Asia Minor Coins - Photo Gallery

Ancient Greek and Roman coins from Asia Minor


Coin ID #275

Tarsos (BC 425-400) Stater

ca 425-400 BC. AR Stater (10.35g). Bellerophon riding Pegasos left, spearing Chimera below / The God Nergal, standing left and holding axe, ear of corn to left, small tree to right, 'NRGL-TRZ' = Nergal? Tarsos in Aramaic characters above. Extremely rare and interesting. Attractive dark tone, EF. Ex NAC Sale 10 (1997), lot 253.

Nergal was a fearsome Mesopotamian god associated with death; he reigned in the underworld and was the protector of men against pestilence and war. His name survives not only on coinage, but on Akkadian and Elamite inscriptions, and seemingly also in the names of high-ranking Assyrian officials and a Babylonian king of the early 7th cent. BC, Nergal-ushezib. The small tree may be the "sacred tree" that is often the focal point of ceremonies depicted on Neo-Assyrian reliefs and seals.

File information
Filename:00201q00.jpg
City/Mint name:Tarsos
Rating (25 votes):11111
Keywords:silver / classical
References:L. Mildenberg, Nergal in Tarsos in Essays H. Bloesch, Antike Kunst 9, 1973, p.79, pl. 28, 5 (this coin)
Valuation:NAC Auc. 25 (6/2003), lot 201 (CHF 15,000 ($11,302) + comm)
Photo courtesy of:Numismatika Ars Classica - www.arsclassicacoins.com
Filesize:41 KiB
Date added:Dec 08, 2004
Dimensions:689 x 355 pixels
Displayed:1220 times
URL:http://www.asiaminorcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=275
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Comment 1 to 1 of 1
Page: 1

Dimitry   [Dec 08, 2004 at 06:26 AM]
Although placed at 390 BC by NAC (probably based on Mildenberg's article), the style and iconography would point to an earlier date, probably before 400 BC (when the Persian Satraps took control over Tarsos). This coin seems to fit better in the time of the Syenneses, ca 425-400 BC, and the description is so modified.

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