Lycia, Phaselis: Anonymous (ca. 4th century BCE) AR Stater (Heipp-Tamer Series 6

Started by Quant.Geek, March 26, 2017, 03:10:45 AM

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Quant.Geek

Lycia, Phaselis: Anonymous (ca. 4th century BCE) AR Stater (Heipp-Tamer Series 6, unlisted variety; CNG 100, lot 1517; CNG 99, lot 284; CNG E-353, lot 170)

Obv: Prow of galley right, fighting platform decorated with lion at bay right; to right, owl flying upward left, wings displayed; below, dolphin right above waves
Rev: Stern of galley left; tripod surmounted by wreath and ΦAΣ above

A high-resolution image of this coin is available at FORVM Ancient Coins

A gallery of my coins can been seen at FORVM Ancient Coins

Figleaf

A beauty, loaded with history. As the potential successors of Alexander the Great were slugging it out, the East coast of the Mediterranean became the key to their success. Athens needed food that would come from the Black sea area. In principle, the sea lanes were dominated by the amazingly accomplished sailors of Rhodes, but the island was overstretched and constantly battling pirates. It created Phaselis as a safe haven, but could not hold on to it.

The turning point was the siege of Rhodes (305-304 BC) that exhausted Rhodes for decades and drove it into the arms of the Ptolemaic Egypt. As a matter of course, Phaselis became Egyptian as well. Even though Phaselis was a merchant port, your coin shows parts of a warship. It is a threat, but not a credible one. My interpretation is that the message of this coin is "if you are a pirate, leave our grain vessels alone or the Egyptians will come and get ya". If so, I think the bird may not be an owl (symbol of Athens), but the symbol bird of Egypt: an eagle.

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.