The late classical/early hellenistic drachms of Knidos - article ; n°154 ; vol.6, pg 63-94

Richard Ashton

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Revue numismatique - Année 1999 - Volume 6 - Numéro 154 - Pages 63-94
Summary. -A recent hoard of mid- late fourth century drachms of Knidos prompts production of a die-study and of relative and absolute chronologies. Contemporary and near- contemporary tetradrachms, didrachms, hemidrachms and bronze issues are also discussed, and die-studies provided of the tetradrachms and didrachms.
32 pages
Source : Persée ; Ministère de la jeunesse, de l’éducation nationale et de la recherche, Direction de l’enseignement supérieur, Sous-direction des bibliothèques et de la documentation.

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• Publié par: REVUE_NUMISMATIQUE
• Publié le: 01 janvier 1999
• Nombre de lectures: 27
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Richard H.J. Ashton
The late classical/early hellenistic drachms of Knidos
In: Revue numismatique, 6e série - Tome 154, année 1999 pp. 63-94.
Abstract
Summary. -A recent hoard of mid- late fourth century drachms of Knidos prompts production of a die-study and of relative and
absolute chronologies. Contemporary and near- contemporary tetradrachms, didrachms, hemidrachms and bronze issues are
also discussed, and die-studies provided of the tetradrachms and didrachms.
Citer ce document / Cite this document :
Ashton Richard H.J. The late classical/early hellenistic drachms of Knidos. In: Revue numismatique, 6e série - Tome 154, année
1999 pp. 63-94.
doi : 10.3406/numi.1999.2237
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/numi_0484-8942_1999_num_6_154_2237R.HJ.ASHTON*
THE LATE CLASSICAL/EARLY HELLENISTIC
DRACHMS OF KNIDOS l
(PL V-XII)
Summary. -A recent hoard of mid- late fourth century drachms of Knidos prompts pro
duction of a die-study and of relative and absolute chronologies. Contemporary and near-
contemporary tetradrachms, didrachms, hemidrachms and bronze issues are also discus
sed, and die-studies provided of the tetradrachms and didrachms.
Résumé. - Un trésor récent, composé de drachmes de Cnide du milieu du IVe siècle et
plus tardives permet de proposer une étude de coins et une chronologie relative et absol
ue. Les émissions contemporaines ou quasi-contemporaines de tétradrachmes, didra-
chmes, hémidrachmes et bronzes sont aussi discutées et des études de coins sont propo
sées pour les tétradrachmes et les didrachmes.
In 1998 a group of 132 Knidian drachms appeared on the west
European market in the hands of a dealer who believed that they compri
sed the whole of a hoard found not long before in eastern Crete. They are
now in a private collection, where I was able to examine and photograph
them. The pattern of wear on the various issues, the similarity of the
traces of patina remaining on the coins, which had all been cleaned, and
the large numbers and close die-linking of the apparently latest issues re
presented, all encourage the conviction that they formed the whole or part
of a single hoard.
The post-Cahn classical and subsequent coinage of Knidos was studied
by the late Jan Nordbo nearly thirty years ago in an unpublished disser
tation2. He listed 163 drachms of the series represented in the hoard, but
did not provide a die-study. Perhaps influenced by B.V. Head (BMC
Caria, p. 89, footnote), he divided the issues into two separate series (his
* 3 Cheyne Place, London SW3, 4HH.
1. 1 am grateful to Philip Kinns for commenting on a draft of this paper and for practical help;
to my daughter Jane for the discovery of several new specimens during her work as a volunteer
building up the British Museum's file of coin photographs; and to Pierre Requier for sharing with
me a list of Knidian didrachms which he had independently compiled.
2. H.A. Cahn, Knidos: die Mttnzen des sechsten undfunften Jahrhunderts v. Chr., Amugs 4,
Berlin, 1970 ; J.H. Nordb0, Utmyntningenpà Knidos, 394 f. Kr. - ca. 210 e. Kr., University of Oslo
MA thesis, 1972. 1 have used a copy of Nordb0's thesis (in Norvegian) in the British Museum.
Revue numismatique, 1999, p. 63-94 R.H.J. ASHTON 64
series 5 and 7) on stylistic and metrological grounds; this seems un
necessary, and I have preferred to regard the coins as belonging to a
single series. The hoard contains representatives of all the issues listed by
Nordbo, except for the rare issues signed by Euphron, Kleinippos,
Phileratos and Eudoros, and provides one issue not known to him, that s
igned by Hippodamos. The following catalogue includes all the hoard
coins, together with a further 178 coins from the British Museum collec
tion, from the British Museum's files of casts and photographs, from the
plates of Nordbo's dissertation, and from an assortment of other easily ac
cessible sources, including some of the major public collections 3. Little
attempt has been made to establish a corpus, or even a full assemblage of
the coins listed but not illustrated by Nordbo. Nevertheless, the pattern of
die-linking in the catalogue - 56 obverse dies used to strike 310 coins
from a variety of sources and with few singletons - suggests that there are
not many obverse dies left to discover. 4
CATALOGUE
All die-combinations and all hoard coins are illustrated on Pis. V-X.
Obv. Head of Aphrodite r. (1. on cat. nos. 41-7, 163-4), hair variously arranged.
Rev. Forepart of lion r. (1. on cat. nos. 163-4) ; name of moneyer and ethnic.
Euphron
Obv. Head г.; hair rolled, bun at back. Rev. Above, EYOPQN; below, trident
and KNI.
1. Al/Pl a. 3.50 12 BMC 30. Rev. EYOP
b. 3.47 12 Oslo.
2. A2/P2 a. 3.50 12 SNG Copenhagen 262. Rev.] QN.
b. 3.26 12 Munich. Rev. Name off-flan. Reverse
die-link uncertain.
Hippodamos
Obv. Head г.; hair rolled, bun at back. Rev. Above, ШПОЛАМОХ; below,
KNI.
3. A3/P3 3.33 06 1998 hoard.
3. The temporary closure of the Berlin collection precluded access to its material, but Hâkon
Ingvaldsen has kindly sent me some of Nordbo's casts made there (and elsewhere), and some fur
ther pieces could be gleaned from plates and from Imhoof-Blumer's publications. Mr. has also kindly sent me casts of material in the Oslo collection.
4. For discussion of the statistical methods whereby the original number of dies employed in a
series can be calculated from the recorded numbers of dies and coins, see W. Esty, Estimation of
the Size of a Coinage, NC 1986, p. 185-215, esp. 211.
RN 1999, p. 63-94 THE LATE CLASSICAL/EARLY HELLENISTIC DRACHMS OF KNIDOS 65
Polyeratos
Obv. Head г.; hair rolled, bun at back. Rev. Above, IIOAYHPATOZ; below, star
and KM.
4. A3/P4 a. 3.17 12 1998 hoard.
3.42 12 b. Boston, MFA 251.
3.14 с GiessenerMH17(1980), 75.
3.22 12 Berlin. d.
3.08 12 e.
f. 3.31 12 Paris 465.
Kleinippos
Obv. Head г.; hair rolled, bun at back. Rev. Above, КЛЕ1МППОЕ; below, un
certain symbol (caduceus?) and KNI.
5. A4/P5 3.56 06 Athens
6. A4/P6 3.44 12 Berlin
Archekrates
Obv. Head г.; hair bun at back. Rev. rolled, Above, APXEKPATHC; below,
LN1. MT
7. A5/P7 3.34 06 1998 hoard.
8. A5/P8 a. 3.23 12
b. 3.22 12 Paris 447. Metal has yellowish
colour.
9. A6/P9 a. 3.36 12 1998 hoard.
b. 3.06 Naville 5 (1923), 2623.
с 4.15 A. Cahn 60 (1928), 866.
12 d. 2.95 SNG Keckman 172; acq. 1976.
3.01 12 1998 hoard. 10. A6/P10
11. A7/P11 a. 3.20 12
b. 3.22 J. Hirsch 18 (1907), 2474.
с 3.25 12 Vienna.
d. 3.22 12 Marseille Museum, general coll.
3/281.
12. A8/P11 a. 3.15 06 1998 hoard.
b. 3.23 06 BMC 29.
с 3.17 02 Lundgren coll., Oslo.
13. A97/P11 Helbing 22 March 1926, 113.
Ciani 1 June 1920, 117. 14. A9/P12
15. A9/P13 2.99 12 Stockholm.
A9/P14 3.30 12 16. 1998 hoard.
Telesiphron
Obv. Head г.; hair rolled, bun at back. Rev. Above, TEAECIOPQN or (nos. 30-
35, 38-39) TEAESIOPQN; KNI.
17. A9/P15 a. 3.45 12 1998 hoard.
b. 3.37 Giessener MH 90 (1998), 364.
RN 1999, p. 63-94 R.H.J. ASHTON 66 )
с 2.82 01 McClean 8480. Reverse die-link
uncertain5.
18. A9/P16 3.41 12 1998 hoard.
A9/P17 a. 3.32 12 19.
b. 3.18 12 BMC 31.
20. A9/P18 a. 3.34 01 Istanbul; Pademlik hoard (see
below).
b. 3.35 01 Istanbul; hoard (see
below).
с 3.20 12 1998 hoard.
d. 3.12 12 BMC 32.
e. 3.05 02 SNG Keckman 177; G. Hirsch
143 (1984), 114.
21. A9/P19 a. 3.15 12 1998 hoard.
12 b. 3.26
с 3.08 12 Berlin.
A9/P20 2.35 12 22.
23. A10/P20 a. 3.17 12 1998 hoard.
b. 3.25 12
с 3.35 G. Hirsch 173 (1992), 409.
d. 2.88 02 Oxford, acq. 1956. Metal has
yellowish colour.
24. A10/P21 3.36 12 1998 hoard.
25. A10/P22 a. 3.28 12 1998
b. 3.12 SNG Lockett 2892; Helbing
Nachf. 20 March 1928, 376.
BM 1926-2-3-12 (N. Zitelli). с 3.25 12
d. 3.21 12 BMC 33.
e. 3.10 Downie-Lepczyk 63 (1985),
101.
f. 3.85 12 SNG Copenhagen 261.
26. A10/P23 a. 3.32 12 1998 hoard.
b. London market 1982.
с 3.24 02 ANS 1944.100.47803.
3.11 d. 02 1983.51.548.
27. A10/P24 2.81 12 Leiden.
As last, but Ctôv. Behind neck, "E .
28. A11/P25 a. 3.39 Rosenberg 64 (1928), 1482;
Naville 10 (1925), 705; Naville
4 (1922), 887.
5. In the McClean catalogue Grose read the name on coin 17c as [AP]XEK[P]AT[HE], but ad
mitted that the reading was doubtful. Philip Kinns and I have separately examined the coin, and
believe that the should be TEJAE[ CIOPÍŽN]. On coin 17a the name is entirely off-flan, but
on coin 17b I read [TEA]ECI[OPQ]N.
RN 1999, p. 63-94 THE LATE CLASSICAL/EARLY HELLENISTIC DRACHMS OF KNIDOS 67
12 Paris 467 ( b. 3.25
29. A11/P26 3.29 12 Berlin.
As last, but Obv. Hair rolled, no bun.
30. A12/P27 a. 4.16 12 1998 hoard. Traces of copper on
surface.
b. 3.33 12 1998 hoard. Traces of copper on
surface.
31. A12/P28 3.03 02 ANS 1944.100.47801.
32. A12/P29 3.35 12 1998 hoard.
33. A12/P30 a. 3.44 12
b. 3.38 12 1998 hoard.
34. A12/P31 3.51 12 McClean 8483.
A12/P? 3.37 12 Berlin, Imhoof-Blumer; MG no.
432A,