Imitazioni ‘barbare’ e falsi moderni della monetazione imperiale macedone

[apollonia]

Tetradramma di Alessandro imitazione locale di Arado (CNG 90).

KINGS of MACEDON. temp. Alexander III – Philip III. Circa 324/3-320 BC. AR Tetradrachm (24mm, 16.28 g, 1h). In the name of Alexander III. Local imitation of Arados mint issue. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; kerykeion in left field. For prototype, cf. Price 3332 and Duyrat group IV, series 11. VF, bright surfaces.
 

This local imitation is a very close copy of the prototype issue from Arados. Except for the absence of the civic monogram below the throne, the identification of the coin as an imitation is only betrayed by subtle elements. In the legend, the N of Alexander’s name is retrograde, and in the royal title, the B appears as a malformed 8, the A is in the form of a Δ, and the ending Σ appears as a line above a dot. Stylistically, two elements are anomalous: the ear of Herakles has been transformed into a lock of hair, and the top of the kerykeion (which is always well formed in the official issues) appears as two dots surmounting an oval. Finally, the weight is light for the period.

 

[apollonia]

Imitazione locale di Susa di un tetradramma di Antioco I Sotere (CNG 76).

SELEUKID KINGS of SYRIA. Antiochos I Soter. 281-261 BC. AR Tetradrachm (16.74 g, 7h). Local imitation of Susa mint. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; in left field, B in circle; below throne, monogram in circle. Cf. SC 399.4. Good VF. Unpublished.

 

[apollonia]

Altra imitazione locale di Susa di un tetradramma di Antioco I Sotere (CNG 76).

SELEUKID KINGS of SYRIA. Antiochos I Soter. 281-261 BC. AR Tetradrachm (16.63 g, 5h). Local imitation of Susa mint. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; in left field, B in circle; below throne, monogram in circle. Cf. SC 399.4. Good VF, slight die shift and a couple tiny deposits on obverse. Unpublished.

 

[apollonia]

Imitazione del tetradramma di Alessandro Magno Price 3190 coniato a Soli, Cipro ( http://numismatics.org/collection/1944.100.26608 ).

 

Nella collezione ANS è conservata anche questa imitazione del tetra autentico appena postato al # 3610 della discussione sulle monete più attraenti di Alessandro Magno

 

 

[apollonia]

Imitazione locale di Corinto del tetradramma di Alessandro Price 674 (CNG 82).

KINGS of MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’. 336-323 BC. AR Tetradrachm (16.64 g, 2h). Local imitation of Corinth mint issue. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; wreath in left field, A below throne. For prototype, cf. Price 673. EF.

Typically, such imitations are referred to as ‘barbarous.’ This term, however, has pejorative connotations, suggesting a type of crude style. In contrast, the present coin is an excellent example of an imitation with a style of high quality.

 

Il prototipo di riferimento riportato in didascalia è errato: non Price 673 (che ha Basileus in esergo) ma Price 674 (nome del sovrano senza titolo regale).

 

[apollonia]

Confronto dell’imitazione (sopra) con il prototipo (Spink 17004).

Kingdom of Macedon, Alexander III, the Great (336-323 BC), AR Tetradrachm, 16.94g, Corinth, head of young Herakles right, wearing lion's skin headdress, rev. Zeus enthroned left, holding eagle and sceptre, wreath on left, below throne (Price 674), very fine.

Il Price 673 ha anche la scritta BASILEUS in esergo.

 

[apollonia]

Imitazione locale di un tetradramma della zecca di Pella (CNG 82).

KINGS of MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’. 336-323 BC. AR Tetradrachm (16.88 g, 11h). Local imitation of Pella mint issue. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; thunderbolt in left field. For prototype, cf. Price 231; cf. Moore 170-93. VF, minor die rust.

A comparison with illustrations of Price issue 231, and particularly the examples in Moore’s die study, reveals significant differences in the style of the head of Herakles and the throne of Zeus that strongly suggest this example is an imitation.

 

[apollonia]

Prototipo del tetradramma di Pella Price 231 (Künker 49).

GRIECHISCHE MÜNZEN
MACEDONIA
KÖNIGREICH. Alexander III., 336-323 v. Chr.
AR-Tetradrachme, 325/315 v. Chr., Pella; 17,24 g. Herakleskopf im Löwenfell r.//Zeus Aetophoros sitzt l., im Feld l. Blitz. Price 231 f. Gutes sehr schön.

 

 

 

[apollonia]

Imitazione di un tetradramma di Alessandro di una zecca incerta dell’Est (CNG 347).

UNCERTAIN EAST. Late 4th-early 3rd centuries BC. AR Tetradrachm (27.5mm, 17.15 g, 12h). Local imitation of Alexander III of Macedon. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, legs crossed; retrograde Z in left field. Unpublished in the standard references. VF, some light green deposits.

From Group SGF.

 

[apollonia]

Tetradramma di una zecca incerta dell’Arabia che imita nei tipi quelli di Alessandro Magno (CNG 108).

ARABIA, Uncertain. Late 4th-3rd centuries BC. AR Tetradrachm (25mm, 17.17 g, 9h). Imitating the types of Alexander III of Macedon. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Shams seated left on backless throne, holding eagle and staff; N-like control in left field, uncertain control mark below throne (erased in die?). Unpublished in the standard references. VF, slight roughness. Extremely rare.

From the Colin E. Pitchfork Collection, purchased from Freeman & Sear, 18 January 2002.

A variety of the Arabian mints began operations with imitations of Alexander type. However, the style of this piece, particularly the reverse, is only roughly similar to any of those. Moreover, the weight of this coin is correct for the Attic standard, while most of the known imitations from Arabia are much lighter. This suggests that the present coin, the style of which is also closer to the original Alexanders, was struck earlier, perhaps even in the late 4th century BC. If correct, this would be one of the earliest , if not theearliest, Alexander type coins from Arabia.

 

[apollonia]

Tetradramma dell’Europa dell’Est che imita quelli di Alessandro copiando l’emissione civica di Mesambria o Mesembria, sul Mar Nero (CNG 294).

EASTERN EUROPE, Imitations of Alexander III of Macedon. Mid-late 3rd century BC. AR Tetradrachm (32mm, 17.66 g, 6h). Copying a civic issue from the Mesambria mint. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; in inner left field, monogram above helmet to left; monogram below throne. Lanz –; KMW – (but cf. 1455 for another local imitation of Mesambria). Near EF, toned, minor obverse die flaws.

The monograms do not match any official controls recorded by Karayotov.

 

[apollonia]

Altro ‘Mesambria’ probabilmente imitativo (CNG 416).

THRACE, Mesambria. Circa 125-100 BC. AR Tetradrachm (32.5mm, 15.57 g, 1h). In the name and types of Alexander III of Macedon. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; in inner left field, helmet above ΔI; ΔA below throne. Karayotov I –; Callataÿ –; Price 1070 var. (control letters in opposite positions); HGC 3, 1569. VF, lightly toned, double struck, some roughness. Probably an imitative issue.

From the Colin E. Pitchfork Collection. Ex Classical Numismatic Group 58 (19 September 2001), lot 234.

 

[apollonia]

Possibile imitazione di un’emidramma ‘sotto peso’ di Alessandro Magno (Agora 55).

Macedonian Kingdom. Alexander III the Great. 336-323 B.C. AR hemidrachm (13 mm, 1.77 g, 12 h). Contemporary imitation(?). Uncertain mint, but likely copying Babylon. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion's skin headdress / B ΣIΛΣΩ[...](?) in exergue, AΛEΞAΛΝΔC(?), Zeus seated left, holding eagle and scepter; in left field, M. Price -; Hersh -. VF, light porosity.

From the Kenneth Miller Collection of Ake-Ptolemaïs and Related Biblical Coins. Ex Dr. Jonathan A. Herbst Collection (Superior, 8-9 December 1995), 146.

The collector identifies this coin as a triobol based on its low weight, which is not only an unknown denomination for a coin in the name of Alexander but also an entirely unlikely denomination within the Alexandrine monetary system. It seems more likely that it is a contemporary imitation of a hemidrachm, but of rather low weight. Reinforcing this interpretation is the style of the Herakles portrait, which is rather coarse, and also the legends, which are blundered. Finally, the M in left field is clearly not a conventional Phoenician date. It is, however, a control used extensively on coins from Babylon, and of course Alexanders from Babylon - being on the periphery of the Hellenistic world - were extensively imitated in areas around the Persian Gulf. Thus, we catalogue the coin here as a contemporary imitation of a Babylon mint hemidrachm in the name of Alexander III.

 

[apollonia]

Bronzo di Alessandro Magno di zecca incerta della Macedonia, forse imitativo (CNG 193).

KINGS of MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’. 336-323 BC. Æ 16mm (4.43 g, 7h). Uncertain Macedonian mint. Diademed head of Apollo right / Horseman riding right; uncertain letters below. Price -. VF, rough brown surfaces. Perhaps imitative.

 

[apollonia]

Rara imitazione di alta qualità delle ultime emissioni alessandrine (CNG 108).

EASTERN EUROPE, Imitations of Alexander III of Macedon. Late 2nd-1st centuries BC. AR Tetradrachm (31mm, 16.74 g, 7h). Imitating style of posthumous Alexanders from southern Asia Minor. Head of Herakles, wearing lion skin / Zeus Äetophoros seated left; kerykeion to left. Unpublished. Near EF, toned, a couple minor die breaks. Very rare high quality imitation of late Alexandrine issue.

From the Colin E. Pitchfork Collection. Ex Triton XI (7 January 2008), lot 124.

By the 2nd century BC, most imitative issues of Alexanders were stylized issues easily identifiable as ‘Celtic’ or ‘barbarous’. The present piece, however, would have been highly deceptive, as the style is very close to that used at various mints in southern Asia Minor, and is betrayed only by the retrograde N in Alexander’s name, and very minor stylistic elements. The closest parallels, in terms of style, are issues of Rhodes, which had the small hash marks at the bottom of the lion skin and Zeus sitting on a throne with its back depicted. Another possibility, if the kerykeion was present on the model, would be the rare issue from Samothrace, circa 200 BC, Price 662. That issue has a somewhat similar style, but lacks the throne back and also has a monogram below the throne–these small differences, though, suggest that the engraver was not closely copying an official issue, and that the kerykeion was an arbitrary symbol used to give the impression of authenticity.

Nella Triton XI di dieci anni fa venne stimata $500 e venduta a $300, nella CNG 108 di quest’anno (16 maggio) è stata stimata $400 e venduta a $800.

 

[apollonia]

Statere in nome e nei tipi di Lisimaco ‘imitativo’ o secondo i canoni stilistici dell’epoca nella regione del Mar Nero?

THRACE, Byzantion. Early-mid 1st century BC. AV Stater (23mm, 8.27 g, 12h). In the name and types of Lysimachos. Diademed head of the deified Alexander right / Athena Nikephoros seated left; monogram to inner left, BY on throne, ornamented trident in exergue. Marinescu p. 194, 5, and pl. 67, 4 var. (monogram); Callataÿ p. 149, n. 40, and pl. 38, M var. (same). Good VF, slightly weak strike on obverse. Extremely rare.

This interesting late stater from Byzantion belongs to a very rare group of issues that are characterized by a rather “hasty” style and a broad, thin flan. Although Marinescu places these under the category of “imitative” coinages, his die study concludes before the 1st century, post-Mithradatic issues of Byzantion, which is the period in which Callataÿ places these. Callataÿ’s assignment is certainly correct, as the overall characteristics of the flan and style of these coins are consistent with gold staters of the Black Sea region at that time. The style of the present piece is identical to the BM specimen illustrated by Callataÿ; the dies for both coins must be the work of the same engraver.

 

[apollonia]

Statere in nome e nei tipi di Lisimaco di possibile origine celtica (CNG 96).

WESTERN BLACK SEA REGION, Uncertain. Late 2nd – early 1st centuries BC. AV Stater (20mm, 8.50 g, 12h). In the name and types of Lysimachos of Thrace. Diademed head of the deified Alexander right, with horn of Ammon / Athena Nikephoros seated left, left arm resting on shield, transverse spear in background; uncertain monogram to inner left, ornate trident in exergue. Unpublished in the standard references. EF, scrape, a few light marks, die shift, and light roughness on reverse.

This type is very similar to issues struck in large quantities in the name and types of Lysimachos at Byzantion, Kallatis, Istros, and Tomis during the time of Mithradates VI of Pontos. All of those issues, though, bear the first initials of their mint below the throne on the reverse, a feature that is not present on this coin. Certain elements of the style, particularly the hair and high placement of the ear, on this coin suggests a possible Celtic origin. The civic Lysimachi circulated widely in the western Black Sea region, making them good candidates for imitative issues struck by the Celtic tribes, and early issues feature very high quality style more consistent with dies of official issues (cf. Dessewffy 390 and L. Forrer, Keltische Numismatik der Rhein- und Donaulande [Strassburg, 1908], no. 375).

 

[apollonia]

Tetradramma tipo imitazione di Alessandro III (Macho & Chlapovič, Auction 12).

Celts / Kelten 
Dacia, Celts
Tetradrachm, Imitation Alexander III type
Unpublished.
Dakien, Kelten
Tetradrachme, Typ imitation Alexander III
Unediert.
Dácie, Kelti
Tetradrachma, Typ napodobenina Alexandra III.
Nepublikovaný.
16,69 g, 24,9 mm, Ag , Dembski -, Pink -, VF / VF

 

[apollonia]

Prototipo dell’imitazione precedente.

KINGS of MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’. 336-323 BC. AR Tetradrachm (24mm, 16.79 g, 8h). Amphipolis mint. Struck under Kassander, Philip IV, or Alexander (son of Kassander), circa 315-294 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; in left field, Λ above bucranium; E below throne. Price 432. VF.

 

Nel suo studio sulla monetazione di Alessandro Magno, il Price pone correttamente la serie lambda-bucranio (Emissioni Price 429-433) prima della serie lambda-fiaccola (Emissioni Price 438-497). Tuttavia, egli separa le due serie in due periodi successivi, circa 320-315 a. C. e circa 315-294 a. C., rispettivamente. Queste date sono assegnate sulla base di un legame certamente tenue tra le sue emissioni 428 e 429, entrambe le quali hanno una A sotto il trono (anche se su quest'ultimo la A è in una ghirlanda). Tuttavia, è più significativo che quattro dei cinque simboli sussidiari della serie lambda-bucranio siano condivisi dalle prime emissioni della serie lambda-fiaccola. Inoltre le emissioni Price 421-428 hanno il titolo regale che non è presente in nessuna delle serie lambda. Nel suo studio delle zecche macedoni, H. Troxell ha definitivamente collocato i Price 421-428 attorno al 318-317 a. C. e spostato un certo numero di sue altre emissioni nel periodo successivo, circa 317-315 a. C. Con il tenue legame tra il Price 428 e il Price 429 effettivamente eliminato, la serie lambda-bucranio deve essere spostata al periodo circa 315-294 a. C., sia precedente o in concomitanza con le prime emissioni della serie lambda-fiaccola.

 

[apollonia]

Esemplare del tetradramma Price 432 presente nella Balkan Area Hoard.

KINGS of MACEDON. Kassander. As regent, 317-305 BC. AR Tetradrachm (24mm, 17.00 g, 11h). In the name and types of Alexander III. Amphipolis mint. Struck circa 310-307 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; in left field, Λ above bucranium; E below throne. U. Wartenberg & J.H. Kagan, “Some comments on a new hoard from the Balkan area,” Travaux Le Rider, p. 397, 24 (this coin, illustrated on pl. 41); Price 432; Ehrhardt 18. Fine, toned, flan crack, test cut and countermark on obverse.

Ex 1990s Balkan Area Hoard (CH IX, 196).

 

The 1990s Balkan Area Hoard consisted of 78 official Hellenistic tetradrachms and 20 Celtic imitations, including the following: Philip II (2), Celtic imitations of Philip II (17) and Alexander III (1), various issues in the name of Alexander III (50), Philip III (1), Demetrios Poliorketes (3), Lysimachos (11), Seleukos I (4), Antiochos I (5), Antiochos II (1), Eumenes of Pergmon (3), and the Thracian king Orsoaltios (1). The exact findspot of the hoard is unknown, but a location in Serbia or western Romania seems likely. The latest datable coins would seem to indicate a burial around 240 BC, although this is complicated by the Celtic issues. The composition of the hoard is similar to other hoards from the Balkans (see Wartenberg & Kagan p. 395, note 1), and sheds light on the circulation of Hellenistic coins in the region. It also demonstrates a complex system of applying test cuts and countermarks.

 

Forty-three of the official Hellenistic coins from the hoard carry a trefoil-shaped countermark combined with one or more test cuts; the cuts typically appearing at the back or top of the head on the obverse and the countermark on the cheek, chin, or neck area. The combination of the two and the fact that the cuts never run over the countermark may suggest a two-step process in testing the coinage. While we may not fully understand the significance of this process, as noted in the publication of the hoard (p. 407): “What we do know is that the cuts and countermarks were part of a sophisticated and controlled process and not just the reduction of these coins into bullion by a barbarian people.”

 

[apollonia]

Tetradramma pubblicato dal Price come B4b (celtico).

KINGS of MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’. 336-323 BC. AR Tetradrachm. ‘Barbarous’ issue. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion’s skin headdress / Zeus seated left, holding eagle and sceptre; cornucopiae (?) in left field, X below throne. Cf. Price pl. CLI, B4b. VF, toned.

 

Price p. 506 notes that the ‘barbarous’ copies of Alexander III tetradrachms differ from contemporary imitations in that they were meant not to defraud but rather to provide coinages for the local economies in areas on the fringes of the classical world.

 

 

[eracle62]

Il 24/7/2018 alle 01:21, apollonia dice:

Imitazione locale di Corinto del tetradramma di Alessandro Price 674 (CNG 82).

KINGS of MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’. 336-323 BC. AR Tetradrachm (16.64 g, 2h). Local imitation of Corinth mint issue. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; wreath in left field, A below throne. For prototype, cf. Price 673. EF.

Typically, such imitations are referred to as ‘barbarous.’ This term, however, has pejorative connotations, suggesting a type of crude style. In contrast, the present coin is an excellent example of an imitation with a style of high quality.

 

Il prototipo di riferimento riportato in didascalia è errato: non Price 673 (che ha Basileus in esergo) ma Price 674 (nome del sovrano senza titolo regale).

 

Stupenda la varietà dei ritratti ognuno con una sua mano, questo sembra fatto ieri..

[apollonia]

Prototipo del tetradramma della Macedonia Price 104 al post # 96 (CNG 104).

KINGS of MACEDON. Alexander III. 336-323 BC. AR Tetradrachm (25mm, 16.71 gm). 'Amphipolis' mint. Circa 323-320 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion's skin headdress / Zeus seated left, holding eagle and sceptre; cornucopiae before. Price 104; Müller 368. VF, light scratches on reverse. 

From the Garth R. Drewry Collection.

 

[apollonia]

Unica imitazione contemporanea di un tetradramma tolemaico (CNG 96).

PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy I Soter. As satrap, 323-305 BC. AR Tetradrachm (27mm, 16.38 g, 1h). In the name of Alexander III of Macedon. Contemporary imitation. Diademed head of the deified Alexander right, wearing elephant skin and aegis / Athena Alkidemos advancing right, brandishing spear and wearing shield; illegible “monogram” to inner left; to right, YE and eagle standing right on thunderbolt.

Unpublished. VF, lightly toned, granular surface, scratch on obverse, graffito in field on reverse. Unique imitation based on the satrapal coins of Ptolemy.

 

[apollonia]

Unico distatere celtico (Valle del Danubio, forse della Colchide) di Alessandro Magno (NAC 74).

Notare i cinque uccelli attorno alla testa stilizzata del (si fa per dire) Grande sul diritto e l’immagine stilizzata di Atena nicefora tra due file di punti sul rovescio.

THE ROMAN EMPIRE
CELTIC. DANUBE VALLEY, Distater, Distater, Cholcis (?) c. late 1st Century B.C.-1st Century A.D. AV 12.37 g. Obv. Stylized head of Alexander the Great right; around, five birds. Rev. Athena Nicephoros, stylized, seated right, holding sceptre in right hand; above, trident; the whole between two lines of dots. Literature LT - cf. 9601 (stater) SLM - cf. 1212-13 (stater) R. Forrer, Keltische Numismatik der Rhein- und DonauLand , Strasbourg, 1908, - cf. 377 (stater). M.-M. Bendenoun, Coins of the Ancient World, A Portrait of the JDL Collection, Tradart, Genève, 2009, 90 (this coin).

La moneta è stata aggiudicata a un hammer di 160.000 CHF da un prezzo di partenza di 36.000 CHF.

 

La didascalia è accompagnata dalla dettagliata descrizione storica che segue.

Condition. Apparently unique. A very important and fascinating issue. Good extremely fine. Provenance Auctiones AG 20, Zürich 1990, lot 29. From the “Un amateur érudit” collection. Note This gold distater, with a reverse modelled after the Lysimachus- type staters of Byzantium, is of considerable interest. Its style and fabric, and its ring of birds around the portrait all place it in a distinctive and well-defined group of barbarous gold coins. However, as a distater it is seemingly unique. All other known specimens are staters that typically weigh between 5.0 and 6.0 grams. Some pieces that fall outside that range are of particularly low weight, from 2.6 to 3.1 grams; these may be fractions or staters struck at a significantly reduced standard. Derek Allen suggests these coins are of Balkan origin, noting that they are found as far north as the Baltic. In a 1988 article dedicated to these issues, Ermanno Arslan suggests they are Celto-Dacian issues from Transylvania. He records the opinions of several scholars who have offered ideas on the European origin of these coins. He also provides anecdotal provenances on two examples, one said to have been found in Hadrianopolis and another – remarkably – in the vicinity of Milan. Arslan divides the series into three groups, each with slightly varying aspects of style, design detail, weight parameters and metrology. This distater most closely resembles the staters of his group III, though it lacks a diagnostic ‘monogram’ beneath the chin. Importantly, some scholars suggest these coins originate outside Europe altogether. Konstantin Golenko, in his “Kolchis” (Chiron 2, 1972, pp. 570-2), documents examples of this type having been found in Colchis, in the southern Caucasus. This region, on the southwestern shore of the Black Sea, constitutes the western part of the modern state of Georgia. Alexander Zograph (1889-1942), in his classic Antichnie Moneti, describes these gold coins as having been struck in the late 1st Century B.C. in Abkhazia, the northwestern part of ancient Colchis and the modern state of Georgia. He writes (p.155) from the perspective of a Russian scholar familiar with regional finds: “These imitations are particularly interesting for us because, in contradistinction to the opinions of certain western European scholars who have assigned them without sufficient grounds to other countries near the Danube, the finds are concentrated in Abkhazia, western Georgia, and Adjaria. ...I may remark in passing that the investigation of just the imitations found on the territory of our country, in particular the still understudied central Asiatic imitations, would afford very rich material.” With such wide-ranging ideas on the origin of these coins, it is difficult to conclude where they were struck. The fact that they copy a type of Byzantium is of no help since those coins were familiar in 322 | many places throughout the Aegean and Black Seas, as well as in the Balkans. Since these imitative gold pieces have been found in places ranging from the southern Caucasus to northern Italy, and from the Balkans to the Baltic, they must have been used extensively, and exported far from their place of origin. The prototype of the portrait is uncertain: it may be derived from the head of Heracles on Alexander III-type tetradrachms or the deified head of Alexander III on the coinage of Lysimachus. The reverse unquestionably is taken from civic issues of Byzantium that were based upon the royal coinage of Lysimachus. The trident first appeared on Byzantium staters and tetradrachms in the late 3rd Century B.C., and these coins were struck in large quantities in the 2nd and early 1st Centuries B.C. We might presume these imitations would have been created only after the mass issues at Byzantium had circulated enough to become important trade coins. However, the most important chronological tool may be found on a seemingly unique stater in Arslan’s group III. It has on its reverse IB in the interior left field and ETOYC beneath the trident. On coinage, ETOYC (meaning ‘year’) was used perhaps exclusively on Roman provincial coins to indicate dates; IB, theoretically, would equate 12, with the combination being ‘year 12.’ Though we need not presume that coin was necessarily struck in the twelfth year of any particular era, we should accept the idea that Arslan’s group III could not have been conceived before the proliferation of Roman provincial coins into non-Roman areas. This would make the late 1st Century B.C. the earliest possible moment for this inscribed stater. More likely, however, its starting point would be in the 1st Century A.D. This, of course, would not preclude an earlier date for the staters of Arslan’s groups I and II if, indeed, they preceded group III.