Metaponto , contromarca ...

[joannes carolus]

Salve a tutti. Da Artemide Kunstauktionen 36, lotto 66, questo bronzo ( mm. 20, gr 3,8) con un'interessante contromarca che riporta il rovescio di altri bronzi metapontini : chicco  tra le lettere T ed E. Lettere di cui ho cercato più volte il significato  senza trovarlo. Richiamo ai periodo di alleanza con Crotone ? Chiedo agli amici del forum un aiuto... grazie

due bronzi di Metaponto con le lettere T ed E

       da Numismatica Tintinna  asta n. 45

 

 da Munz Zentrum Heinz-V. Muller asta 194

approfitto del post per chiedere  agli amici specialisti in questa monetazione se sono conosciuti altri bronzi metapontini con questa o altre contromarche ... un cordialissimo saluto con un buon fine settimana

Modificato Sabato alle 17:21 da joannes carolus

[scalptor]

Salve Joannes,

Molto interessante, anche questa contromarca.

Sarebbe interessante indicare la cronologia/periodo di ciascuna moneta postata.

[skubydu]

10 ore fa, joannes carolus dice:

Salve a tutti. Da Artemide Kunstauktionen 36, lotto 66, questo bronzo ( mm. 20, gr 3,8) con un'interessante contromarca che riporta il rovescio di altri bronzi metapontini : chicco  tra le lettere T ed E. Lettere di cui ho cercato più volte il significato  senza trovarlo. Richiamo ai periodo di alleanza con Crotone ? Chiedo agli amici del forum un aiuto... grazie

due bronzi di Metaponto con le lettere T ed E

       da Numismatica Tintinna  asta n. 45

 

 da Munz Zentrum Heinz-V. Muller asta 194

approfitto del post per chiedere  agli amici specialisti in questa monetazione se sono conosciuti altri bronzi metapontini con questa o altre contromarche ... un cordialissimo saluto con un buon fine settimana

 

se hai il testo sui bronzi di metaponto della Ann Johnston, ne trovi un altra..

Modificato Sabato alle 19:54 da skubydu

[joannes carolus]

2 ore fa, skubydu dice:

se hai il testo sui bronzi di metaponto della Ann Johnston, ne trovi un altra..

 

purtroppo non ce l'ho. Non riusciresti a mandarmi una foto della pagina... un grazie antipato

[joannes carolus]

3 ore fa, scalptor dice:

Salve Joannes,

Molto interessante, anche questa contromarca.

Sarebbe interessante indicare la cronologia/periodo di ciascuna moneta postata.

 

Sulla HN Italy sono tutte datate tra l'ultimo quarto del quinto secolo a.C e la metà del quarto ...425-350 a.C.

[joannes carolus]

Di Ann Johnston ho i due volumi " The coinage of Metapontum" Purtroppo il " The bronze coinage of Metapontum" non riesco da parecchio tempo reperirlo... se qualche amico avesse indicazioni come trovarlo mi farebbe un grosso piacere. Buona giornata.

[skubydu]

5 ore fa, joannes carolus dice:

Di Ann Johnston ho i due volumi " The coinage of Metapontum" Purtroppo il " The bronze coinage of Metapontum" non riesco da parecchio tempo reperirlo... se qualche amico avesse indicazioni come trovarlo mi farebbe un grosso piacere. Buona giornata.

 

È in questo volume 

 

[joannes carolus]

48 minuti fa, skubydu dice:

È in questo volume 

 

 

Grazie mille, sai dove sia possibile trovarlo ?

[skubydu]

19 minuti fa, joannes carolus dice:

Grazie mille, sai dove sia possibile trovarlo ?

 

https://numismatica.fltr.ucl.ac.be/tabmat/nl10tabmat.html

[joannes carolus]

Mi rimane di scoprire il significato delle lettere T ed E ,,,

 

Modificato 15 ore fa da joannes carolus

[skubydu]

Ne avevamo discusso qua :

 

 

 

 

 

[joannes carolus]

1 ora fa, skubydu dice:

Ne avevamo discusso qua :

 

 

 una bella discussione che finiva così :  rimane il mistero T-E...   un cordiale saluto

 

 

 

 

[Deinomenid]

On 9/27/2025 at 6:31 PM, joannes carolus said:

purtroppo non ce l'ho. Non riusciresti a mandarmi una foto della pagina... un grazie antipato

Ho il saggio ma non riesco a caricare le immagini. Questa è una trascrizione delle prime 3 pagine – penso che copra tutto, ma se hai bisogno di altro, fammelo sapere.

 

THE BRONZE COINAGE OF METAPONTUM

Ann Johnston
(Plates XXXV – XXXVIII)

The bronze coinage of Metapontum is far more diverse and abundant than that of most of her South Italian neighbours. It would appear to have been struck intermittently over roughly a century and a half, although dating is (as we shall see) uncertain since there is very little direct connection between the bronze and the silver coinage, and very few unambiguous clues as to sequence and chronology. The outline of the coinage that is presented here is therefore extremely tentative, and is intended to provide some idea of the range of types, grouped in a preliminary classification. The best hope of establishing a more reliable chronology lies with the archaeologists currently at work on the site of the city and in the chora, who may ultimately be able to fit the coinage into the framework provided by other finds, and so settle some of the questions which for the moment seem perplexing.

The catalogue does not set out to be a corpus, but simply to list the types with such published and unpublished specimens as can be identified with reasonable certainty. The condition of many of the surviving specimens makes die comparison a hazardous if not impossible task, and no attempt has been made to indicate die identities. The worn or corroded condition of many pieces should be borne in mind with regard to weight ranges; the diameters given are approximate medians. The material for the catalogue has been compiled in the course of visits to major collections over the years, mainly in pursuit of Metapontine silver, and I am deeply grateful to the curators who have made my work possible. My special thanks to all those who supplied casts and photographs.

(*) This topic seemed the most appropriate that I could offer in honor of Colin Kraay, because we had worked on it together and I could not now say which ideas were originally mine and which were his. The paper arose out of my contribution to the new edition of Historia Numorum, which Colin had the thankless job of editing. He applied himself to my MS with characteristic energy and produced an alternative draft of the section on bronzes. After an exchange of further alternatives we spent a fruitful day together in Cambridge (thanks to the helpfulness of T. R. Volk), trying to arrive at a plausible arrangement. The whole exercise was typical of Colin’s generosity with his time and knowledge. I gave him the final version just before his death, but that has now been considerably expanded, unfortunately without the benefit of his unfailingly constructive and friendly criticism. It was a great privilege to have known Colin as a scholar and a friend.

---

CATALOGUE

A. Last quarter of fifth century to mid fourth century

1.  

Obv. Tripod; sometimes symbol or letter in field.
Rev. META at l. or r.
Barley ear with leaf to r. or l., caduceus in l. field?

a. no symbol. SNG Copenhagen 1250*.
b. barley grain in field. McClean 1002*; Berlin Löbbecke; Berlin Peytrignet.
c. snake at l.; P at r. SNG Munich 1020*.
d. star at l. Berlin Fox*.
16 mm 4.3 gm.

2.  

Obv. META or ME:TA
Tripod.
Rev. H:E or T:E (retrograde)
Barley grain.
SNG Copenhagen 1270*; SNG ANS 572; BM Lincoln; Berlin 179/1879; Berlin Peytrignet; Berlin Imhoof; Berlin Löbbecke; Vienna 4256-7.
12 mm 2.1–1.59 gm.

The tripods resemble those on the earliest double-relief coinage of Croton: plain, without any structure in the centre of the bowl and with unornamented rings to brace the legs. The alternative legends on the reverse of 2 are puzzling; it seems unlikely that they indicate the denomination since clearly there is no difference in weight or diameter between the two, and the barley grain identifies the denomination. 1 and 2 are presumably unit and half respectively. Many of the flans show slight traces of two lugs where the flan was broken off from a “tree.”

3.  

Obv. Hermes, wearing chlamys and petasos, standing l., sacrificing over thymiaterion, caduceus held over l. shoulder; EY downwards at r.; O at lower r.
Rev. ME at l.; OBOΛΟΣ at l.
Barley ear, with or without leaf to r.
SNG Oxford 805; SNG Copenhagen 1242; SNG Lloyd 408; SNG ANS 552; BMC 164; BM (2 exs.); Paris 1225-6; Hunter 56; Vienna 4171-2; Berlin (4 exs.); private collection*.
20 mm 9.5–7.5 gm.

4.  

Obv. MET downwards at r. legible on some specimens.
Head of Demeter r., wearing barley wreath and pendant earring, her hair gathered under the wreath as Noe 506. Dotted border visible on some specimens.
Rev. OBOΛΟΣ upwards at l.
Barley ear with leaf to r.; poppy seed pod above.
SNG Oxford 806; SNG ANS 554; BMC 165-6; BM (2 exs.); Berlin (2 exs.); Vienna 4170; private collection*.
20 mm 10.7–7.5 gm.

5.  

Obv. NIKA below neck tranche.
Female head r., with hair gathered in roll at back of head, wearing single pendant earring; O behind head.
Rev. M:E
Barley ear with leaf to r.; ithyphallic herm wearing petasos at l.
SNG ANS 553; SNG Copenhagen 1243; SNG Lloyd 407; BMC 167-8; McClean 1004-6; Weber 791 (now BM); Hunter 57-8; Berlin (5 exs.); Paris 1227; Vienna 4173-4; private collection*.
20 mm 10.7–5 gm.

The explicit identification of the denomination is a very unusual feature and led Giesecke (Italia Numismatica, p. 115) to believe that this was an emergency issue struck during the Pyrrhic Wars. The general style of the coins, in particular the barley ear on the reverses which closely resembles those of Part 2 Class VIII of the silver (1), suggests rather the middle of the fourth century, and the choice of bronze instead of silver for striking fractions does not necessarily indicate an emergency. Silver fractions were not struck at Metapontum between the end of the fifth century (Noe 363-5) and the last quarter of the fourth century (e.g. SNG Copenhagen 1231ff.), and in any case represented multiples of the obol (triobol or diobol); bronze made possible much smaller denominations that allowed a wider range of transactions to be monetized. Hermes, whose head occurs several times as a bronze type, appears here in his commercial capacity. The standing figure is reminiscent of the earliest double-relief types in silver at Metapontum (Noe 311-20), but is clearly much later in date. The Demeter heads are closest in style to Part 2 Class VIII except that the goddess wears the barley wreath that becomes standard on the silver only in Part 3; on the bronze, she is never shown wearing a filmy veil on the back of the head (cp. SNG ANS 415ff.), characteristic of the early issues of Part 3. The poppy seed pod recurs as a symbol on the silver at the very end of Part 2 (Noe 516, SNG ANS 402) and a small bronze denomination (16). The Nike head is labelled, like Noe 450ff. and 495, to distinguish her from Demeter; the style again resembles the late Part 2 silver.

All three types were struck from a number of different dies and on a variety of flans. Some were struck on the bullet flans later common in Sicily which leave characteristic projecting lugs at opposite sides of the flan; others are regular “pancake” flans with rounded edges, while a few have bevelled edges. Relief is low, even on the rare well-preserved specimens.

The three issues were alone represented in IGCH 1935; their recorded condition does not allow a sequence to be established. Bronze of this module was never struck again, and most of the subsequent bronze fractions are very much smaller. Some of the types listed below may well have been contemporary with the obols.

6.  

Obv. Female (?) head r., hair gathered as Noe 506, etc.
Rev. MET at l.
Barley ear with leaf to r., no symbol visible.
Paris, Seymour de Ricci*
15 mm 4.6 gm.

7.  

Obv. Head of Demeter r., hair gathered in sakkos.
Rev. META upwards at l.
Barley ear with leaf to r., TEI upwards under leaf.
Cambridge (Leake)*.
16 mm 4.19 gm.

8.  

Obv. Head of Demeter r., hair gathered in sakkos.
Rev. M:E and TEI to l. and r. of type.
Barley grain.
McClean 1008; SNG Copenhagen 1269; Weber 797 (now BM); Naples Santangelo 4315; Milan (2 exs.); private collection*.
13 mm 2.1–1.7 gm.

9.  

Obv. Head of Demeter or Artemis r., hair in topknot (cp. Noe 480-1; 70).
Rev. MET at l., TEI at r.; or M:E to l. and r. of type.
Barley grain.
Naples Santangelo 4316; Vienna 4241; private collection*; Berlin (2 exs.).
13 mm 2.04–1.6 gm.

10.  

Obv. Head of Athena r., wearing Corinthian helmet.
Rev. ME at l., TEI at r.
Barley grain.
Weber 798 (now BM)*; Vienna 4249 (indistinct).
13 mm 1.95–1.8 gm.

11.  

Obv. Head of Apollo laureate r.
Rev. META upwards at l.
Barley ear, ant at r.
Paris 1229*; Berlin Rauch.
16 mm 3.85–2.5 gm.

12.  

Obv. Head of bearded male r., wearing diadem (?).
Rev. ME.. at l.
Barley ear with leaf to r.; symbol illegible.
Naples Santangelo 4278; Vienna 4176*.
16 mm 4.4 gm.

[joannes carolus]

9 ore fa, Deinomenid dice:

Ho il saggio ma non riesco a caricare le immagini. Questa è una trascrizione delle prime 3 pagine – penso che copra tutto, ma se hai bisogno di altro, fammelo sapere.

 

THE BRONZE COINAGE OF METAPONTUM

Ann Johnston
(Plates XXXV – XXXVIII)

The bronze coinage of Metapontum is far more diverse and abundant than that of most of her South Italian neighbours. It would appear to have been struck intermittently over roughly a century and a half, although dating is (as we shall see) uncertain since there is very little direct connection between the bronze and the silver coinage, and very few unambiguous clues as to sequence and chronology. The outline of the coinage that is presented here is therefore extremely tentative, and is intended to provide some idea of the range of types, grouped in a preliminary classification. The best hope of establishing a more reliable chronology lies with the archaeologists currently at work on the site of the city and in the chora, who may ultimately be able to fit the coinage into the framework provided by other finds, and so settle some of the questions which for the moment seem perplexing.

The catalogue does not set out to be a corpus, but simply to list the types with such published and unpublished specimens as can be identified with reasonable certainty. The condition of many of the surviving specimens makes die comparison a hazardous if not impossible task, and no attempt has been made to indicate die identities. The worn or corroded condition of many pieces should be borne in mind with regard to weight ranges; the diameters given are approximate medians. The material for the catalogue has been compiled in the course of visits to major collections over the years, mainly in pursuit of Metapontine silver, and I am deeply grateful to the curators who have made my work possible. My special thanks to all those who supplied casts and photographs.

(*) This topic seemed the most appropriate that I could offer in honor of Colin Kraay, because we had worked on it together and I could not now say which ideas were originally mine and which were his. The paper arose out of my contribution to the new edition of Historia Numorum, which Colin had the thankless job of editing. He applied himself to my MS with characteristic energy and produced an alternative draft of the section on bronzes. After an exchange of further alternatives we spent a fruitful day together in Cambridge (thanks to the helpfulness of T. R. Volk), trying to arrive at a plausible arrangement. The whole exercise was typical of Colin’s generosity with his time and knowledge. I gave him the final version just before his death, but that has now been considerably expanded, unfortunately without the benefit of his unfailingly constructive and friendly criticism. It was a great privilege to have known Colin as a scholar and a friend.

---

CATALOGUE

A. Last quarter of fifth century to mid fourth century

1.  

Obv. Tripod; sometimes symbol or letter in field.
Rev. META at l. or r.
Barley ear with leaf to r. or l., caduceus in l. field?

a. no symbol. SNG Copenhagen 1250*.
b. barley grain in field. McClean 1002*; Berlin Löbbecke; Berlin Peytrignet.
c. snake at l.; P at r. SNG Munich 1020*.
d. star at l. Berlin Fox*.
16 mm 4.3 gm.

2.  

Obv. META or ME:TA
Tripod.
Rev. H:E or T:E (retrograde)
Barley grain.
SNG Copenhagen 1270*; SNG ANS 572; BM Lincoln; Berlin 179/1879; Berlin Peytrignet; Berlin Imhoof; Berlin Löbbecke; Vienna 4256-7.
12 mm 2.1–1.59 gm.

The tripods resemble those on the earliest double-relief coinage of Croton: plain, without any structure in the centre of the bowl and with unornamented rings to brace the legs. The alternative legends on the reverse of 2 are puzzling; it seems unlikely that they indicate the denomination since clearly there is no difference in weight or diameter between the two, and the barley grain identifies the denomination. 1 and 2 are presumably unit and half respectively. Many of the flans show slight traces of two lugs where the flan was broken off from a “tree.”

3.  

Obv. Hermes, wearing chlamys and petasos, standing l., sacrificing over thymiaterion, caduceus held over l. shoulder; EY downwards at r.; O at lower r.
Rev. ME at l.; OBOΛΟΣ at l.
Barley ear, with or without leaf to r.
SNG Oxford 805; SNG Copenhagen 1242; SNG Lloyd 408; SNG ANS 552; BMC 164; BM (2 exs.); Paris 1225-6; Hunter 56; Vienna 4171-2; Berlin (4 exs.); private collection*.
20 mm 9.5–7.5 gm.

4.  

Obv. MET downwards at r. legible on some specimens.
Head of Demeter r., wearing barley wreath and pendant earring, her hair gathered under the wreath as Noe 506. Dotted border visible on some specimens.
Rev. OBOΛΟΣ upwards at l.
Barley ear with leaf to r.; poppy seed pod above.
SNG Oxford 806; SNG ANS 554; BMC 165-6; BM (2 exs.); Berlin (2 exs.); Vienna 4170; private collection*.
20 mm 10.7–7.5 gm.

5.  

Obv. NIKA below neck tranche.
Female head r., with hair gathered in roll at back of head, wearing single pendant earring; O behind head.
Rev. M:E
Barley ear with leaf to r.; ithyphallic herm wearing petasos at l.
SNG ANS 553; SNG Copenhagen 1243; SNG Lloyd 407; BMC 167-8; McClean 1004-6; Weber 791 (now BM); Hunter 57-8; Berlin (5 exs.); Paris 1227; Vienna 4173-4; private collection*.
20 mm 10.7–5 gm.

The explicit identification of the denomination is a very unusual feature and led Giesecke (Italia Numismatica, p. 115) to believe that this was an emergency issue struck during the Pyrrhic Wars. The general style of the coins, in particular the barley ear on the reverses which closely resembles those of Part 2 Class VIII of the silver (1), suggests rather the middle of the fourth century, and the choice of bronze instead of silver for striking fractions does not necessarily indicate an emergency. Silver fractions were not struck at Metapontum between the end of the fifth century (Noe 363-5) and the last quarter of the fourth century (e.g. SNG Copenhagen 1231ff.), and in any case represented multiples of the obol (triobol or diobol); bronze made possible much smaller denominations that allowed a wider range of transactions to be monetized. Hermes, whose head occurs several times as a bronze type, appears here in his commercial capacity. The standing figure is reminiscent of the earliest double-relief types in silver at Metapontum (Noe 311-20), but is clearly much later in date. The Demeter heads are closest in style to Part 2 Class VIII except that the goddess wears the barley wreath that becomes standard on the silver only in Part 3; on the bronze, she is never shown wearing a filmy veil on the back of the head (cp. SNG ANS 415ff.), characteristic of the early issues of Part 3. The poppy seed pod recurs as a symbol on the silver at the very end of Part 2 (Noe 516, SNG ANS 402) and a small bronze denomination (16). The Nike head is labelled, like Noe 450ff. and 495, to distinguish her from Demeter; the style again resembles the late Part 2 silver.

All three types were struck from a number of different dies and on a variety of flans. Some were struck on the bullet flans later common in Sicily which leave characteristic projecting lugs at opposite sides of the flan; others are regular “pancake” flans with rounded edges, while a few have bevelled edges. Relief is low, even on the rare well-preserved specimens.

The three issues were alone represented in IGCH 1935; their recorded condition does not allow a sequence to be established. Bronze of this module was never struck again, and most of the subsequent bronze fractions are very much smaller. Some of the types listed below may well have been contemporary with the obols.

6.  

Obv. Female (?) head r., hair gathered as Noe 506, etc.
Rev. MET at l.
Barley ear with leaf to r., no symbol visible.
Paris, Seymour de Ricci*
15 mm 4.6 gm.

7.  

Obv. Head of Demeter r., hair gathered in sakkos.
Rev. META upwards at l.
Barley ear with leaf to r., TEI upwards under leaf.
Cambridge (Leake)*.
16 mm 4.19 gm.

8.  

Obv. Head of Demeter r., hair gathered in sakkos.
Rev. M:E and TEI to l. and r. of type.
Barley grain.
McClean 1008; SNG Copenhagen 1269; Weber 797 (now BM); Naples Santangelo 4315; Milan (2 exs.); private collection*.
13 mm 2.1–1.7 gm.

9.  

Obv. Head of Demeter or Artemis r., hair in topknot (cp. Noe 480-1; 70).
Rev. MET at l., TEI at r.; or M:E to l. and r. of type.
Barley grain.
Naples Santangelo 4316; Vienna 4241; private collection*; Berlin (2 exs.).
13 mm 2.04–1.6 gm.

10.  

Obv. Head of Athena r., wearing Corinthian helmet.
Rev. ME at l., TEI at r.
Barley grain.
Weber 798 (now BM)*; Vienna 4249 (indistinct).
13 mm 1.95–1.8 gm.

11.  

Obv. Head of Apollo laureate r.
Rev. META upwards at l.
Barley ear, ant at r.
Paris 1229*; Berlin Rauch.
16 mm 3.85–2.5 gm.

12.  

Obv. Head of bearded male r., wearing diadem (?).
Rev. ME.. at l.
Barley ear with leaf to r.; symbol illegible.
Naples Santangelo 4278; Vienna 4176*.
16 mm 4.4 gm.

 

Salve, grazie per l'intervento; dovrebbe essere il tipo 12, ma con conromarca T - E

[joannes carolus]

un altro bronzo con la stessa contromarca : asta Negrini 2018, n.147 gr.4,10

Modificato 1 ora fa da joannes carolus

[joannes carolus]

quindi, ricapitolando, due tipi diversi di bronzi con la stessa contromarca ... monete con lo stesso valore?  PS  rimane da scoprire il significato delle lettere T- E ...

Modificato 32 minuti fa da joannes carolus