Ancient coin identification.

[Michael-Roo]

Hello all.

I'm new to the forum, and this is my first post.

Although the main focus of my collecting is English copper and silver C16th-19th I do also have a tray of ancient coins. All but three of these I have identified and noted. I'm uploading photos of the three mystery coins here in the hope that some of you may be able to identify them for me.

Copper 1: 19mm / 6.2g. All detail is in high relief and looks much better in the hand than it does in my rather poor photo.

Copper 2: 21mm / 8.6g. The bust looks not unlike that on a silver Ptolemy drachm I have. There are a couple of rows of vertical script on the reverse arranged either side of a standing figure.

Silver: 17mm / 3.9g. Conjoined busts on the obverse, a rider on horseback on the reverse. There may also be a small inscription below.

Thank you for looking.

[Peckris]

The first 2 coins look fairly typical of late Greek / Macedonian types. The legend on the reverse of the first is in Greek, and the first word ends ASI (DASI? RASI?), while the second word begins KA and probably followed by N.

I have no ideas about the third.

I hope this is of some help.

[Michael-Roo]

Thanks for the quick response Peckris.

What may appear to be a D or an R at the beginning of the reverse legend on the first coin is merely a line making up part of the central design motif.

The legend reads: A /Greek letter sigma/I. Then: K/A/W.

Hopefully this might help nailing it down to a particular time frame/mint.

Funnily enough; my wife, who is a professional classicist, can't make much sense of this legend.

[Peckris]

Thanks for the quick response Peckris.

What may appear to be a D or an R at the beginning of the reverse legend on the first coin is merely a line making up part of the central design motif.

The legend reads: A /Greek letter sigma/I. Then: K/A/W.

Hopefully this might help nailing it down to a particular time frame/mint.

Funnily enough; my wife, who is a professional classicist, can't make much sense of this legend.

Definitely not KAW - the Greeks didn't have a W! I think it's a partly corroded N.

"ASI" might be the abbreviation of a city-state. Don't forget the Greeks and Macedonians spread far and wide. It could, for example, be Sicily, though I know nothing about Sicilian coins or even history.

Edited July 14, 2014 by Peckris

[Michael-Roo]

You're quite right. Obviously not a 'W'. Apologies for my sloppy Greek.

Its the silver coin I find most intriguing. I've owned this for 30 years or so, and yet still its the one which I've never been able to place.

[Michael-Roo]

PS: The flan (silver coin) is noticeably thick for its 17mm size. Its also worth noting how the bust in the foreground is somewhat smaller than that behind.

[Peckris]

You're quite right. Obviously not a 'W'. Apologies for my sloppy Greek.

Its the silver coin I find most intriguing. I've owned this for 30 years or so, and yet still its the one which I've never been able to place.

There appears to be an exergue line with SOMETHING under it - if you could somehow narrow down what that 'something' is, you might be able to get nearer an ID?

[Michael-Roo]

There is indeed something below that exergue line. Unfortunately, even under high magnification, I can't for the life of me work out what it might be. I was hoping the obverse conjoined busts might be something which would give a clue to its identity. Clearly pre Roman. The tall head gear sported by the rider of the two horses on the reverse might also be something to consider. I guess best thing would be to show it to a few people in the Classics and Archaeology dept. of our Uni.

[Michael-Roo]

With my thanks to Mr. Wayne G Sayles of Gainesville:

Copper 1 is a modern fake of an Alexander the Great type.

Copper 2 is a Seleukid bronze of Antiochus VIII 121-96 BC

The silver is a Roman Republican denarius. Numa Pompilius and Ancus Marcius 88 BC.