Didrammi di Thermai

[VALTERI]

In asta Gorny&Mosch 236 lotto 93 il prossimo 07-03-2016 , un esemplare dei piuttosto rari didrammi coniati dagli Imeresi nella rifondata Thermai .

 

Di questa tipologia ho anche trovato in rete un altro esemplare  apparentemente passato in rapida successione in aste  Hess 326 lotto 24 ( 28-05-2014 ) e Gitbud&Naumann 26 lotto 21 ( 14-12-2014 ) .

 

Lo stesso esemplare Gorny , per altro , ha un non lontano passaggio sempre in Gorny 215 lotto 726 ( 14-10-2013 ) .

 

Può valere , infine , uno sguardo , anche perché presente nella stessa prossima asta , il didramma di Crotone con al rovescio una figurazione di Eracle molto simile a quella di Thermai

 

 

[King John]

Pezzo venduto nel 2013 da Roma Numismatics Limited a 12.000 GPB

 

Sicily, Thermai Himerensis AR Didrachm. Circa 365-350 BC. Head of Hera right, wearing stephane ornamented with foreparts of three griffins to right; dolphin behind, ΘERMITAN around / Youthful Herakles seated nude to left on rock covered with lion's skin, holding club downwards in right hand and resting left on rock; behind, strung bow and quiver with strap. Jenkins, Punic, pl.22, 7; BMC 1; de Luynes 983; Regling, Die Antike Münze Als Kunstwerk, 733. 8.51g, 24mm, 8h. Extremely Fine. Reverse double-struck. Extremely Rare, the fourth known example and the only one in private hands. Thermai was founded in the wake of the utter destruction of Himera and the slaughter of the majority of its citizens by the Carthaginian general Hannibal Mago, when the survivors of this devastation relocated to the nearby hot springs whose original discovery lay in myth associated with the wanderings of the hero Herakles (Diodorus Siculus iv. 23, v. 3). Though the site had long been inhabited, it was now swelled by the displaced Himerans, and the newly enlarged town was thereafter considered to be the successor to the old city of Himera, and in time appears to have become a sizeable settlement, though now subject to Carthaginian rule. The first series of coinage at Thermai appear to have been tetradrachms in Punic style produced in the first half of the fourth century, in all likelihood created by engravers imported from one of the other Punic dominated cities, probably Panormos. These issues, which are today very rare, bear the distinctive sharp features associated with the contemporary work of that mint. It is probable that the didrachm issue which is known from only one set of dies, was an item of some prestige that was closely associated with the later and much greater issue of litrai in the mid fourth century. Greek in style, both denominations display an image of a youthful Herakles that appears to bear distinct resemblance to the seated figure of Pan on the staters of the Arkadian League (Jameson 1276), struck circa 363/2 BC, and to the staters of Kroton (Jameson 429) struck circa 420 BC). While it is certainly possible that this reverse type was independently devised without external influence, it is tempting to see in the positioning of Herakles a close parallel with the Arkadian reverse, especially given that the two issues should be considered contemporary to each other. The head of Hera meanwhile finds its closest parallels in the coinage of Argos, circa 370-350 BC, notably Jameson 1255 (drachm) and BMC 38 (stater). Whatever the reason or occasion for the issue of this superb type, it and its accompanying litrai represent the period of finest numismatic art at Thermai, which never again issued silver coinage of such artistic merit.

 

[King John]

Avete notato come il ritratto di Hera ricordi quello riportato su alcuni stateri di Argo più o meno contemporanei?

 

Numismatica Ars Classica NAC AG

Argolis, Argos  RESULT 65.000 CHF
Stater circa 370-350, AR 12.13 g. Head of Hera r., wearing stephane decorated with palmette. Rev. A - Ρ - Γ?-?I?- ΩN Two dolphins swimming in circle; between them, wolf to r. and below, small K. Locker-Lampson 238 (this coin). Pozzi 1897 (this coin). BCD Peloponnesos 1062 (this coin). Extremely rare and among the finest if not the finest tetradrachm of Argos in existence. A very attractive portrait and a wonderful old cabinet tone, extremely fine Ex Naville I, 1921, Pozzi, 1897; Naville-Ars Classica XII, 1926, 1564 and Leu 96, 2006, BCD, 1062 sales. Among the many fabled cities of Greece, Argos claimed to be one of the ol§dest. Indeed, Homer calls the Greeks ‘Argives’ in the Iliad , and we may consider this the root for the name Argonaut. During the Bronze Age the territory of Argos incorporated other famous and powerful cities, such as Mycenae and Tiryns, and Argos was still renowned in the 490s B.C. when it began to strike coins. Its first issues were silver drachms and fractions that showed a wolf, symbolic of Apollo Lykios, who was worshipped in the city. The largest Argive coin of this early period, the drachm, shows a wolf in full, whereas triobols show its forepart, and obols show only its head – thus we have a compression of design that coordinates with the decrease in denomination. Hemiobols bore the archaic letter heta , and tetartemoria the letter tau . With a few design modernizations and an occasional new type, this system remained intact for perhaps 120 years. In about 370 – soon after the Battle of Leuctra, which reduced Spartan and Theban influence in the Peloponnesus – Argos began to strike larger denomination coins with fresh designs of high artistry. The period c.370-350 represents the artistic peak for the mint at Argos, with several numismatic masterpieces being created. Argos was famous for its sculptors (including Myron, Polycleitus and Phidias’ master, Ageladas), and we may presume the mint was able to draw upon a thriving arts community. The two main issues from this period are staters and drachms. Both show on their obverse the head of Zeus’ wife Hera, who wears a stephane decorated with palmettes. About six miles outside the city was the Heraeum, where this goddess is said to have been worshipped for thirteen generations before King Agamemnon ruled over Bronze Age Mycenae. Her original temple burned in 423, so the Hera bust on these coins must be based upon the renowned 26-foot statue by Polycleitus which was adorned with gold and ivory. The Hera staters show on their reverse two dolphins swimming in opposite directions, creating a circular pattern. The Hera drachms show Diomedes, the Argive king of Homer’s Iliad , advancing cautiously with sword drawn as he brings to his city the Palladium. The dolphins may be a punning allusion to the Delphic Apollo, who was worshipped at Argos, but perhaps even more likely they reflect the worship of Poseidon based upon two mythological episodes that were etched into the Argive consciousness. In one instance the local river-god Inachus was among those forced by Hera and Poseidon to choose between them for possession of the land; when he chose Hera, Poseidon withdrew the waters. Consequently, as it was explained, the rivers carried water only after a heavy rain. In another episode, Poseidon is said to have created the Springs of Lerna a few miles south of Argos. Apparently Hera had convinced Poseidon to send back the sea, and the grateful Argives erected a sanctuary to Poseidon Prosclystius (‘the flooder’) at the point where the tide ebbed.

Modificato 18 Febbraio, 2016 da King John

[VALTERI]

Lo statere di Argo è moneta molto bella : come quella con elmo corinzio invece che lupo , tra i delfini , dalla vendita "Masterpieces  / selections from cabinet W " , vendita del 04-01-2012 , allora piuttosto discussa soprattutto per il decadramma di Agrigento