Coins that celebrate the 2024 Paris Olympics! Plus athletes and other games

[Ryro]

With the 2024 Paris Olympics set to kick off in a few days

I thought it would be a good time to show off my 2 recent wins, and first two coins from Olympia celebrating the ancient games there!

ELIS. Olympia. AR Hemidrachm (Circa 416-404 BC).

16mm // 2,28g

Obv: Head of eagle left; leaf below.

Rev: F - A.

Thunderbolt within wreath.

BCD Olympia 79; HGC 5, 430.

nVF

ELIS. Olympia. Ae (mid 3rd century BC).

Obv: Laureate head of Zeus right.

Rev: Eagle, with spread wings, grasping in talons coiled serpent to left.

BCD Olympia 341.7; HGC 5, –.

Condition: About very fine.

Weight: 6,34g.

Diameter: 17mm.

 

The ruins of ancient Elis home of the Olympics:

And it's not the Olympics without the Olympic torch, and likely not one of my threads without a Macedonian shield coin:

Of course there were 4 major votes with games across Greece, loads of coins celebrating competition and sports!

Philip ll's horse won at the Olympics the same year, 356 BCE, his son, Alexander the great, was born. He put the horse on the back of his coins to remind all:

Though they did take some time figuring out the best way to race the horses:

Some athletes that are often listed as wrestlers, I think they were competing in pankration, a form of no holds barred fighting, as on some dies they are punching as well:

Pamphylia. Aspendos

circa 420-370 BC.

Stater AR, 24 mm, 10,8 g

Two wrestlers grappling / EΣTFEΔ[IIVΣ], slinger in throwing stance right, triskeles to left; herm in right field, all within pelleted square border. Good very fine, SNG Copenhagen -; SNG France 3; SNG von Aulock 4511. Die match with Savoca Silver 133 lot 101. Purchased from Biga Numismatics July 2022

And yes, those Greeks liked to get "Greeced" up and wrastl!

Boxing was done wearing leather gloves called caestus:

IONIA. Smyrna. Ae (Circa 115-105 BC). Paramonos, magistrate.

Obv: Laureate head of Apollo right.

Rev: ΠAPAMO ΣΜΥΡΝΑΙ.

Hand in caestus; palm to right. Milne 1927, 239. Good very fine. 1.91 g, 14 mm.

Numismatik Naumann Feb 2021

Unlike modern times, the object was to hit your opponent:

And to some guy named Victor go the spoils:

And these are just a few coins that commemorate competition. We'd love to see your coins that will make this thread...

[Deinomenid]

The only  indelible  image of the Paris  Olympics so far is of the politicians forced to swim  in the Seine to "prove" it is largely turd-free on Wednesdays and therefore  really great to have major water events  in. Here's the mayor  just after she was chucked in earlier this week. No comments about the  position of her arms please.

 

And here's a coin of an old event, the  horse race with dismounted last lap.

Sicily, Himera, Stater or Didrachm, ~430 BC
Nude rider dismounting from a horse galloping left, retrograde legend in exergue IMEPAION . The nymph Himera standing facing, head left, pouring libation over altar, filleted caduceus to right   


"Horseback riding was introduced at the thirty-third Olympic Games, held in 648 B.C., and generally took a secondary place to chariot events. Beyond the typical horse race, the keles, other events included javelin throwing from horseback, and acrobatics, such as riders leaping on and off horseback, and riders finishing the race course on foot
beside their mount (the anabates, ‘dismounter’)."

 

[kirispupis]

Very nice post, @Ryro!

I visited the site of Olympia and I even took a video of myself giving a speech, then running the ancient track (it's allowed). I sent it to my wife (who joined later during the trip) and she made me promise to never, ever show it to anyone again. 🙂

Here's my Olympia coin.

ELIS, Olympia. 111th Olympiad
336 BCE
AR Stater 22mm, 11.63 g, 6h
Hera mint. Head of Hera right, wearing ornamented stephanos inscribed [FAΛEI]Ω[N] / Eagle standing left, head right, wings spread, on rock; all within wreath.
Seltman, Temple 341–5 var. (dies FG/–); BCD Olympia 159 (same obv. die); HGC 5, 394.

 

Some shots of Olympia itself.

Entrance to the Olympic stadium

 

Rainbow over the Temple of Zeus

 

[Ryro]

4 hours ago, Deinomenid said:

The only  indelible  image of the Paris  Olympics so far is of the politicians forced to swim  in the Seine to "prove" it is largely turd-free on Wednesdays and therefore  really great to have major water events  in. Here's the mayor  just after she was chucked in earlier this week. No comments about the  position of her arms please.

 

And here's a coin of an old event, the  horse race with dismounted last lap.

Sicily, Himera, Stater or Didrachm, ~430 BC
Nude rider dismounting from a horse galloping left, retrograde legend in exergue IMEPAION . The nymph Himera standing facing, head left, pouring libation over altar, filleted caduceus to right   


"Horseback riding was introduced at the thirty-third Olympic Games, held in 648 B.C., and generally took a secondary place to chariot events. Beyond the typical horse race, the keles, other events included javelin throwing from horseback, and acrobatics, such as riders leaping on and off horseback, and riders finishing the race course on foot
beside their mount (the anabates, ‘dismounter’)."

 

Can you imagine the frustration of the French clean up workers?

After spending all that time cleaning up the sewage so that athletes can swim in it, France fills the river with the only thing more deplorable and disgusting than turds, politicians!

And STUNNING Sicilian stater!

[Ryro]

4 hours ago, kirispupis said:

she made me promise to never, ever show it to anyone again. 🙂

ELIS, Olympia. 111th Olympiad
336 BCE

Now I've got to see that video and find out why she made you promise to never ever show it🤔

And thanks! And incredible Olympic coin from the year Philip ll was assassinated!!!

[Furryfrog02]

Not looking forward to these Olympics...going to be very busy at work. At least I will get to see some cool coins here 🙂

[DonnaML]

Some medals, etc. commemorating several modern Olympiads.

France 1906, silvered AE plaque by Paul Vannier, 49 x 70 mm., issued for the 1906 "Intercalated" Olympic Games in Athens.  Obv. Athlete stands holding a sword, laurel branch, and victory wreath in right hand, and a shield in left hand; in foreground the Athens Olympic Stadium with crowd; in background the Acropolis, with rising sun/ Rev. Winged angel holding trumpet in left hand to proclaim the victor and and a laurel branch in right hand, flying over an olive grove near the Acropolis; space for inscribing name of participating athlete.

 

France 1924, Nike, Goddess of Olympic Victory, AE medal by Paul-Marcel Dammann (1885-1939). Obv. Head of Nike right, wing and olive sprig in hair, small olive sprig below, NI – KE across fields / Rev. Nude ancient Greek Olympic winner standing right and holding statuette of Nike (Victory) with arms raised, ancient Olympia in background; in exergue, P.M. DAMMANN. Edge: BRONZE with triangle (signifying striking at private mint; see https://blog.cgb.fr/une-semaine-une-medaille--n-19-,9151.html ). 100 mm., 429 g. Commemorates 1924 Paris Olympic Games (VIIIe Olympiad). Not in any catalog I’ve found. One example on ACSearch, sold for 580 GBP at Baldwin’s Auction 93, 5 May 2015, Lot 648, characterized as “Rare.” Examples exist adapted for Olympic games with the addition of a rugby ball, javelin, bow and arrow, club, and discus around edge of obverse; see specimen sold at  Ingrid O'Neil Mail Bid Auction No. 74, Olympic Games Memorabilia 1896-2014, 4 Oct. 2014, Lot 19 (photo at http://ioneil.com/site/auction/a74/a74_all_color.pdf ).

 

Mexico, 25 Pesos, Commemorating 1968 Mexico City Olympics

 

Later or tomorrow, I'll post a few ancient coins with athletic themes, namely wrestling and (of course) horse racing.

Meanwhile, some photos of my paternal grandmother's older brother competing for the USA in the 1904 St. Louis Olympics, wearing the emblem of the Irish-American Athletic Club -- which, unlike the New York Athletic Club, allowed Jews to be members.  Here he is winning the gold medal in the long jump, then known as the broad jump:

He also won the gold medal in the triple jump on the same day, still, I believe, the only athlete ever to win both events at the same Olympics:

He won the gold again in the long jump in the intercalated Athens Olympics:

And here's his world record jump from 1899:

Edited July 21 by DonnaML

[MrMonkeySwag96]

 

PAMPHYLIA, Aspendos. Circa 380/75-330/25 BC. AR Stater (23.4mm, 10.78 g). Two wrestlers grappling; ΔΑ between them / Slinger in throwing stance right; triskeles to right; all within dotted square border. Tekin Series 4;

 

Edited July 21 by MrMonkeySwag96

[Phil Anthos]

10 hours ago, Deinomenid said:

The only  indelible  image of the Paris  Olympics so far is of the politicians forced to swim  in the Seine to "prove" it is largely turd-free on Wednesdays and therefore  really great to have major water events  in. Here's the mayor  just after she was chucked in earlier this week. No comments about the  position of her arms please.

 

And here's a coin of an old event, the  horse race with dismounted last lap.

Sicily, Himera, Stater or Didrachm, ~430 BC
Nude rider dismounting from a horse galloping left, retrograde legend in exergue IMEPAION . The nymph Himera standing facing, head left, pouring libation over altar, filleted caduceus to right   


"Horseback riding was introduced at the thirty-third Olympic Games, held in 648 B.C., and generally took a secondary place to chariot events. Beyond the typical horse race, the keles, other events included javelin throwing from horseback, and acrobatics, such as riders leaping on and off horseback, and riders finishing the race course on foot
beside their mount (the anabates, ‘dismounter’)."

 

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Taras, Calabria

281-276 BC (Period VI - From Kleonymos to Pyrrhus) AR Didrachm (20mm, 7.68g) Nikon magistrate. O: Naked ephebe vaulting from horse galloping left, holding javelin and small shield in left hand; EY above, [NI]KΩN (magistrate) below. R: Phalanthos astride dolphin left, holding ear of grain; API to left, TAPAΣ to right, spearhead below. D'Andrea XLI, 996; Vlasto 703; Evans VI, E2; Cote 342; SNG ANS 1077-78; HGC I, 817; HN Italy 969 ex John Jencek The Tarentine horsemen were renowned throughout the ancient world, serving as mercenary cavalry for many Mediterranean kings including Antigonos I, Demetrios I and Alexander of Epirus. They were so efficient that the term ‘Tarentine Horse’ came to mean any such skirmishing cavalry unit, regardless of their origin. These were not typical cavalry however, but rather "hippakontistai" (mounted javelinmen), or more specifically "elaphroi", light cavalry which throw javelins and then dismount for close combat. The scene depicted here is from an equestrian event of the Hyakinthia (the ceremonial games of Hyakinthian Apollo) rather than actual combat, but celebrates those special skills necessary in war. The armed rider would dismount at full gallop, run along side his horse, and then remount in stride.

[DonnaML]

A coin supposedly issued in connection with the Olympics in Antioch in AD 312:

Anonymous civic issue, reign of Maximinus II, AE quarter follis [?][Sear] or 1/12 nummus [?][McAlee p. 106], Antioch Mint (3^rd Officina), ca. 311-312 AD. Obv. Tyche (city-goddess of Antioch) wearing mural crown, seated facing on rock, holding wheat or  grain ears with right hand and, with left hand, holding a two-handled basket (filled with wheat or grain ears[?]) resting on ground to right, river god Orontes swimming below, GENIO ANTIOCHINI / Rev. Apollo standing left, pouring libation from patera held in right hand, and holding lyre in raised left hand, Γ [gamma, signifying 3^rd Officina] in right field, APOLLONI SANCTO around; in exergue, SMA [meaning Sigmata Moneta Antioch (money struck at Antioch) or Sacra Moneta Antioch]. [Not in RIC; see http://www.notinric.lechstepniewski.info/6ant_civ_4v.html.] Sear RCV IV 14927 (ill); Vagi 2954; McAlee 170(c) (ill. p. 107); Van Heesch Type 3 [Van Heesch, J. "The last civic coinages and the religious policy of Maximinus Daza (AD 312)" in Numismatic Chronicle (1993), pp. 63-75 & Pl. 11]; ERIC II, “Anonymous Religious Coinage of the Fourth Century,” pp. 1198-1199, No. 2. 16 mm., 1.35 g. [Struck either (1) to promote propaganda against Christians and aid in their persecution (and thus traditionally denominated the “Persecution issue”; or (2) as proposed by David Kalina, for use in festivals, including the Festival of Apollo at Daphne, held in conjunction with the Olympics in Antioch in 312 AD. See Kalina, David, “Anonymous Civic Coinage,” Series 1, at http://allcoinage.com/anonymous_civic.php.]

 

Horse racing:

90 BCE:

Roman Republic, L. [Lucius] Calpurnius Piso Frugi, AR Denarius, 90 BCE. Obv. Laureate head of Apollo right (control marks H behind and F below) / Rev. Naked horseman galloping right holding palm frond in upraised left hand (control marks G above and H below), L• PISO FRUGI beneath. Crawford 340/1, RSC I Calpurnia 11, Sear RCV I 235/1, BMCRR 1938-2129 [this combination of two-letter control marks is not recorded in BMCRR; cf. BMCRR 2120 (H, F on obv. paired with C, A on rev.)]. 17 mm., 4.02 g. Purchased from Sphinx Numismatics, May 11, 2018.

The scarcer horseman riding left type, carrying a torch rather than a palm branch:

Roman Republic, L. [Lucius] Calpurnius Piso Frugi, AR Denarius, 90 BCE. Obv. Laureate head of Apollo right; behind, control-symbol (quiver); beneath chin, * [= XVI; mark of value]; bead and reel border / Rev. Naked horseman galloping left holding lit torch in upraised right hand; above, control-symbol (arrow left); below in two lines, L•PISO•L•F | FRVGI. Crawford 340/1; BMCRR I 1861 [same combination of control-symbols quiver & arrow, Nos. 3 & 4 in table of control-symbols at p. 252 fn.]; RSC I [Babelon] Calpurnia 9 (ill. p. 24, same sub-type but diff. control symbols); Sear RCV I 235/2 (ill. p. 117, diff. control symbols and var. rev. legend); Sydenham 651/652. 21 mm., 3.68 g. Purchased from Naville Numismatics Ltd. Auction 74, 19 Jun 2022, Lot 352; ex C. [Carlo] Crippa Sale 1, Monete e Medaglie, Milano 1968, Lot 145.*

*See https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=L%20PISO%20FRVGI, citing Sear RCV I at p. 117:

 “David Sear notes in [Sear] RCV I, on page 117, ‘The extraordinarily large and complex issue [of Lucius Calpurnius Piso L.f. L.n Frugi, in 90 B.C.] represents one of the principal war-coinages of the Romans during the conflict with the Marsic Confederation. The control marks are legion and consist of letters, numerals, and symbols in a multitude of combinations on obv. and rev."

As H.A. Seaby notes in RSC I at page 25, “This is one of the most prolific issues in the whole republican series, the British Museum collection alone contains over 300 different varieties. The type of the head of Apollo and of the horseman refers to the Ludi Apollinares which were established in B.C. 212, the annual celebration of which was proposed by the praetor L. Calpurnius Piso, an ancestor of the moneyer. There are four chief varieties of the reverse type: -- (a) horseman left with torch; (b) horseman l. with palm; (c) horseman right with palm; (d) horseman r. with whip; these may refer to the different types of horse-racing that took place at the games."

See also https://www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?radd=1&vpar=18&zpg=112487 for further details regarding the Social War: “Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi's massive issue was struck to support Rome in the Social War against the Marsic Confederation, the Marsi, Peligni, Piceni, Vestini, Samnites, Frentani, Marrucini, and Lucani. Despite making up over half the Roman army, the Italians had been denied Roman citizenship and denied a fair share of the booty and lands taken in Rome's conquests. In 91 B.C., they rebelled with an army of 100,000 battle-hardened soldiers, most Roman army veterans. In 90 B.C., Rome only just managed to stave off total defeat. After some Roman victories and citizenship concessions, the war was nearly over by 88 B.C. The type has numerous variations and control marks, indicating the enormity of the issue. The head of Apollo and the horseman refer to the Ludi Apollinares, games which were first held in 212 B.C. The following year, the praetor C. Calpurnius Piso, an ancestor of this moneyer, made the games a permanent annual event to honor of Apollo to maintain his support of the public health.” Harlan RRM II  notes at p. 56 that that the Ludi Apollinares were made permanent in the same year, 211, in which Hannibal broke off his assault on Rome without ever joining battle, an outcome ascribed to Apollo’s divine intervention. 

According to Crawford Vol. I at p. 340, there are 864 different known obverse dies and 1,080 different reverse dies for the issue – which is more than twice as many as the number of dies known for the similarly-designed issue (also depicting Apollo on the obverse and a galloping horseman on the reverse) by this moneyer’s son, C. Calpurnius Piso L.f. Frugi, in 67-59 BCE (opinions differ on the precise year); see Crawford 408/1. However, by contrast to the extensive die analyses conducted for the son’s issue (see, e.g. Crawford I Table XLII at pp. 420-435; Hersh, Charles A., “A Study of the Coinage of the Moneyer C. Calpurnius Piso L.f. Frugi,” The Numismatic Chronicle, Seventh Series, Vol. 16 at pp. 7-63 (1976) [https://www.jstor.org/stable/42664788?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents]), no detailed die study of the father’s (L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi’s) issue has ever been completed. The one referenced by Crawford -- see Crawford I p. 340 (“A full treatment of this issue, with its complex systems of control-marks, would have to be on a scale out of all proportion with the rest of this book . . . . For full details see R. Grassby and M.H. Crawford, The denarius coinage of L. Piso Frugi (forthcoming)”) -- was never published. 

However, a limited table showing pairs of control-symbols on coins of this issue in the British Museum’s collection as of 1904 (but not attempting to list the many types using control-letters, numbers, or fractional signs rather than symbols) was published in a footnote at BMCRR I p. 252; this coin, as noted above, has symbol No. 3 on the obverse and No. 4 on the reverse:

It is evident from the varieties of this issue seen on the market that although there are approximately as many sub-types listed with the horseman riding left as there are with the horseman riding right, the latter comprise the substantial majority of the coins of this issue offered for sale.  (In fact, I’ve never noticed a specimen with the horseman galloping left offered at retail; only at auction.) Although Acsearch can be a rather crude measure given that there is no way of filtering out duplicates, an auction search I did for the words Piso Frugi, [Crawford] 340, 90 [BC], and horseman yielded 1,470 results. Adding “left” and “right” to the search yielded, respectively, 231 and 720 results, i.e., approximately 75% for horsemen riding right. (The approximately 500 “missing” coins in those results probably represent the many descriptions using “l.” and “r.” rather than the full words left and right; I found no way of searching for those.) In addition, regardless of the left vs. right issue, coins on which the horseman is holding a palm-branch also comprise a substantial majority of coins of this issue offered for sale: adding the words “palm,” “torch,” and “whip” to my original search, successively, yielded a total of 1,299 results for palm, 75 for torch, and 40 for whip. 

Of the 75 coins with a horseman holding a torch, however, those with the horseman riding left were in the majority, constituting 47 of the 75 (including coins using “l.” and “r.” rather than spelling out those words). But only 47 out of 1,470 is still a small minority. An even smaller number (5 out of the 47) were the same variety as mine (RSC I Calpurnia 9, with L•PISO•L•F | FRVGI in two lines as the reverse legend, and “ROMA” absent from the legend). And I found only one of the five with the same control-symbol combination of quiver and arrow as mine – the specimen sold as NAC Auction 78, 26.05.2014, Lot 613; see https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1995547

Piso Frugi the son, 67-59 BCE:

Roman Republic, C. [Caius/Gaius] Calpurnius Piso L.f. [son of Lucius] Frugi [son-in-law of Cicero, married to Tullia], AR Denarius, 67-59 BCE, Rome Mint. Obv. Laureate head of Apollo right in high relief, hair long and in ringlets; behind, control symbol ɸ (Greek letter phi) (Crawford obverse die 32; Hersh 1976* obverse die O-33) / Rev. Naked horseman galloping right wearing shaped conical cap, holding reins but carrying no palm branch or other object; above, control symbol sword [Crawford] or knife [Hersh 1976] with curved blade [Crawford reverse die 43, Hersh 1976 reverse die R-1038]; beneath horse, C• PISO• L• F• FRVG [with VG blurred on die]. Crawford 408/1a [Apollo laureate rather than wearing fillet]; BMCRR Rome 3774 [this die combination]; Hersh 1976 at p. 32, Corpus No. 89 [this die combination]; RSC I Calpurnia 24j [Apollo laureate/horseman wearing conical cap & carrying no palm branch or other object]; Harlan, Michael, Roman Republican Moneyers and their Coins 63 BCE - 49 BCE (2d ed. 2015) (“Harlan RRM II”), Ch. 7 at pp. 54-59; Sear RCV I 348; Sydenham 846. 18 mm., 3.86 g. 6 h. [Double die-match to Ira & Larry Goldberg Auction 80, Lot 3048, 03.06.2014, previously sold by LHS Numismatik AG, Auction 100, Lot 398, 23/04/2007. ]** [Footnotes omitted]

 

A Desultor:

Roman Republic, C. Marcius Censorinus, AR Denarius, Rome 88 BCE. Obv. Jugate diademed heads, right, of kings Numa Pompilius, bearded [legendary second king of Rome], and Ancus Marcius, beardless [his grandson, the legendary fourth king of Rome], no control-mark / Rev. Desultor on horseback galloping right, wearing pileus [conical cap], with second horse at his side, holding whip with right hand and holding reins for both horses with left hand; in exergue, C•CENSO; no control-mark. Crawford 346/1i [no control-marks], RSC I Marcia 18a [no control marks], BMCR 2367 [no control-marks], see also id. 2368-2393 [various control-marks], Sydenham 713, Sear RCV I 256 [illustration has control-mark].  17 mm., 3.72 g. [Purchased from Munthandel G. Henzen, Netherlands, Feb. 2021; ex. Dutch private collection.]*

 

*The moneyer, as was traditional for the gens Marcia, belonged to the populares faction, and was “one of the leading men of the Marian party; he was the accuser of Sulla for malversation upon his return from Asia in BC 91. He entered Rome with Marius and Cinna in BC 87, and took a leading part in the massacres which ensued.” BMCRR p. 301 n. 1. In 87, as a military tribune or prefect for Marius, he famously commanded the cavalry that attacked and killed the consul Gnaeius Octavius, and then brought his head to Marius’s ally Cinna (who then controlled Rome) before nailing it to the Rostra -- according to the historian Appian, the first time the head of a consul was displayed on the Rostra, but unfortunately not the last.  Censorinus died in 82 BCE (when he was legate, see Crawford p. 361) in the course of the final struggle against Sulla, when he was taken prisoner in the defeat at the Battle of the Colline Gate and was put to death. See id.; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcius_Censorinus ; Crawford p. 361. 

The obverse design “records the descent of the gens Marcia from Ancus Marcius [citing Plutarch, Suetonius, and Ovid] and hence also from his grandfather Numa Pompilius, a piece of genealogical fiction.” Crawford p. 361; accord BMCRR p. 301 n. 2. The reverse types on all of the denarii issued by this moneyer  “commemorate the foundation of the Ludi Apollinares, which were instituted in BC 212 in virtue of a prophecy of the soothsayer Marcius.” Id; accord Crawford p. 361.  This particular type “represents the race in which a rider (desultor) was provided with two horses, from one to the other of which he sprang during the race.” BMCRR p. 301 n. 2. See also Jones, John Melville, A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins (Seaby, London, 1990), entry for “Desultor,” at p. 94, defining the term as follows: 

“One who leaps down or dismounts, the name given to a competitor in games at Rome who, in a manner not now clearly understood, took part in a horse race using more than one horse. It may be assumed that he had to change horses at least once during the race. In a collection of myths by the Roman writer Hyginus the statement occurs that a desultor wore a pileus because his actions symbolized the alternate immortality of Castor and Pollux [i.e., as he switched from one horse to the other]. This may be true but when a rider with two horses appears on Republican coins, the type should be regarded as agonistic rather than religious.” 

At p. 361, Crawford describes 9 different subtypes of this issue, differing in whether and where control-letters, numerals, symbols, and “fractional signs” appear, i.e., on the obverse and/or the reverse. This type, with no control-mark of any kind on either side of the coin -- and it seems unlikely that any such mark would have worn off completely but left all the other major features of the design, including the whip in the rider’s hand, still clearly visible -- is the ninth subtype, denominated Crawford 345/1i.  Taking all subtypes together, there are a total of 102 obverse dies and 113 reverse dies. Id. Thus, the number of dies with no control-marks is quite scarce when compared to the total number of dies with one or more control-marks of any kind, but is no more scarce, when compared on a one-to-one basis, than the number of dies with any given individual control mark or marks.

The only two Roman Republican coins depicting trigas, apparently used by the Romans only in the context of games:

Roman Republic, C. Naevius Balbus, AR Serrate Denarius, 79 BCE, Rome Mint. Obv. Head of Venus [or Juno, see BMCRR p. 366] right, wearing diadem, necklace and long earring, hair long, S • C [Senatus Consulto] behind / Rev. Victory, naked to waist, driving triga right, with rightmost horse turning head back towards the others; control-number CLIII (= 153, with L in form of upside-down T); in exergue, C•NAE•BALB [AE and LB ligate]. Crawford 382/1b, RSC I Naevia 6 (ill.), Sydenham 760b, Sear RCV I 309 (ill.), Grueber, BMCRR 2926-2976 (this control-number at BMCRR 2964), RRM I Ch. 6 at pp. 28-31 [Michael Harlan, Roman Republican Moneyers and their Coins, 81 BCE-64 BCE (2012)]. 19 mm., 3.92 g.*

* The moneyer is “not otherwise known” (Crawford p. 398), although he has been speculatively identified with the Sullan cavalry officer named Balbus, mentioned by Plutarch, who reached Rome in time to stop the Samnites’ advance on the Colline Gate. (Harlan at 28.) The deity on the obverse has most often been identified with Venus (Crawford p. 398, Harlan p. 30, RSC I p. 68. Sear RCV I p. 130), particularly given her claimed resemblance to Venus as depicted on earlier coins by Gaius Norbanus (Crawford 357) and Lucius Cornelius Sulla (Crawford 359) (see Crawford, id.).  If she is Venus, the depiction could be another allusion to the Sullan victory at the Colline Gate, which took place near the Temple of Venus Erycina. (Crawford and Harlan, id.) However, Grueber identifies the deity as Juno (see BMCRR p. 366), given the similar head expressly identified as Juno Moneta on a later coin of L. Plaetorius (Crawford 396).

This was a large issue (as was the next issue, the denarius of Ti. Claudius Ti.f. Ap.n. Nero, Crawford 383, which also bears the “Senatus Consulto” authorization).  According to Crawford, there were 280 obverse and 311 reverse dies of this issue in two subtypes, the first bearing the letters of the Latin alphabet on the obverse as control marks (type 382/1a), and the second bearing the letters of the Latin alphabet and the numerals from I to CCXXX on the reverse (type 382/1b, represented in this coin). See Sear RCV I at p. 130: ”This and the following type represent further large outputs of coinage specially authorized by decree of the Senate, doubtless necessitated by the extensive military operations during the dictatorship of Sulla.” Specifically, according to Harlan (p. 29), this issue and the next were minted for the use of the proconsul Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius (see Crawford 374/1, the Pietas with elephant reverse) for paying his troops in Sulla’s campaign against the rebellious Sertorius in Spain.

Sear also notes at p. 130 of RCV I that the three-horse chariot (triga) depicted on the reverse “is rarely depicted on the Republican coinage, the only other example being on a denarius of Ap. Claudius Pulcher issued in 111/110 BC” (Crawford 299/1). My example, with Roma wearing a winged helmet on the obverse:

Harlan also states at RRM I pp. 30-31 that “[t]his is the second and last time that the triga appears on Repblican coinage.” At p. 31, Harlan cites Dionysus of Halicarnassus, who said that “the triga, used long ago by Homeric heroes, was completely out of fashion with the Greeks” by this time. The triga’s current use in Rome in the late second and first centuries BCE, when it was no longer used by the Greeks, “was only found in the celebration of the Ludi Romani, a religious and ceremonial survival of the games originally held by the dictator Aulus Postumius to commemorate [his] victory [over the Latins] at Lake Regillus” in the 490s BCE (famously aided by Castor and Pollux). Id. As the Roman practice in these games is described by Dionysius of Halicarnassus (7.73.2), the “third horse, joined to the team by a trace, runs alongside the two horses yoked together in the usual way” -- explaining why the third horse on the reverse looks back at the other two. According to Harlan, “Naevius’ imagery is intended to recall that ancient victory which established Roman imperium, echoing the caput rerum theme found on the coinage of Aulus Postumius Albinus [Crawford 372/1]. Victory driving the three-horse chariot shows that all efforts to dispute Roman rule were fated to end in Roman victory.” (Emphasis supplied.)

By contrast, as stated above, it is reasonable to interpret the first depiction of a triga, on Crawford 299/1a-1b, as representing the triumvirate of moneyers that issued the type. Indeed, as also noted above, there is a possible explanation for the only subsequent depiction of a triga (on the C. Naevius Balbus denarius, Crawford 382/1) that is much simpler than Harlan’s complicated theory of a symbolic represenatation of Roman imperium: assuming that the AP•CL who was one of the three moneyers named on Crawford 299 was the Appius Claudius Pulcher who was later Consul in 79 BCE, the fact that Crawford 382/1 was itself issued in 79 BCE strongly suggests that its otherwise unique depiction of a triga was no coincidence, but was a tribute to Appius Claudius Pulcher and his earlier issue as moneyer. See Yarrow, supra,  Section 2.1.1 n. 26 at p. 219: as an example of a moneyer’s issue having some “close connection with the consul” of that year (see id. p. 69), pointing out that “[Crawford] 382/1 copies the reverse of 299/1 in the very year the moneyer of 299/1 became himself consul.”

Finally, Wrestling:

Aspendos, Pamphylia, Asia Minor, AR Stater ca. 380/75-330/25 BCE (Tekin, 4^th Series [see fn.]). Obv. Two standing wrestlers, naked, grappling with legs spread apart and heads touching; wrestler on left grasps his opponent’s left wrist with his right hand, and left elbow with his left hand; wrestler on right grasps his opponent’s left arm with his right hand; letters “KI” [for name of minting magistrate] in field between wrestlers, below knee level / Rev. Slinger wearing short chiton, standing with trunk in facing position, head and legs in profile facing right, legs held straight with feet apart, left arm extended forward holding sling with left thumb, right arm drawing sling back with elbow bent; triskeles in right field with legs running left; ΕΣΤϜΕΔΙΙΥΣ [adjectival form of city name Estwediius in Pamphylian dialect of Ancient Greek] upwards behind slinger; all contained within square dotted border. SNG Copenhagen 226 [Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Copenhagen, The Royal Collection of Coins and Medals, Danish National Museum, Part 31, Lycia, Pamphylia (Copenhagen 1955)]; SNG Von Aulock II 4557 [Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Deutschland, Sammlung Hans Von Aulock, Vol. 2: Caria, Lydia, Phrygia, Lycia, Pamphylia 19 Lycia (Berlin 1962)]; BMC 45-46 [both with initials “KI” on obv.] [Hill, G.F. A Catalogue of Greek Coins in the British Museum, Lycia, Pamphylia, and Pisidia (London, 1897) at p. 99]; Sear GCV Vol. II 5397 (obv. var. -- diff. magistrate’s initials) [Sear, David, Greek Coins and their Values, Vol. II, Asia & Africa (Seaby 1979) at p. 491], 26 mm., 10.96 g. Purchased from Harlan J. Berk, Ltd., 217th Buy or Bid Sale, 17 Sep. 2021, Lot 132; ex. Spina Collection, purchased by Dr. Spina from Harlan J. Berk, Ltd. on 7 March 2001 at coin show in Baltimore, MD.*

 

 

 

Link to Vimeo of coin: 

*Aspendos, near the south coast of Anatolia, “was an ancient city in Pamphylia, Asia Minor, located about 40 km east of the modern city of Antalya, Turkey. It was situated on the Eurymedon River about 16 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea.” See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspendos. It was captured by the Persians in 411 BCE (not for the first time), and remained under Persian domination until captured by Alexander the Great in 333 BCE. Id.

In the introduction to BMC 19 Lydia, supra at p. lxxii, the reverse legend in the Pamphylian dialect and the reverse iconography of the slinger on this type of Aspendian “wrestler stater” are explained as follows:

See also the Wikipedia article on Pamphylian Greek, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamphylian_Greek.

According to the leading article on the Aspendian wrestler/slinger staters, this type falls into the so-called “4^th Series” out of five, issued circa 380/75-330/25 BCE; it probably belongs to the later part of that period. See Tekin, Oğuz, Aspendian 'Wrestlers' : an iconographic approach, in: Mécanismes et innovations monétaires dans l’Anatolie achéménide. Numismatique et Histoire. Actes de la Table Ronde d’Istanbul, 22-23 mai 1997 (Istanbul : Institut Français d'Études Anatoliennes-Georges Dumézil, 2000), pp. 159-169 at 165-167 (Varia Anatolica, 12) (available at https://www.persee.fr/doc/anatv_1013-9559_2000_act_12_1_956 ) :

“4th SERIES (c. 380/75 - c. 330/25 B.C.)

On the obverse of the staters which we have classified under this series there are letters found between the wrestlers at knee level (pi. XXVIII, 11). These letters are shown in Table 1 below [Table omitted; the two-letter combinations used include “KI”). . . . [I]t is understood that in the first examples of the [4^th] series there was only a single letter on the obverse or reverse..

These letters figuring on the obverse of the staters indicated the initials of either the name of a single magistrate or of two different magistrates. The changed order of certain letters on some staters, that is the A figuring before the Z in one example (AZ) whereas in another the Z figures before A (IA), if not a coincidence, must have been done with considerations of equity as regards the priority in magistrates' names. There exist six such examples [listed in Table 3; KI is not included among them.] . . .

The noteworthy main feature on the obverse of the staters of this series is the position of the wrestlers. One of the wrestlers holds his opponent's arm with both hands, whereas the other holds his opponent's wrist. The wrestler's match therefore is now represented in one single position [by contrast to the 16 different positions found in some of the earlier series]. As regards the slinger on the reverse, there is not much change at first. But the quadratum incusum tends to disappear in the first examples and gradually becomes totally inexistant. Therefore, in the great majority of this series there is a square dotted border instead of the quadratum incusum on the reverse, the incuse [found on the earlier coinage] has disappeared.”

Although Tekin proceeds to discuss the countermarks that are common in the 4^th Series, he notes that “The last examples of the fourth series do not have countermarks.” My coin does not have any countermarks.

Edited July 21 by DonnaML

[Greekcoin21]

From the recent Milavic sale at Nomos,

Thrace, Phillppopolis. Elagabalus, 19mm, 5.1g.

Athlete drawing lots.

[AncientOne]

 

Entertaining post as always @Ryro!

Olympia is one of the few places I would get on a plane to go see.

 

ELIS, Olympia. 131st-135th Olympiad. 256-240 BC. Fouree

Obv: Laureate head of Zeus right.
Rev: Thunderbolt within olive wreath.
AR(fourre) Hemidrachm

 

Achaea. Elis, Elis. Septimius Severus AE18. Possibly unique.

Peloponnesus.
Obv. - ΛCEPCEBHP.. Septimius Severus laureate, head rt.
Rev. - HΛEIWΝ Zeus standing rt. holding eagle in left hand and throwing lightning bolt with rt.

[robinjojo]

Quadriga chariot races were a major feature of the ancient Greek Olympics.  

Syracuse, tetradrachm, Agathokles, 317-310BC.

17.0 grams

 

Roman Republic, anonymous didrachm, c. 225-214 BC.

Crawford 28-3

6.43 grams

 

And let's not forget the mules.

Sicily, Messana, tetradrachm,  480-461 BC.

Caltabiano Series IV, 177 (D99/R99); HGC 2, 779; Ognina 112; Randazzo 166–7.

Charioteer, seated, driving biga of mules right; olive leaf in exergue / Hare springing right.

 

Edited July 21 by robinjojo

[El Cazador]

1 hour ago, robinjojo said:

Quadriga chariot races were a major feature of the ancient Greek Olympics.  

Syracuse, tetradrachm, Agathokles, 317-310BC.

17.0 grams

 

Roman Republic, anonymous didrachm, c. 225-214 BC.

Crawford 28-3

6.43 grams

 

And let's not forget the mules.

Sicily, Messana, tetradrachm,  480-461 BC.

Caltabiano Series IV, 177 (D99/R99); HGC 2, 779; Ognina 112; Randazzo 166–7.

Charioteer, seated, driving biga of mules right; olive leaf in exergue / Hare springing right.

 

Superb Syracuse

[Qcumbor]

Not ancient in anyway, still I have to share it with you all, folks : in order to stimulate french kids interest towards the olympics, every 1st grade child has been given a commeorative 2 euro coin celebrating the upcoming event (it's the official release, not a token of some sort).

And guess what, my grand daughter thought it might be nice to gift grandad with the one she received ... how cool is that ?

 

Q

Edited July 21 by Qcumbor

[expat]

A bronze medal of Norway´s Olav V, he won the sailing gold in the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam

[TIF]

Fabulous assortment of coins and information, everyone!  😀

I picked up a few coins of Olympia ten years ago when I was just getting into ancient coins.  They probably deserve updated pictures, although they're not beauty pageant winners.  Super duper cool though!  Someday I'd like to get an Olympian stater.

87th Olympiad, 432 BCE,  AR hemidrachm, 16 mm, 2.7 gm.  

95th Olympiad, 400 BCE.  AR hemidrachm, 16 mm, 2.6 gm

103rd Olympiad, 368 BCE, AR drachm, 21 mm, 5.7 gm

107th-108th Olympiad, 352-348 BCE, AR hemidrachm, 14 mm, 2.4 gm

Another coin I've had since near the beginning, a favorite 🙂. The reverse may depict Philip II's horse's victory in the 356 BCE Olympics.  I think this is @AncientJoe's photo.  My attempts were not as good.

KINGS OF MACEDON, Philip II. 356-336 BCE
AR tetradrachm. 24mm, 14.20 gm, 12h
Pella, 342-336 BCE
Obv: Laureate head of Zeus right
Rev: ΦIΛIΠ-ΠOY, youth, holding palm and reins, on horseback right, thunderbolt below, N in exergue
Ref: Le Rider 222-306. SNG ANS 385-95
ex Colosseo Collection

[AETHER]

I love the Olympics, especially table tennis!

[expat]

This one was sadly cropped a bit too much. But, here is a silver 1000 Yen issued for the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. It has toned along the lines of improper annealing, and shows a beautiful image of Mount Fiji.

[expat]

A Canadian proof issue of the 1976 Montreal Winter Olympics

 

[expat]

A medal celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Olympic movement and also the 1996 Olympics at Atlanta, USA.

[robinjojo]

Here are a few coins from the 1980 Olympics held in and around Moscow.  These games were boycotted by the US and other countries because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan earlier that year.  Several years ago I was able to buy a group of these coins at nearly the silver melt price.

10 rubles proof, 1980 Olympics basketball.

 

10 rubles proof, 1980 Olympics Judo.

 

 5 rubles, 1980 Olympics sling shot.

 

Going back to the 1976 Olympics held in and around Montreal, here are two coins.

10 dollars, 1976 Olympics Montreal, skyline.

KM 87 

 

10 dollars, 1976 Olympics, Temple of Zeus, Series II.

44.87 grams

 

Edited July 22 by robinjojo

[Qcumbor]

A few more, from Canada, USSR and USA

Q

 

[DonnaML]

A medal related to the 1900 Paris Olympics that I forgot to post:

France 1900. Medal for Universal Paris Exposition of 1900, silvered AE by Oscar Roty (1846-1911). 51 x 36 mm. (Distributed to judges and officials of the Olympic Games held in Paris that summer in conjunction with the Exposition.) Maier 104 (ill. p. 175) [Nicolas Maier, French Medallic Art 1870-1940 (Munich 2010)] ; see also Mark Jones, The Art of the Medal (British Museum 1979), at p. 124 & ill. no. 327 at Pl. 7.

[DonnaML]

6 hours ago, DonnaML said:

A medal related to the 1900 Paris Olympics that I forgot to post:

France 1900. Medal for Universal Paris Exposition of 1900, silvered AE by Oscar Roty (1846-1911). 51 x 36 mm. (Distributed to judges and officials of the Olympic Games held in Paris that summer in conjunction with the Exposition.) Maier 104 (ill. p. 175) [Nicolas Maier, French Medallic Art 1870-1940 (Munich 2010)] ; see also Mark Jones, The Art of the Medal (British Museum 1979), at p. 124 & ill. no. 327 at Pl. 7.

A fuller description of the 1900 Oscar Roty medal posted above, explaining the symbolism of the obverse, with information found in two other books I also own, both bought second-hand since I wrote the original description, and both covering ancient as well as modern Olympic coins and medals:

France 1900. Medal for Universal Paris Exposition of 1900, silvered AE by Oscar Roty (1846-1911). 51 x 36 mm. (Distributed to judges and officials of the Olympic Games held in Paris that summer in conjunction with the Exposition.) Obv. Nude winged youth representing the 20^th century taking torch from a sleeping woman who represents the 19^th century; at upper right, dates 1801 • 1900; beneath in three lines, LVMEN VENTVRIS | TRADIT MORITV- | RA PERENNE / Rev. Roses above exhibition buildings; above in four lines, EXPOSITION UNIVERSELLE | INTERNATIONALE • DE | 1900 | PARIS. Maier 104 (ill. p. 175) [Nicolas Maier, French Medallic Art 1870-1940 (Munich 2010)]; Van Alfen 33 (ill. p. 62) [Peter G. Van Alfen, A Simple Souvenir: Coins And Medals of the Olympic Games (American Numismatic Society 2004)]; Victor Gadoury, Olympic Coins and Medals 510 B.C. - 1994 A.D. (1^st English Ed., Monaco 1994), 1900 Paris Olympics No. 3 (ill. p. 47) (“Medal given to the judges and referees”); Mark Jones, The Art of the Medal (British Museum 1979), at p. 124 & ill. no. 327 at Pl. 7.

The Gadoury catalog (issued for the 1996 centenary of the Modern Olympics) is far more comprehensive than the ANS book by Van Alfen. For example, it lists 146 ancient coins compared to Van Alfen's 25, and lists 333 coins and medals for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul compared to Van Alfen's one. It also covers the Winter Olympics up through Lillehammer in 1994, whereas Van Alfen omits them entirely.  On the other hand, the Van Alfen illustrations are in color as opposed to Gadoury's black-and-white, and include memorabilia beyond coins and medals, such as posters, tickets, pins, etc.  For example, here's the official poster for the 1924 Paris Summer Games 100 years ago, reproduced at p. 92 of Van Alfen:

 

So there's room for both books in my library.

I don't know whether this stiff-armed salute was deliberately modeled by the artist (Jean Droit) after the rather similar so-called "Roman salute," which the Italian Fascists had already adopted in 1923 in schools as part of a ritual honoring the Italian flag, and gradually became more widespread in Italy thereafter.  In Germany, it was made compulsory within the Nazi Party as early as 1926. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_salute . On the other hand, it was popular in schools in the USA as the so-called "Bellamy salute" well into the 1930s. See the same Wikipedia article. And unless this artist was a closet Fascist, I doubt that the resemblance to a fascist salute was intentional, or that anyone foresaw in 1924 what this kind of salute -- never mind by groups of Aryan-looking, bare-chested young athletes! (here comes Leni Riefenstahl) -- would end up being associated with forever.

 

 

Edited July 23 by DonnaML