon, magistrate. Head of Aphrodite right, hair tied at back, wearing stephanos, triple-pendant earring, and pearl necklace; behind neck, Phrygian helmet right / Forepart of lion right; ΘEYMEΛΩN to upper right, KNI below, 27.5mm, 15.00 g. Ashton, Late 14 (A8/P14). (CNG 105, Lot: 371, $16,000, 5/10/17).
Figure 10: Knidos, Caria. Circa 250-210 BC. AR Tetrobol(?). Aristokleid(es), magistrate. Head of Artemis right, quiver behind / Tripod; ΑΡΙΣΤΟΚΛΕΙΔ to left, KNIDION to right14mm, 2.51 g. SNG Copenhagen 27. (CNG 384, Lot: 267, $105, 10/12/16).
Figure 10: Knidos, Caria. Circa 250-210 BC. AR Tetrobol(?). Aristokleid(es), magistrate. Head of Artemis right, quiver behind / Tripod; ΑΡΙΣΤΟΚΛΕΙΔ to left, KNIDION to right14mm, 2.51 g. SNG Copenhagen 27. (CNG 384, Lot: 267, $105, 10/12/16).

In the latter part of the third century, Knidos produced a series of tetradrachms that reproduced the Alexander the Great type, with the head of Herakles on the obverse and Zeus seated on the reverse. The coins had a prow and EY on the reverse. Under Rhodian rule (210-185), the city minted didrachms with the head of Rhodian Helios facing three-quarters on the obverse and a reverse with the forepart of a lion with either a rose, an ear of grain, a star, a cap, a club, or a bug, etc. The city name, KNIΔION, is above and a magistrate’s name is below the lion.

The silver coinage ended about the time the city came under Roman control in the latter third of the second century. Knidos also minted bronze coins starting in the third century, and these include many types, regrettably too many to cover here.

Figure 11: Knidos, Caria. Circa 210-185 BC. AR Didrachm. Philinos, magistrate. Head of Helios facing slightly right / Forepart of roaring lion right, KNIΔION above; grain ear to left, ΦIΛINOΣ below, 19mm, 5.27 g., Nordbø Series 13, (CNG 114, Lot: 352, $2750, 5/13/20).
Figure 11: Knidos, Caria. Circa 210-185 BC. AR Didrachm. Philinos, magistrate. Head of Helios facing slightly right / Forepart of roaring lion right, KNIΔION above; grain ear to left, ΦIΛINOΣ below, 19mm, 5.27 g., Nordbø Series 13, (CNG 114, Lot: 352, $2750, 5/13/20).

Comments

There are many coins in this article that are very rare, beautiful, and expensive, especially the multi-drachm coins (Figures 4, 5, 9, and 11) and some drachms (Figure 8). But for collectors of more modest means, most of the smaller silver fraction can be obtained at reasonable prices. The early Ketos silver coins of Halikarnassos are crude but intriguing because there aren’t many sea monsters on Greek coins (or any coins). I believe they warrant more careful study. Even though I did not cover them, there is a wide variety of inexpensive bronze coins from both these cities.

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Reference

Acsearch.info

Classical Numismatic Group (CNG)

Grant, Michael. A Guide to the Ancient World: A Dictionary of Classical Place Names. Barnes and Noble (1986)

Head, Barclay V. Historia Numorum: A Manual of Greek Numismatics. Oxford (1887)

Hoover, Oliver. Handbook of Coins of the Islands, Vol 6. Lancaster/London: Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. (2010)

Hornblower, Simon, and Antony Spawforth, ed. The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3rd edition. Oxford (1996)

Sear, David. Greek Coins and Their Values, Vol 2: Asia. B.A. Seaby Ltd. (1979)

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The Cult of Mithras on Ancient Coins

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By Steve Benner for CoinWeek ….. It would not be possible to cover the cult of Mithras in this not-quite 2,000-word article. But I can give enough of an overview of the religion for the reader to at least understand what its basic beliefs were and its importance in ancient worlds: not only to the […]

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Bulgar Slayer: The Coinage of Basil II

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By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. No lonelier man ever occupied the Byzantine throne – or any other, for that matter. Basil was ugly, dirty, coarse, boorish, totally philistine and almost pathologically mean. He was, in short, profoundly un-Byzantine. And all these things, one suspects, he would have readily admitted. He was not concerned with […]

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Aaron Berk: Ancient Coin Podcast – Episode 25

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In the 25th episode of the Aaron Berk Ancient Coin Podcast, expert Aaron Berk and fellow Harlan J. Berk, Ltd. numismatist Mike Nottelmann take a look at a handful of ancient coins recently up for auction. Among the highlights are a drachm from Naxos, a “badge of Phanes“, and a Roman silver sestertius. With the […]

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The Coins of Carthage During Hannibal’s War With Rome

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By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. BORN IN 247 BCE at Carthage (near modern Tunis in North Africa), Hannibal Barca[1] is remembered as one of the greatest military commanders of ancient history. His father, Hamilcar Barca[2] (lived 275-228 BCE), led Carthaginian forces in Sicily during the 23 year-long First Punic War, defeating a revolt by […]

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The Coins of Carthage During Hannibal’s War With Rome

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By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek …..   BORN IN 247 BCE at Carthage (near modern Tunis in North Africa), Hannibal Barca[1] is remembered as one of the greatest military commanders of ancient history. His father, Hamilcar Barca[2] (lived 275-228 BCE), led Carthaginian forces in Sicily during the 23 year-long First Punic War, defeating a revolt […]

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Coins of Ancient Greek Pamphylia

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By Steve Benner for CoinWeek …..   Pamphylia was not a country unto itself but a region. It is located on the southern coast of Asia Minor (Modern Turkey) surrounded by Lycia to the west, Cilicia to the east, and Pisidia to the north. In ancient Greek, Pamphylia meant “of mingled tribes or races”, and […]

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Coins of Ancient Greek Troas (Troad): Part 2

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By Steve Benner for CoinWeek ….. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 * * * This article is the second part on the coinage of Troas, a region of northwest Asia Minor adjacent to the Hellespont. Its history goes back to the Bronze Age and the Hittites, and Troy (Ilium), […]

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Coins of Ancient Greek Troas (Troad): Part 1

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By Steve Benner for CoinWeek ….. Troas, unlike the subject of my previous article, was not a country unto itself. It was only the name of a district in northwest Asia Minor (Anatolia) adjacent to the Hellespont (Dardanelles). The area is bordered by the Aegean Sea to the west, the mountain massif that forms Mount […]

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Heritage to Offer Ancient Coin Historical Scholar Collection, Part 2

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The first installment of the Historical Scholar Collection was featured in its own catalog in our recent Chicago World & Ancient Coins Platinum Session, and the first of our four Showcase auctions was offered last month. Now, Heritage is offering selections from Part II of the Historical Scholar Collection showcase auctions. This auction is open […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Coins of the Celtiberians

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By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. AT THE BEGINNING of recorded history, the Iberian Peninsula was inhabited by a variety of peoples. Iberians, who spoke a non-Indo-European language that might – or might not – be related to modern Basque, lived along the Mediterranean coast. Along the Atlantic coast lived Lusitanians[1], a warlike tribe that […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Coins of the Iconoclasts

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By Michael T. Shutterly for CoinWeek ….. The Iconoclastic Controversy was a period of near civil war in the Byzantine Empire that began in about 726 CE and lasted until about 787. It was revived in 814 and finally concluded in 843. The Controversy involved a religious dispute between Iconodules (“image servants”), who venerated icons […]

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Metal Monsters: The Biggest Ancient Coins

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz …… IN 2007, CANADA captured a world record by producing five examples of a 100-kilogram gold piece (220.5 pounds, or a bit over 3215 troy ounces). It was 53 centimeters in diameter (21 inches) and three centimeters thick, denominated at one million Canadian dollars. “Why did the Royal […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coins – The Legionary Denarii of Mark Antony

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By Michael T. Shutterly for CoinWeek ….. On September 2, 31 BCE, a great fleet under the command of Octavian, the great-nephew and posthumously adopted son of Julius Caesar, faced the fleets of Caesar’s former close companions Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII at the Battle of Actium. Octavian (or rather, Octavian’s friend Marcus Agrippa) won […]

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How Were Roman Serrate Coins Made and Why?

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By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. An interesting group of Roman Republican coins, serrati (saw-edged) denarii have proved to be an enigma for numismatists for hundreds of years. As H. Mattingly states in his seminal 1924 piece on serrati, these Roman coins are completely different than Macedonian, Syrian, and Carthaginian serrati. Firstly, the Roman host […]

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Sassanian Silver Drachms

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By Michael T. Shutterly for CoinWeek ….. Ardashir V, King of Persis, defeated Artabanus IV, the last Shahanshah (“King of Kings”) of Parthia, at the Battle of Hormozdgan in 224 CE. Persis was located in what is now southwestern Iran, while Parthia was located primarily in what is now northeastern Iran; both kingdoms were once […]

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A Look at the Ancient Coin Market Through Recent Auction Results

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By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Let’s take a tour through the auction records to get a sense of the value of an ancient coin. The coin in question is quite interesting. It is an arresting denarius of Augustus struck between 18 and 19 BCE at the Spanish mint of Caesaragusta, modern-day Zaragoza. On the […]

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Hersh’s Die Study of the Denarius of Gaius Antonius

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By Liv Mariah Yarrow for American Numismatic Society (ANS) ……   I never had the pleasure of meeting Charles Hersh during his lifetime. But over these last few weeks, I’ve been meeting the man, his brilliance, his meticulous research habits, and a little of his personal tastes, all through his papers on deposit here at […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Julian the Apostate

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  By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. Apostate: (noun) a person who forsakes his religion, cause, party, etc.[1] REMEMBERED AS THE “Apostate” by his enemies, and “the Philosopher” by his friends, Flavius Claudius Julianus–or Julian–ruled as Roman emperor from November 3, 361 CE until his death on June 26, 363. On the list of emperors, […]

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Helmets on Ancient Greek Coins

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By Steve Benner for CoinWeek ….. In this article, I want to cover some of the ancient Greek helmets that can be found on ancient coins. This may be a rehash of previous articles, but the subject interested me and also pointed out my ignorance of what were the various types of helmets worn by […]

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The Coins of Ancient Rhodes

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By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Situated on an important trade route between the Greek mainland and Ionian colonies in Turkey, the island of Rhodes slowly became one of the most powerful maritime powers in the ancient Mediterranean. Most of the islands’ inhabitants lived in three cities: Ialysos, Kamiros, and Lindos. All three polities started […]

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Mythology and Ancient Coins

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By Steve Benner for CoinWeek ….. The mythology of ancient Greece and Rome is vast, and many volumes have been written on it over the centuries. In the United States, several books have popularized the subject, with Bulfinch’s Mythology (1855) being the gold standard. Using it as a guide, the following is a brief exploration […]

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Ancient Coin Profiles: Greece – Theban Silver Stater

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Overview Thebes Thebes was one of the major cities of ancient Greece, and for a brief time it was the preeminent power in the Greek world. It first rose to prominence during the late Bronze Age (approx. 1600 – 1100 BCE) as part of the Mycenaean civilization that birthed many of the great cities of […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: The Family of Constantine the Great

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By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. Constantine’s family was large and complex. Both he and his father had sired children with two different women, thus creating three branches [of] the Constantinian family. Most remote to Constantine was the step-family created by his father and most immediate were the two branches of direct descendants he had […]

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The Ancient Coins of Mithridates

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By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek …..   Mithridates VI Eupator (b.120 – d.63 BCE) was born into Pontic royalty under an auspicious sign. Justinus relays, in his recounting of Pompeius Trogus’s Historiae Philippicae, the story of how two comets lit the night sky for 70 consecutive days. This event was memorialized in a series of […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: The Coinage of Claudius

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By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. I, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus This-that-and-the-other (for I shall not trouble you yet with all my titles,) who was once, and not so long ago either, known to my friends and relatives and associates as “Claudius the Idiot,” or “That Claudius,” or “Claudius the Stammerer,” or “Clau-Clau-Claudius,” or […]

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The Ancient Greek Coins of Paeonia

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By Steve Benner for CoinWeek ….. I consider myself well-read in ancient Greek history, but I have to admit that I wasn’t very familiar with Paeonia. I actually own a very nice Patraus tetradrachm, which probably triggered my interest in looking deeper into their history. The Paeonians were said to have derived their name from […]

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The Rise and Fall of the Roman Sestertius

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By Steve Benner for CoinWeek ….. After the denarius, the sestertius is the second most commonly recognized coin of the Roman Empire (27 BCE – 476 CE). Yet little is known of the coin during the Roman Republic (509 – 27 BCE). Parts of this discussion overlap with my previous article, “Ancient Roman Coinage From […]

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The Quinarius: An Ancient Roman Coin You’ve Never Heard of

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ….. ANCIENT ROME ISSUED coins for almost eight centuries. Among the bewildering variety of denominations that circulated during this long span of time, the quinarius stands out as one of the most obscure. Struck in both gold and silver, the type is so scarce that many experienced collectors […]

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Short Timers on Ancient Coins: The Briefest Reigns of Roman Emperors

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ….. Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. —Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part II (1597) ROMAN EMPERORS RARELY wore an actual crown. They are more commonly shown wearing a laurel wreath or a diadem, the jeweled headband that was an ancient emblem of royalty. But the mortality statistics […]

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The Dekadrachm – Athens’ Greatest Coin

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By Michael T. Shutterly for CoinWeek ….. The coins of Athens are among the most popular and best known of all ancient coins – virtually every collector of ancient coins has at least one “owl” (Athenian tetradrachm) in her or his collection. But the most spectacular Athenian coin is the dekadrachm, most likely struck in […]

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The Ancient Coins of Kephallenia

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By Steve Benner for CoinWeek ….. Kephallenia is the sixth-largest island of Greece and the largest in the Ionian Sea. It is located opposite the Gulf of Corinth (Figure 1). The island was associated with the city of Elis on the mainland but functioned independently. Kephallenia is about 31 miles long and 20 to three […]

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CoinWeek Podcast #165: Mike Markowitz on Byzantine Coins

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The CoinWeek Podcast is brought to you by PCGS. Check out PCGS’ new grading specials and take advantage of an exclusive offer to get a PCGS limited-edition 35th Anniversary Silver PCGS Box. You can also save money on Canadian banknote submissions and coin variety attributions. Visit pcgs.com/ccspecial to learn more. CoinWeek Podcast #165: Mike Markowitz […]

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Coins of the Persian Kings of Kings

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By Michael T. Shutterly for CoinWeek ….. The Persians did not have a coinage system of their own until about 546 BCE when Cyrus the Great conquered Lydia and adopted elements of the previous Kroiseid coinage system (developed by Kroisos, the last king of Lydia). When the Persians began minting coins, they not only used […]

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The Hole Truth: Ancient Coins That Were Pierced

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ….. Don’t buy damaged coins. They will be impossible to sell. This was some of the best advice I ever got from an experienced collector of ancients. But like most things in classical numismatics, there are exceptions. Ancient coins were sometimes pierced with a hole, to be worn […]

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Stack’s Bowers Offers Large Assemblage of Athenian Owls at NYINC Sale

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By Nicholas Fritz – Numismatist, World and Ancient Coins, Stack’s Bowers Galleries …… No ancient Greek city-state captures the modern imagination quite like Athens. Though the whole of the ancient Greek world is known as “the Cradle of Western Civilization”, it is Athens that has come to symbolize the fullest fruition of reason and democracy […]

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The Influence of Historic and Ancient Coin Designs

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By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. History is a continuum and time moves linearly. Generally, as time progresses, artistic and cultural trends evolve and build upon each other. One perfect example is the Hellenistic influence seen in Buddhist artwork from the Gandharan province in the first century BCE. The Bactrian and other Greek kings who […]

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NGC Ancients – Coinage of Larissa

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Coins of the Greek city of Larissa are among the most beautiful of the ancient world   By Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC) …… Located in central Greece, the site of Larissa has been inhabited for thousands of years. Through much of this time, it has been one of the most important cities in the region […]

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The Ancient Celtic Coinage of Britain

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ….. FOR ANCIENT GREEKS and Romans, Britain was a mysterious land at the northern edge of the world. As early as 2000 BCE, the Phoenicians traded with the Celtic tribes of Cornwall (the southwestern tip of England) for the valuable tin essential to making bronze. By the third […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: The Coinage of Trebizond

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By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. The coinage of Trebizond supplies an instance, not very rare in numismatics, of a currency of great abundance remaining unknown, or practically unknown, to collectors for several centuries (Wroth, lxxiv). “…the coinage of the empire of Trebizond, that Cinderella of the late Byzantine coinage (Bendall, 4).” THE SOUTHERN SHORE […]

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: The Last Ancient Coin

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By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek …..   “What was the last ancient coin?” The question is unanswerable. There was no “last” ancient coin, just as there was no “last” ancient person. Classical antiquity didn’t just stop — it morphed gradually into the medieval world, which morphed, in turn, into what we understand as the modern […]

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Coinage in the Roman Provinces: ANS Conference Highlights, Part 3

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By Lucia Carbone for American Numismatic Society (ANS) ……   Part 1 | Part 2 The third and final day of the conference, chaired by Joel Allen and Liv Yarrow, was dedicated to Roman Republican coinage and its imitations in the Roman World. In the first paper of the day, given by A. McCabe, building […]

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The Ancient Coins of Kroisos

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By Michael T. Shutterly for CoinWeek ….. Kroisos, King of Lydia Kroisos, the last king of the Ionian kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor, launched a revolution in coinage when he minted the world’s first gold coins and first silver coins. With his “kroiseids” he also created the world’s first bi-metallic coinage system. The ancient […]

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Eagles on Ancient Coins

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz ….. Majestic, powerful, swift, and intelligent, the eagle has held a strong grip on human imagination since the earliest times. The bald eagle, native to North America, features prominently on the Great Seal of the United States, and on many classic and modern American coins. The U.S. $10 […]

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The Mystery of the Double-Headed Coins of Ancient Istros

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By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Istros, also known as Histria, was an ancient Greek colony located on the western Dobrudja coast of the Black Sea. Situated approximately 300 miles north of Byzantium, this small city was founded by Miletian traders around 657 or 656 BCE. As the oldest Greek colony on the Black Sea, […]

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Ancient Roman Coinage From Republic to Empire

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By Steve Benner for CoinWeek ….. The coinage of the ancient Romans underwent considerable changes as the government transitioned from a republic to an empire. Some coins like the denarius would continue through the imperatorial period into the Empire only slightly reduced in weight. Some would disappear, like the victoriatus. And some, like the sestertius, […]

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Uncirculated Ancient Silver Coins for Under $1,000

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By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. As a collector, you have many different options when deciding on your collecting strategy. And while everyone starts in a different place, most run into the two main questions of quality or price. But it is important to realize that there are no correct answers to these questions, and […]

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Panticapaeum: Ancient Greek Coins of the Black Sea’s Northern Coast

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By Steve Benner for CoinWeek ….. This is the last article in a series on the Greek colonies on the northern coast of the Black Sea (Euxine Sea). The first article was on Olbia; the second was on Tyras and Chersonesus; the third covers the cities of Theodosia, Gorgippia, and Phanagoria in the Cimmerian Bosporos. […]

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Coins of the Conquerors of Rome

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By Michael T. Shutterly for CoinWeek ….. Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, so, too, did it not fall in one. It actually took three days, spread out over 66 years. Theodosius the Great (reigned 379-395 CE) was the last man to rule the entire Roman Empire, both East and West. On his […]

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NGC Ancients: Silver Coin “Pocket Change” of Central Greece

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Interesting silver coins from Central Greece are available for modest prices   By Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) …… One popular area for ancient Greek coinage is central Greece, home to a number of important cities, notably Athens. From the sixth century BCE onward, a great variety of coins were struck there, principally in silver and […]

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Best in Show: Ancients of the Tyrant Collection

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CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz …. Ancient coins are like puppies in one respect: a good pedigree enhances their market value. For an ancient coin, “pedigree” is not a matter of bloodlines, but rather what famous collections it might have belonged to in the past. A numismatist’s heart beats a little faster at the sight of notations […]

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