A new silver denomination of Lysimachus: a unique hemidrachm (from Mytilene?) with Athena Parthenos on the reverse more

KEPMATIA CPIAIAI TipnTiKOQ tomoq yici tov Icoavvn ToupaTooyAou A NOMIIMATIKH-ICpPAniTIKH KEPMATIA QIAIAI TipmiKOQ toljoc, y|Q TOV Iwavvn ToupaTooyAou A NOMIIMATIKH-ZCPPAniTIKH lYnOYPTElO nOAITIIMOY I NOMIIMATIKO MOYIEIO I AGriva 2009 I HELLENIC MINISTRY OF CULTURE I NUMISMATIC MUSEUM I Athens 20C9 NM! I1EPIEXOMENA A npoAoyoi; EpYoypocpio I-IX Xotp«S(X«|*ia»; M n A K1PTZH2 IQANNHX TO TPATE 0 FAOT, 6 ccpxatoX6yo? ...............1-5 NOMIZMATIKH XapaAau-wx; B. KP1TZA£ Andrew MEADOWS Olivier PICARD r. A. niKOVAAS M'.Xa«lcTlBEPIOS 'l^Xsva BAAXOriANNII Euan^Lct rKOPI'lOV Maria CACCAMO CALTABIANO K. DE CALLATAY and R. KAN Wolfgang KISCHER-BOSSERT Nina FROLOVA ChristosGATZOI.IS Selene PSOMA Dominique GEKI.N Giovanni GORINI ErdAAa KATAKOTTA Ofio~/,oi Apro/dxoi Money in an ideal world: Plato s Laws and Ike dual nature of Coinage Le decret amphictionique stir le tetradrachmc slephanephore et les technitcs Eva vduiaua xrxi xdnoizq '.oxopisc A~~ixd «spaA8ixd»xat «viaq zsyyorporziac » vopiouaxa XCU oi axdostc zouq p.e zouq navaOrjvaixooc au<pops(c «&Yjaaup6g» vop-iap-dzcov ae xAsta-d raqnxo ouvoXo and to {iopeio-avazo/dxo vzxpoxacpeio vqq Orfiaq........ ^xdpeprj. noAiqAoxpiboq Why is there the head of a Siknus on the Aitna tetradrachm? A new silver denomination of Lysimachus: a unique hemidrachm (from Mytilene?)with Athena Parlhenos on the reverse Coldene Charonsgroschen 109-115 117-125 Caucasian imitations of Alexander and l.i/simachus' Golden Stater 127-133 More on the Bottiaeans of Thrace Sphinges perdues et retrouvees: cinq mounaics de Samothrace dans In Collection Chandon deBriaillce A parcel of a 4th century Athenian Telradrachms Hoard «&-//(raupoc;» apruptev von'.a\xdx<j)v and ~r\v apxaia <t>dpoaAo 135-143 U5-151 153-157 15(5-175 A NEW SILVER DENOMINATION OF LYSIMACHUS: A UNIQUE HEMIDRACHM (FROM MYTILENE?) WITH ATHENA PARTHENOS ON THE REVERSE* F. DE CAI.LATAY and R. KAN SUMMARY An unpublished hemidrachm (1.85g) in the name of king Lysimaehus recently appeared on the market. With this coin, we may not only add a new silver denomination to the coinage of Lysimaehus but also an entirely new type. On the reverse, we see an image of Athena Parthenos. standing left, with a Nike in her extended right hand. From what we see in the inner left field of the reverse (letter M or the monogram MY and, possibly, achelys or lyre in diagonal), it is tempting to attribute this unique hemidrachm to the mint of Mytilene. Except from I'amphylia and Cilicia. this is the first monetary occurrence for the I'hidian Athena Parlhenos. The most likely explanation for such a choice leads not to Athens but to the wish to emphasize peace after victory (we are not too long after fpsus. 301 HC). We want to thank Mr. Brian Blomfield who polished the English of this article. NOMI5JM AT1KH p. uk call.viay In tribute to foannis Touratsoglou. the Macedonian, this article draws attention to a unique silver fraction in the name of the King Lysimachus. the Thracian. This fraction appeared re- cently on the market and is now in the collection of one of the authors. It is especially notable since there have been no previous examples of such a light denomination in this king"s silver coinage and since the reverse type is entirely new. We first describe the coin and summarize its features: Obv.: [lead of Alexander the Great r. wearing a diadem with horns of Amnion and a long ribbon floating behind, liorder o: dots. Rev.: BA2IAEQI (in the r. field) - AYIIMAXO I Y| (in the 1. field). Athena standing I. She is holding a Kike crowning the king's name in her extended r. hand and touching with her I. hand a shield standing vertically on the ground. Icr I. leg is slightly bent. In the inner I. field, monogram M (?). Traces of overstrikes in the 1. field as well as between Athena and the word RAIIAEQI. 1.85 g - 340° (11 h). Triton. Sale VI. 14 January '2003. nr. 236 = Classical Numismatic Group. Sale CM. 24 October 2003. nr. 161 = the Zhuyuetang Collection (Hong Kong). DENOMINATION All the coinage of Lysimachus was struck on the Attic standard, and we possess thousands of telradrachms (c. 17.2 g) and a number of drachms (c. 4.3g) from among his silver coins. This new denomination must be a hemidrachm, despite the fact that the weight (1.85 g) is slightly a bit below the value we would expect (c. 2.15 g); the piece is after all worn1. 1. P.C. Schindel showed that the very rare hemidrachms of Alexander the Great were by preference preferably struck in Phoenicia. That makes some sense when we recollect because we do know that this area, along with Cilicia. was in the habit of striking small silver fractions (see the obols. hemiobols and quarters of obols struck 110 in Judaea during Persian times): P. C. S< HINDEL, "Contribution a la numismatique d'Alexandre le Grand: locali- sation des ateliers frappant des hemidrachmes et suggestion pour une met lieu re definition des criteres N0M1EMATIKH d'ateliers". BCEN 20/1 (1983). p. I -!>. Drachms, the smallest silver coins known so far for Lysimachus, are not particu- larly abundant in public and private collections. In addition to some uncertain provenances, they have been attributed to the mints of Lampsacus (Th. nr. 62), Magnesia (Th. nr. 117-118. Armenak 864), Mytilene (Th. nr. 136-138), Ephesus (Th. nr. 168-174. Armenak 883-889, Meydancikkale 2661-2666)2 and Smyrna (Th. nr. 238), all located in Asia Minor. Other mints in Asia Minor apparently failed to strike drachms (Abydus. Sardes. Colophon. Teos. Alexandria Troas, Her- aclea. Cius. Pergamum and Parium). As the Armenak and Meydancikkale hoards make clear, the most prolific mint for Lysimachian drachms was Ephesus. THE OBVERSE The obverse of our coin shows the regular type for the silver coinage of Lysi- machus: the head of Alexander the Great r.. adorned with horns of Ammon, a reference to his visit to the oasis of Siwa. It is generally accepted that Lysimachus did not strike any coin in his name before his victory in 301 BC over Antigonus Monophthalmus at the Battle of lpsus;4. Around 299/298 BC, he started to strike regular Alexander tetradrachms and drachms with his name on the reverse: BAIIAEDZ AYZIMAXOY. Then. c.297/296 BC, soon after the death of Cassander, he introduced a coinage that was com- pletely new as to name and types: the head of Alexander on the obverse (following the example of Ptolemy and Seleucus before him) and a seated Athena holding a Nike on her extended right hand on the reverse. These are the types which were to last until the death of the king in 281 3C at the battle of Corupedium. and which indeed survived on posthumous issues until as late as the beginning of the first century BC. With its identical obverse type, our hemidrachm clearly belongs to this coinage, which means that it cannot have been struck before c. 297/296 BC. The author of the notice of Triton VI attributes this unique hemidrachm to an "un- certain mint in Asia Minor," adding that "although unpublished, the style of the obverse is consistent with that found on Lysimachian tetradrachms of mints of Asia Minor" (p. 70. This attribution is likely to be true since the bulk of the Lysimachian coinage, in- cluding all attributed drachms, was struck in Asia Minor. The argument, however. 2. For the hoaixl of Meydancikkale. see A. daviskb and G. Le Rider, Le trfsorde Meydancikkale (Cilkie Trochee. WHO), Ciilnar II (Paris 1989), p. 118-131 (nr. 2589-2736). 3. m. Thompson. " The mints of Lysimachus". in CM. KraaY and o.k. JeNKFNS (eds). Essays in Creek Coinage /'resented to Stanley liohinson. Oxford '908, p. 163-182. pi. 16-22. At Lysimachia. he issued small silver and bronze coins with his badge, the forepart of a lion, and an A (as his initial?) pos- sibly as early soon as 300/305 BC. is weak. Stylistic comparisons are always dangerous: engravers may have trav- elled (the tetradrachms of Lysimachus offer one of the best documented cases of die-sharing between mints)'1; there is rarely a distinctive mint style; what we more frequently observe is that different "hands" coexisted within the same mint. Nonetheless, if. besides a general similarity, we take into account technical devices such as the shape of the ribbon, the pattern of the hair and the presence of a border of dots, the best comparisons would seem to be nr. 70 (Abydus). 101 (Magnesia) and 156 (Alexandreia Troas) in the study of M. Thompson. All these issues are dated 297/296-282/281 BG and figure in the so-called Armenak hoard which, with its more than 400 coins, plays for Lysimachian silver coinages the role that the l)e- manhur hoard plays for those of Alexander the Great5. Herbert Cahn distinguished two types (A and B) for these horned portraits of Alexander6. If we accept these criteria (which are not always unequivocal), our hemidrachm belongs to Gahn's Type A (a small head in high relief, the horn around the ear. with a border of dots most of the time), which seems to come first. THE REVERSE All the images of Athena standing with her left hand touching a shield and a Nike in her right hand derive from the world-famous Athena Parthenos created by Phei- dias for the Parthenon in Athens (see below: General comments)1. In the inner left field of the reverse, we find the letter M (more precisely the monogram MY -perhaps this is actually a more sophisticated monogram since it is not totally clear that there is no additional line). This letter, the most common of those on the Alexander coinage, leaves the door open to almost all possibilities". We find it on tetradrachms of Lysimachus struck in Mytilene (Th. 137) and in I'ergamum (Th. 216). A link with Pergamum is however unlikely since all tetradrachms there belong to the Gahn's Type B and since two other marks (a pen- tagram and a herm) appears on the reverse of Th. 216. 4. See C. Aknoi.i>-Bh:cciu. "The i'ergamene mint under Lysimachos". in R. Asnton and S. HURTER (eds). Studies in Greek Numismatics in Memory of Martin Jessop Price. London 1998. p. 5. 5. M. Thompson, " The Armenak hoaid UGCH 1123)", ANSMN 31 (1986), p. 63-106, pi. 6-26. 6. IF.A. Cahn. "/.urn Alexanderbildnis der Lysimachos-Pragungen". in H.-Ch. NuESKRif at. (ed.). Die Miinze. Bild-Dotschaft-Hedcutung. Festschrift fur Maria-K.-Alfdldi, Frankfurt 1991. p. 84-98 and pi. 8- 9. Typology accepted by B.R. BROWN; Royal Portraits in Sculpture and Coins. Pyrrhos and the Successors of Alexander the Great, Mew York 1995. p. 13-15. 7. See the description of Pausanlas, 1.24. 5-7 (also Pliny, NH, 36. 18 and Plutarch. Pericles, 31.2-4). On that topic, see K. UilPEN, Athena Parthenos. A Reconstruction. Toronto 1971. and P. Dkmargne. in LIMC. II. I. Zurich-Munchen 1984. s.y.'Athena'". p. 977-978 (Type A. 11: nr. 212-233). 1031 and 1041-1042. See nr. 220 (the statuette of Varvakeion. a Roman copy widely considered to be largely seen as the best reproduction of the original). 8. See M • 1- PRICE, The Coinage in the Name of Alexander the Great and Philip Arrhidaeus, Zurich-London 1991, p. 599-600. A better case can be made for Mytilene. and for four reasons: 1) The shape of the letter M proves that this is a monogram for MY (very different from the M of Th. '216 in that respect), and this accords well with Mytilene. 2) Most of the Mytilenian issues belong to Cahn's Type A. the type of our hemidrachm. 3) Mytilene is one of the rare mints whose drachms for which we do know. 4) All the Lysimachian coins issued at Mytilene add a Greek lyre (c//e/i/s) on ihe reverse, normally in the inner left field0. Although it is not clear, a Greek lyre may have been engraved in the inner left field of our hemidrachm. offering a possible explana- tion for what appears at first sight to be an inclined U at the feet of Athena. a new SILVER denomination OF LYSIMACHUS: a UNIQUE HEMIDRACHM CPROM MYTILENE?) WITH ati!i n \ l'm« i'lll no;. on the reverse Although none of these arguments (except for that pertaining to a possible lyre) suffices by itself to attribute our coin to a specific mint, taken together they direct our attention to Myti- lene, on the island of Lesbos. This in turn leads us to reflect very briefly on Shakespeare's, Pericles, Prince of Tyre in which the Hellenistic governor of Mytilene, Lysimachus, becomes king of on Tyre after marrying the beautiful Marina, whom he first met in a brothel! Reconstruction of a Greek lyre (chclys) 9. M. THOMPSON 1968. p. 175-176 uses the Greek word chelys. For the Greek lyre, see Th. KiiiNAfii. "Lyra", in DaKBMBBRC & Saglio. Diclioniuiire ties antiquites grecques el romaines, 111.2. Paris 1904, p. 1437-1451. 113 NOMIXMATtKH K. UE CAI.I.ATAY and 8. KAN GENERAL COMMENTS Drachm from Mytilette (Th. 132): Tkalec, 19 February 2001. nr. ' The new reverse type of this unique hemidrachm deserves further commen. The type of Athena Parthenos prompted many copies, made in different materials and sizes. They started, as it were, as soon as the original sculpture saw the light of day. with coins forming just a minor category out of many sites of reproduction10. The first monetary issues to represent not only the head or the bust but the full statue of Athena Parthenos were made, oddly enough, far to the east of Athens, in Cilicia (Nagidus or Holmi) and Pamphylia (Side) around 350 PC, As on our hemidrachm, the snake Erichtonius is absent (or perhaps hidden behind the shield). All the many other coinages that reproduce the Athena Parthenos are later than Lysimachus. In Athens, the type does not appear before the so-called 'New Style' coinage starting in c. 180 BC. limportantly enough, this is the type chosen by the Seleucids for the only monetary issues that represented Athena on the reverse. These spectacular issues of gold staters struck by Antiochus II Theos in Western Asia Minor (261-246 BC) have been attributed to the mints of Myrina (Houghton & Lorber 498). Cyme (502) and "probably Phocaea" (515)". It comes as no surprise to find that, within the sequence of Seleucid types, this has been singled out as an "exceptional reverse type"12. The Athena Parthenos enjoyed great numismatic success during the Hellenistic period. To quote just a few references, we find it on several late Seleucid issues of tetradrachms (Anti- ochus VII and Seleucus VI) and also on bronzes struck by the city of Seleuceia ud Calycadnum (first century BC) or by the Cilician king Philopator (who died in 17 AD). Tto explain that success. W.B. Dinsmoor suggested that certain kings who helped repair the damaged sculpture around the middle of the second centuryBC were rewarded by an au- thorization that in effect advertised their generosity on their coinages13. This hypothesis has been severely criticized on a number of different grounds and is no longer endorsed. As rightly underlined by L. hacroix. the mounting numismatic fortunes of the Athena Parthenos contrast sharply with the paucity of images based on that other masterwork of Pheidias, the Zeus of Olympia. It would thus seem that it was Athens itself that was being highlighted, not some specific artwork or artist. If we probe a little deeper, however, it appears likely that the enormous success of the Athena Parthenos does not really spring from any a reference to the city of Athens14. It was rather an image that conveyed just the right political message for any ruler, particularly any 10. For the image of Athena Parthenos on coins, see l. Lacroix. Les reproductions de statues sur les monnaiesgrecques. \m statutiire archa'ique el classique. Liege 1949. p. '266-286' and w. Lermann. Athenatypcn auf griechisclien Miinzcn. Deitrage zur Geschicltle der Athena in der Kunst. Munchen 1skx). p. 74-81. 11. A. lloi.'ghton and C. LOKBBR, Seleucid Coins. A Comprehensive Catalogue. Part I. Seleucus I through Antiochus III. New York-Lancaster/London 2002. 12. A. Houghton and C. LfjRBER 2002, p. 183. •I tt 13. VV. -B. Dinsmoor; " The repair of the Athena Parthenos", A)A 38 (1934), p. 93 ss, 14. See H.S. i.i ni>. Lysimachus. A study in early Hellenistic kingship. London-New York 1992. p. 164. Despite some nom12matikh connections. Athens was of unessentially imporluntci- lor Lysimachus. Hellenistic king, who wanteds to portray hhimself as victorious and confident. For this is after all not Athena Promachos, leader in battle, but the calm and imperious Athena Nikephoros, already holding a victory. The seated Athena Nikephoros on the reverse of the Lysimachian drachms and tetradrachms has been less commented on15. It shouldhas tbe noticed that this Athena is also believed to be an adapted (admittedly more distant) version of the Pheidian original. While we must keep in mind that the first audience of these silver royal issues were mercenaries at a time when diadochs were competing fiercely for this particular form of manpower, quite how propagandist these Hellenistic monetary types really were remains a debatable question. The aesthetic merits of the Lysimachian obverse have been praised by many, with Pollitt even suggesting that this head of Alexander may have been a creation of Pyrgoteles himself^. Let us finally return to the question of why our coin should portray Athena, if not to honour for Athens. According to li.S. Lund, "... if Athena's presence has any further significance it may lie in Lysimachus' acquisition after Ipsits of the Troad cities comprising the Ilian koinon, a federation centred on the worship of Athena Ilia's. A bid for its goodwill with the placing of Athena on his coinage is not implau- sible"1 '. The new bemidrachm does not offer the best support for this hypothesis; if this were indeed the case, then why not simply reproduce the image of Athena The use of the type of Athena Parthenos, arguably the most famous image of that goddess at the time, points to a more general explanation which fits with that suggested by M.J. Price19: the Athena Nikephoros of the Lysimachian coinage is intended to celebrate the victory of Ipsus in 301 BC in an original way which can still reflect the existing Alexander monetary tradition. After the seated Zeus Aetophoros of the Alexandrian coinage, and after the seated Zeus Nikephoros intro- duced by Seleucos. Lysimachus retained the fitting idea of a Nikephoros but substi- tuted Athena for Zeus. Such a view naturally leads us to think of many reasons which could substantiate a linkage between Asia Minor (especially Northern Asia Minor) and Athena. Philetairos and the Attalids kings, who took the place of Lysimachus in Asia Minor, proceeded no differently: they later made use of his seated Athena in an obvious attempt to legitimize their rule. A kew SlI VKR l)i:NOMTN ', HON Of. LYSIMACHUS: A uniquk HEMipRACHM O'HOM MyriLrSr1^ WITH ATHLN.A PARTHENON ON thi: fUiVrKSt Tetradrachm of Lysimachus (] .arnpsacus)-: Kunker; By, 8 March 2004, nr. 1170 15. We leave aside the aesthetic criticisms of Charles Seltman, Oh. Sei.tman. Greek Cuius. A History cf Metallic Currency ami Coinage down to tire Fall of the fleilaiistie Kingdoms. 2nd ed., London 1955, p. 221: lite reverse bin/.on was not worthy of the obverse; Athena seated, her elbow resting on her shield, her right arm extended to hold a small Nike, who places a wreath upon the initial letter of Lysi- machus' name. This miyht be termed a quaint conceit but tl is not reaJly good taste, and indeed the two sides of the com illustrate well both the virtues and the demerits of Hellenistic art. the brilliance of its portraiture, and. with a lew ran' exceptions, the cheapness of its aJiegorieal efforts^ IB. J.J. BOLLirr. Art in the Hellenistic Age, Cambridge 1986, p. 3,3-37. 17. U.S. Lran 1992, p. 164. 18. See I.. Lacboix 1949. p. 103-1.15 (/. 14 sWue d AtMni Sim). rjjj 19. M.J. Prjcf:, Coins of Me Mac-edoninns (London 19741, p. 27. See also O. MciitKiiui.M, Korfy Hellenic-tic Coinage. Prom the accession of Alexander to ike peace of Apawea (336-188 B.C.), Cambridge 1991, p. 81. sOMIEMATIKia