Reconsidering the Interpretation and Dating of Ancient Coins: The Case of Bronze Coins from Dodona in the Name of Menedemos Argeades (original) (raw)
Related papers
During the second century BC the cities of Thessaloniki, Pella and Amphipolis present an important number of coin issues in bronze. Those very rich coinages are one of our principal sources for the history of these cities during the end of the Hellenistic period, the second and fi rst centuries BC. The coins in the name of these cities have not yet been systematically studied, even though they are very common in almost every excavation in Northern Greece. They are not of a very high artistic quality and didn't attract the interest of the museums numismatic collections. The coinage in the name of the three cities has to be associated with the bronze coinage in the name of the Macedonians as well as the coinage of the Roman quaestors of Macedonia, since all these coinages share the same types, and this made their study even more complicated.
The case of the ΜΕΛΣΑ coins: A reappraisal
U. Peter & V. F. Stolba (eds.), Thrace – Local Coinage and Regional Identity, Berlin Studies of the Ancient World 77, Berlin: Edition Topoi, 2021, 231–262.
Coins bearing the legend ΜΕΛΣΑ first came to notice in the 1990s; since then this numismatic riddle offered quite a challenge for research, regarding the identity of the issuing authority. Quite recently valuable information became available for several stray finds reportedly coming from an area near Shabla (in north-eastern Bulgaria). A reappraisal of the whole matter was due, tackling first with problems of historical topography; in the vicinity of the reported concentration area, the place name Καρῶν λιμήν or Portus Caria is attested in literary sources. It has to be noted that a limen (harbour), similarly to a polichnion or a fort, would not have been in the position to issue its own coins. Even if such an option might be considered, the omission of the ethnic name on the coins is hard to explain. Then, by using a process of elimination, the attribution of the ΜΕΛΣΑ coins to a city turns out to be highly unlikely (taking into account the territory borders of Kallatis, Dionysopolis and Bizone). In a similar fashion, the possibility for an unknown dynast to have struck the coins under discussion appears to be quite scarce, as the coin types do not seem to imply a ruler’s issue. The name Melsas is apparently of Thracian origin and provides a plausible connection to the mythical founder of Mesembria Pontike. Moreover, it seems preferable to adhere to the only known Melsas (the mythical figure) than to hypothesize the arguable existence of a historical person of that name. The filleted bull’s head employed for this coin issue is a significant element, linked with animal sacrifice and probably hinting to a founder hero. A logical solution would be to assume that this may be the coinage of a sanctuary, perhaps a non-urban sanctuary which, under circumstances that called for the use of currency, produced coins of a commemorative character. The chronology of the coins is addressed particularly on the basis of stylistic analysis and the testimony of overstrikes (ΜΕΛΣΑ specimens struck over pieces of Philip II, Alexander III and Kassander). It can be argued that such pieces may fit better in a “time of troubles” and that they could have been minted sometime in the period from c. 313 BC to c. 304 BC, alongside the rebellion of certain West Pontic cities against Lysimachos and the events that followed. An alternative dating, in the first decade of the 3rd century BC, would be also possible, framed within the historical context of the hostilities between Lysimachos and Dromichaites. Some further insights are put forward in brief, such as ritual practices related to local cults in the area under spotlight, as well as the Dorian connection(s) in a wider context. A possible clue may additionally emerge in association with the horothesia inscription of Dionysopolis, where an intriguing point of reference might hint at a conspicuous monument (a heroon?) of importance in broadening perspective.
Revue Belge de Numismatique et de Sigillographie, 2016
Discussion of recent numismatic studies on finds in the Cayster River Valley: SENCAN ALTINOLUK, HYPAIPA. A LYDIAN CITY DURING THE ROMAN IMPERIAL PERIOD, Istanbul, Ege Yayinlari, 2013, 303 p. ISBN 978-605-4701-18-6. 29E. OĞUZ TEKIN, SENCAN ALTINOLUK AND E. SAĞIR, SYLLOGE NUMMORUM GRAECORUM. TURKEY 5. TIRE MUSEUM. VOLUME 1, ROMAN PROVINCIAL COINS FROM IONIA, LYDIA, PHRYGIA AND ETC., Istanbul, Turkish Institute of Archaeology, 2011, 40 plates. ISBN 978-605-5607-62-3. 80E. OĞUZ TEKIN AND SENCAN ALTINOLUK, SYLLOGE NUMMORUM GRAECORUM. TURKEY 7. ÖDEMIŞ MUSEUM. VOLUME 1, ROMAN PROVINCIAL COINS OF IONIA, LYDIA AND ETC., Istanbul, Turkish Institute of Archaeology, 2012, 30 plates. ISBN 978-605-5607-93-7. 60E.
Cercetari Numismatice, 2019
Over time, we collected all kinds of images and data of coins that aroused our interest at one point. They were part of different private collections of which nothing is known today. The coins come from the region of Dobruja, offering through their presence new features of the movement of people and money during the Roman period. Thus, we describe some coins from Tyras, from Istros and Odessos, from Nicaea and Prusias ad Hypium, from the province of Bithynia, but also isolated issues from Topirus, Amisus Pontus and Caesarea in Cappadocia. Some pieces wear countermarks with legends such as TONZOV, PR, or the monogram attributed to the city of Antioch in Pisidia; others are punched with an imperial head attributed to Vespasian by an unknown mint.