Ancient coin identification- HELP!
 

A friend asked me identify a coin he had inherited which he assumed
was Roman. Since I've had a little experience with Roman coins, I
thought I'd be able to do it, but I've never seen the likes of this
coin and I was wondering if someone here could help me. It's dark and
about the size of a quarter. The obverse has a picture of a
bushy-bearded man facing right. He looks like Zeus or Neptune. To the
left of the head is what looks like a long branch of palms perhaps. To
the right of the head is a snake coiled around a staff and above that
is the letter "L" with a smaller letter "I" sitting between the two
lines of the letter "L". On the reverse is a man standing on a little
mound facing towards the left with his right arm upraised. In his left
hand is a shield. Letters begin near the bottom left and go clockwise.
They are "PMTPPX". On the right side of the coin going down are the
letters "HCOSIYP". At least they look like those letters. The "I" is
slanted and the "Y" is kind of odd looking. And that's all that's on
the coin. It's in very good condition and all the pictures are raised
up. Any ideas?

PM is Pontifex Maximus, which I thought stood for high priest.

Harold

"Michael E. Marotta" wrote in message
...
(Peter) wrote
A friend asked me identify a coin ... which he assumed was Roman.
about the size of a quarter. The obverse has a picture of a
bushy-bearded man facing right. He looks like Zeus or Neptune. To the
left of the head is what looks like a long branch of palms perhaps. To
the right of the head is a snake coiled around a staff and above that
is the letter "L" with a smaller letter "I" sitting between the two
lines of the letter "L". On the reverse is a man standing on a little
mound facing towards the left with his right arm upraised. In his left
hand is a shield. Letters begin near the bottom left and go clockwise.
They are "PMTPPX". On the right side of the coin going down are the
letters "HCOSIYP". At least they look like those letters. The "I" is
slanted and the "Y" is kind of odd looking. And that's all that's on
the coin. It's in very good condition and all the pictures are raised
up. Any ideas?

All of this is conjectural without a picture to go by.

The coin is from Alexandria in Egypt under Roman rule.
L I stands for Year 10. Iota is 10.

PM is Pontifex Maximus, the guy in charge of all the bridges in Rome
and a title still held by the Pope.

TRP X means Tripotens 10. "Thrice-powerful" being an honorific
granted by the Senate, in this case for the 10th time, which
corresponds to the Year 10 of Rule.

COS is short for CONSUL and if IY is really IV, the fourth of
successive 2-year consulships would square with this being the 10th
year of reign. Unless it is the IX 9th year of 1-year rubberstamps.

The "H" means nothing offhand without more letters. I am surprised
that there is not another inscription or more words. The emperor's
name is pretty much a requirement.

The obverse image sounds like Aesculapius, the god of Health and
Medicine. Certainly those are his implements. The snake on a staff
is his symbol and is still seen today. The reverse image might be
Apollo seated on the Omphalos of the World, but he wouldn't be
carrying a shield, though a lyre perhaps. Again, however, Roman
emperors usually put themselves on the obverse. So, it is hard to
say...


Michael
ANA R-162953
MSNS 7935

Harold wrote:

"PM is Pontifex Maximus, which I thought stood for high priest."



Here's a good explanation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifex_Maximus



Anka

Didn't the tetradrachms of Roman Egypt have Greek legends? If so, this
translation would not work. A picture would solve this question in a hurry!

- John A.


"Michael E. Marotta" wrote in message
...

All of this is conjectural without a picture to go by.

The coin is from Alexandria in Egypt under Roman rule.
L I stands for Year 10. Iota is 10.

PM is Pontifex Maximus, the guy in charge of all the bridges in Rome
and a title still held by the Pope.

TRP X means Tripotens 10. "Thrice-powerful" being an honorific
granted by the Senate, in this case for the 10th time, which
corresponds to the Year 10 of Rule.

COS is short for CONSUL and if IY is really IV, the fourth of
successive 2-year consulships would square with this being the 10th
year of reign. Unless it is the IX 9th year of 1-year rubberstamps.

The "H" means nothing offhand without more letters. I am surprised
that there is not another inscription or more words. The emperor's
name is pretty much a requirement.

The obverse image sounds like Aesculapius, the god of Health and
Medicine. Certainly those are his implements. The snake on a staff
is his symbol and is still seen today. The reverse image might be
Apollo seated on the Omphalos of the World, but he wouldn't be
carrying a shield, though a lyre perhaps. Again, however, Roman
emperors usually put themselves on the obverse. So, it is hard to
say...


Michael
ANA R-162953
MSNS 7935

Actually, I did find a picture of it on the internet and I guess I got
a few of the letters wrong. You were all correct about the god
depicted. Check it out-
http://www.coinsofromanegypt.org/htm...s/fantasy.html
The only thing is it's listed under the category of "fantasy", but I
don't know what that means. Is it this coin collector's fantasy to own
this coin or is the coin a modern fantasy piece, a la dungeons and
dragons pieces? I still don't have any information about it though,
i.e. When was it minted, the meaning of all the letters, the value.
Very confusing.

"John A." wrote in message nk.net...
Didn't the tetradrachms of Roman Egypt have Greek legends? If so, this
translation would not work. A picture would solve this question in a hurry!

- John A.


"Michael E. Marotta" wrote in message
...

All of this is conjectural without a picture to go by.

The coin is from Alexandria in Egypt under Roman rule.
L I stands for Year 10. Iota is 10.

PM is Pontifex Maximus, the guy in charge of all the bridges in Rome
and a title still held by the Pope.

TRP X means Tripotens 10. "Thrice-powerful" being an honorific
granted by the Senate, in this case for the 10th time, which
corresponds to the Year 10 of Rule.

COS is short for CONSUL and if IY is really IV, the fourth of
successive 2-year consulships would square with this being the 10th
year of reign. Unless it is the IX 9th year of 1-year rubberstamps.

The "H" means nothing offhand without more letters. I am surprised
that there is not another inscription or more words. The emperor's
name is pretty much a requirement.

The obverse image sounds like Aesculapius, the god of Health and
Medicine. Certainly those are his implements. The snake on a staff
is his symbol and is still seen today. The reverse image might be
Apollo seated on the Omphalos of the World, but he wouldn't be
carrying a shield, though a lyre perhaps. Again, however, Roman
emperors usually put themselves on the obverse. So, it is hard to
say...


Michael
ANA R-162953
MSNS 7935

(Peter) wrote:
Check it out-
http://www.coinsofromanegypt.org/...

GREAT SITE! Thanks for the link!! I will be writing this one up, for
sure.

The only thing is it's listed under the category of "fantasy", but I
don't know what that means. Is it this coin collector's fantasy to own
this coin or is the coin a modern fantasy piece, a la dungeons and
dragons pieces?

The latter, which means that the maker should be thrown into a dungeon
or else be fed to the dragons. It is a fake, a phony, a fraud, a
fantasy. Some people like them and collect them. I would rather pay
for a real coin.

Now, this one came to you because a friend, who knows you collect
coins, asked about it. If the coin came to that house in an
interesting way, then it is an interesting item in its own right and
belongs with the family. That is the only value it can have.

Well, we deciphered the letters, I think. No telling when it was
made. However, there are home hints. It so happens that Kerry
Wetterstrom is alive and well and this coin (or one like it) was
provenanced to his extensive collection of Alexandrians. We might ask
Kerry, but he might not remember, either. That would be Kerry K.
Wetterstrom kerry-at-celator-dot-com.

Michael
ANA R-162953
MSNS 7935

I have the same coin.. how could this be a fake if I have one Wetterstrom has on and this guy his friend has one. This is a very rare piece of history.
We must be careful how quick we are to call something a fake just because we have not seen one. I value this coin to be 750.00 us because of its rarity.

Also if your friend still has the coin get in touch with me. I will be watching this post. I would like to purchase his coin if he is willing to sell it.

i am new to this sight cause i have this coin as well and i have been lookn for years for what this coin is so if anybody has any other info other then it being fantasy would be great how is it fantasy when more and more people are turning up with them