Scottishmoney Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 Circa 410 BC. Hemilitron (3.21 gm; 18 mm x 14 mm). Head of Arethusa left, hair in ampyx and sphendone, in field right, laurel twig; whole in linear circle / ΣΥΡΑ Dolphin right, below, pecten. Calciati II, 55, 24. SNG ANS 418. The knob on the coin is the casting spur, these coins were cast as blanks, then hand struck with the design of the coin. Curiously this is an Iberian Peninsula shaped coin! These coins are more typically found in this condition: This particular piece is more typical for the condition these coins are found in, but curiously and dramatically this coin has a much larger casting spur which was never removed from the piece, though surely temptation would have suggested otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlueke Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 This particular piece is more typical for the condition these coins are found in, but curiously and dramatically this coin has a much larger casting spur which was never removed from the piece, though surely temptation would have suggested otherwise. I wonder if they just didn't care about the spur or if they were in a hurry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottishmoney Posted March 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 With the first coin there is not enough of a spur to bother with, this was a fairly common method of manufacturing coin blanks until about the 1st century AD in the Mediterranean area. With the second piece, I am still amazed that it was never removed, and I surmise the coin was lost to wherever it was found shortly after it was minted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geordie582 Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 Leaving the spur seems to be the norm for a number of cast coins. See the Celtic potins! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottishmoney Posted March 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 Leaving the spur seems to be the norm for a number of cast coins. See the Celtic potins! Actually the Celtic potins were cast as a coin, and not a cast blank which was then struck, so there was a difference in their manufacture. Curiously Syracuse took the coin manufacturing a step further with casting then striking the blanks, but this produced a more detailed and more attractive coin. With some of the Celtic coins, or rather monetary forms such as the ring money, I am mystified as to how they cast such pieces, and made usually good rings with them. Not having thoroughly examined ring money myself, I surmise that perhaps they cast them, then filed off the spurs from them. Potins can often be found with small sections missing from the spur having been removed from the coin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 Very interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.