In Honor of the Olympics, Let's See Your Athletes and Athletic Games Coins!

[Roman Collector]

There are a lot of ancient coins with agonistic urns, wrestlers, javelin throwers and other athletes. Let's see them! I'll get the party started!

Here's a victorious athlete:

Gordian III, 238-244 CE.
Roman provincial Æ Pentassarion, 13.30 g, 27.1 mm, 7 h.
Thrace, Anchialus, 238-244 CE.
Obv: ΑVΤ Κ Μ ΑΝΤ ΓΟΡΔΙΑΝΟC ΑVΓ, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust, right.
Rev: ΟVΛΠΙΑΝWΝ ΑΓΧΙΑΛΕWΝ, Nude athlete standing facing, head right, holding palm branch and wreath; E in right field.
Refs: RPC VII.2 1115; AMNG II, 632.3, p. 276; Mionnet Suppl. 2, 136; Corpus Nummorum Thracorum cn.anchialus.4915.

This one honors the Pythian games and one of the prizes awarded there were apples from the sacred grove of Apollo. These are depicted on the reverse of this coin.

Gordian III, 238-244 CE.
Roman provincial Æ 25.6 mm, 10.61 g, 2 h.
Macedon, Thessalonica, 241-244 CE.
Obv: AVT K M ANT ΓΟΡΔIANOC, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
Rev: ΘЄCCAΛΟΝΙΚЄΩΝ ΝЄ, tripod surmounted by five apples; Π-V/Θ-Ι/Α across field.
Refs: RPC VII.2, 457; Touratsoglou, Thessaloniki 87, nos. 185-86; Varbanov 4523; Moushmov 6815.

[Phil Anthos]

Pass the torch...   Taras, Calabria

272-240/35 BC (Period VIII - The Roman Alliance I) AR Didrachm (19mm, 6.47g) Agatharkos magistrate. O: Nude youth on horseback right, placing wreath on horse's head; ΑΓΑΘ-A / PXΟΣ (magistrate) in two lines below. R: Phalanthos riding dolphin left, holding cornucopia in left hand and [kantharos] in extended right hand; lighted torch behind, TAPAΣ below. D'Andrea XLIV, 1368; Vlasto 852-54; SNG France 2011; Evans VIII, B1; McGill II, 96-98; SNG ANS 1179-80; HN Italy 1028 ex Goduto Giuseppe

[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;

 

 

Roman Republic AR denarius, L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi 90 BC

Obverse: Laureate head of Apollo right, Reverse: Horseman galloping right, long caduceus above, L. PISO FRVGI / T in two lines below. Weight: 3.92 grams. Diameter: 19.26 mm.

 

According to @DonnaML this denarius commemorates the Ludi Apollinares games

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 29 by MrMonkeySwag96

[Anaximander]

Philip II of Macedon celebrated his victories at the Olympics on his coins. He won several events, including the keles (horse race) in the 106th Olympics in 356 BCE, the four-horse chariot race in the 107th Olympics in 352 BCE, and the two-horse chariot race in the 108th Olympics in 348 BCE.  

   

    

[Prieure de Sion]

 

Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus Augustus; Reign: Commodus; Mint: Nicaea, Bithynia; Date: 180/191 AD; Nominal: Bronze; Material: AE; Diameter: 15mm; Weight: 3.62g; Obverse: Bare head of Commodus, right; Inscription: Α Κ Μ ΑV ΚΟ ΑΝΤΩ; Translation: Autokrator Kaisaros Marcos Aurelios Kommodos Antoninos; Translation: Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus; Reverse: Nude Athlete standing, facing, head, right, placing crown on his head; Inscription: ΙƐΡΟϹ ΑΓΩΝ ΝΙΚΑΙƐΩΝ; Translation: Ieros Agon Nikaieon; Translation: Sacred athletic competition, City and People of Nicaea.

In ancient Greece, an agon was a sporting or musical competition. The most famous agons were the Olympic, Pythian, Nemean and Isthmian Games, which are collectively known as the Panhellenic Games. In addition, there were other competitions, some of which lasted only a short period of time, such as the Ptolemaia or the Antinoeia. From Augustus onwards, the Greek agons were frequently imitated in Rome and other cities of the Roman Empire. Nero founded the Neronia, which recurred every five years, on the model of the Olympic Games. The so-called Isthmian Games were competitions in ancient Greece, named after the Isthmos of Corinth, where they were celebrated in honour of Poseidon from 580 BC. A sacred pine grove encompassed the sanctuary of the Isthmian Poseidon and the battlefields: the Hippodrome for the horse race, a stadium for the footrace, an important theatre for the musical competitions and the Kraneion, a respectable gymnasium. Their foundation is attributed partly to Poseidon, partly to Theseus, and they survived with varying validity until the Roman imperial period. Sisyphus is also mentioned as the founder: He is said to have donated the games to his nephew Melicertes, whose body he found on the coast of Corinth and buried after Melicertes had been killed by his mother Ino in a fit of madness and thrown into the sea. Apart from these “big” isthmuses, there were also “smaller” ones, for example in the city of Nicaea. Although the agones in the other provinces of Asia Minor (such as in Bithynia) did not rank among the most prestigious contest of the festival network, they were part of vibrant secondary agonistic circuits that managed to atrract quiet a lot of competitors, especially those for whom a competition in the major agonistic centres was too strong.

The connection to the so-called “Commodeia” games of Emperor Commodus is not certain. Emperor Commodus liked to be portrayed as the new Heracles and, among other things, allowed the city of Nicaea, whose mythical founder was Heracles, to organise festivals under his name (as he also did in other cities). The unanswered questions concerning the issue of this coin are: does the depiction deal with the annual festivals and games that had already taken place before Commodus, which were now renamed “Commodeia” for the emperor – or does this coinage explicitly refer to separate games in honour of the emperor Commodus? Why, then, does the legend on the reverse only refer to the “sacred games” and not directly to the so-called “Commodeia” games?

 

RPC Online Plate Coin: https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/4/25063 
More Informations at my website: https://yothr.me/crp/yothr-crp-445-1a-commodus-nicaea-athlete/ 

 

[Ursus]

Here's a classical Greek coin depicting a wrestling competition and a slinger:

Pamphylia, Aspendos, AR stater, 380–325 BC. Obv: two wrestlers grappling; FИ between; in exergue, MENETVΣ EΛVΦA. Rev: slinger in throwing stance r.; EΣTFEΔIIYΣ to l., triskele to r.; all within dotted square border. 23mm, 11.04g. Ref: SNG France 97–98; Tekin: Aspendian Wrestlers (2000), series 4. 

The reverse of these coins is often interpreted as a reference to Philip II's victory in the equestrian competition at the Olympic games in 356 BC:

Philip II, Kingdom of Macedonia, AE unit, 359–336 BC; Macedonian mint. Obv: Obv: laureate head of Apollo r. Rev: ΦΙΛΙΠ[ΠΟΥ], young rider on prancing horse r., A below. 18mm, 6.21g. Ref: SNG ANS 894, 935.

Philip III Arrhidaios (in the types of Philip II), Kingdom of Macedonia, AR 1/5 tetradrachm, 323–317 BC, Amphipolis mint. Obv: head of Apollo right, wearing tainia. Rev: [Φ]IΛIΠΠ[OY]; horseman riding right; branch below. 13mm, 1.78g. Ref: Le Rider pl. 46, 28; Troxell, Studies, Group 8, 385.

This coin's reverse and obverse refer to the Ludi Apollinares, Roman games in honor of Apollo that were first held in 212 BC:

Roman Republic, moneyer: L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, AR denarius, 90 BC, Rome mint. Obv: laureate head of Apollo r.: control marks. Rev: L PISO FRVGI; horseman galloping r. with palm-branch; control mark CVI. 18mm, 3.77g. Ref: RRC 340/1.

[ambr0zie]

I can contribute with a coin that just arrived - another L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi 

Also with a coin showing a wrestling match - Heracles vs Dionysus

[Deinomenid]

A bit of a cheat, as though it says Olympi on the reverse it's likely not connected despite  it being a rare name then and there. Sellers of such coins understandably like to say otherwise though. 

 

Neapolis, c. 380-340 BC. AR Didrachm  7.42 g. Diademed head right of nymph. Reverse: Man-headed bull right, head facing; above, Nike crowning bull.

Above the exergual line  "ΟΛ-YΜ-ΠΙ". Below the exergual line, ethnic.

 

 

 

[Anaximander]

Nothing quite says "Olympic Games" like coins from, you know, Olympia. 

  

OK, it's not my coin. But you've got to love the bankers' marks. 

The authority on these coins is Charles T. Seltman, who wrote The Temple Coins of Olympia. (Cambridge, 1921). Reprint by Attic Books (NY, 1975).

Here's my coin of Elis, replete with marks. I purchased it at a Ponterio auction in 2005, but it sold previously by CNG that same year and by Hirsch XVI in 1906! 

 

   

[Deinomenid]

@Anaximander we've got to stop ~matching like this! Same sort of coin almost, same plethora of countermarks, same long provenance  history. Sadly my coin is far worse and  probably cost a lot more - it was a recent purchase which I have no realistic  hope of ever breaking even on but is nevertheless a keeper despite my relative shame.

Spink 1891, etc.

ELIS. Olympia. Circa 450-430 BC. Stater (Silver, 27 mm, 11.34 g, 10 h). Eagle flying right with his wings above and below his body, grasping coiling serpent in his talons and with his beak (please use your imagination for that) ; above to right, countermark of a bird in a circular indent; on the lower right, uncertain countermark in a shaped indent (a bear?, an eagle head?); at the lower center, on the eagle's wing, countermark of a bear walking to left in a shaped indent. Rev. F-A Nike running to left, holding a wreath in her outstretched right hand and, with her left, holding her chlamys at her waist; all within a shallow incuse square.

BCD Olympia 37 = Seltman Temple, 77c  = Weber 4015 = H. Weber, On some Unpublished or Rare Greek Coins, NC, 1892, 14 ( this coin ). Also ex Bourgey, 2 July 1964, 74, and from the collections of Comte Chandon de Briailles, Bourgey, 17 June 1959, 378 and as above Sir Herman Weber, Naville IV, 17 June 1922, 580, originally acquired from Spink in 1891.

One of the countermarks is a prowling bear, the badge of the Arkadian city of Mantineia.

 

 

Weber 1892 -

 

 

 

Edited July 29 by Deinomenid
typos etc

[Sulla80]

"But he (Nero) crossed over into Greece, not at all as Flamininus or Mummius or as Agrippa and Augustus, his ancestors, had done, but for the purpose of driving chariots, playing the lyre,making proclamations, and acting in tragedies. Rome, it seems, was not enough for him, , nor Pompey's theatre, nor the great Circus, but he desired also a foreign campaign, in order to become, as he said, victor in the Grand Tour
-Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXIII.8.2-3

He won the title "Periodonikes" victor [circuit-victor], with victories in all four major Games [Olympia, Delphi, Nemea and the Isthmus].

 

The other 3 coins from Delphian, Nemean and the Isthmian games and more notes can be found here:

https://www.sullacoins.com/post/nero-periodonikes

 

Edited July 31 by Sulla80

[PeteB]

Aspendos, Pamphylia; 4th Cent. B.C. AR Stater (24mm; 10.87 gm; 6h). Obv: Two wrestlers of the early, and very rare, "Belt Wrestlers" variety, three letters in field: (?) to l., H below and between wrestlers,  and X to r. (the only clear depiction of this letter on examples I have seen, and undocumented in the major references), all within a dotted circular border. Wrestler on right grasps belt of wrestler on the left with his right hand. Wrestler on the left grasps opponent's left leg. Rev: Slinger advancing r., about to discharge his sling; triskeles to l. and ΕΣΤ to r., all within a dotted circular border. Condition is VF+ with superb surfaces and toning. Possibly the best in existence for type. One of the very earliest of this type. Tekin Series 1; SNG BN 44

[Greekcoin21]

Quote

Thrace,Philippopolis, Elagabalus, contestant drawing lotsa

[LongShanks]

 

No athletes or urns, but a coin actually minted for the 93rd Olympiad.... I kinda think of the crazy thunderbolt as the Olympic torch. One of highlights of my collection. One of my favorite parts is that they spelled the name of the goddess on her crown, Η Ρ Α = Hera.

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Olympia, Elis, Peloponnesos, 408 BC issue: 93rd Olympiad
AR Stater 25mm 11.59g. 10h, VF, toned, minor die break on ob

Obverse: Hera head right, wearing stephanos adorned with palmettes, tendrils, and her name on brim,  Ρ Artist signature below; Η Ρ Α
Reverse: Thunderbolt flaming all within olive wreath; F | Α

References: Seltman 262 pg. 79 Plate Ixv(no die match);  HGC 345; SG 2874; BCD Olympia 68; SNG Cop 380; Dewing 1876v(hair)
acquired from CNG 79 lot 274 on Sep 17, 2008
 

[robinjojo]

With the 2024 Paris Olympics ending today, here's a late arrival from last week.

Commodus, BI tetradrachm, Alexandria, Year ΚΔ = 24 (AD 183/4).

RPC Volume IV.4 No 3438

12.61 grams

[Phil Anthos]

Tripods were commonly given as trophies at the games, so here are a couple...

Kroton, Bruttium

525-425 BC AR Triobol (11mm, 1.25g) O: Tripod with lion‘s feet, within dotted border; QPO (retrograde) to left. R: Pegasos with curled wings flying left; Q below. SNG ANS 323-6; HN Italy 2127; Sear 468; Hands Class V, 3v (ethnic to right) From the Frank James collection; ex CNG; ex Roma Auctions

 

Seleukid Kingdom, Reign of Antiochos VIII (Epiphanes)

121-97 BC AR Drachm (17mm, 3.18g) O: Head of Antiochos VIII (Grypos) right. R: Tripod; [EΠ]IΦANOYΣ downward to left, BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIOXOY downward to right. HGC 9, 1209m; Newell 409; Sear 7149; BMC 4, 98,6 ex Forvm Auctions