Ancient Greek, Mysia, Parion mint, Archaic style (c.480 - c.350 BCE) silver hemidrachm
- Obverse: Gorgon head facing with protruding tongue
- Reverse: Cruciform incuse square with pellet in center
Reference:
- Sear GCV II 3918
- SNG Von Aulock 1318
Other Information:
- The face on the obverse is a "gorgoneion," a mask in imitation of the head of the gorgon. In archaic and classical Greek art gorgons were always shown facing the viewer with protruding tongue and teeth. In Greek mythology there were three gorgon sisters. The most famous which was Medusa
- The attribution of these coins to Parion was made by Richard Payne Knight (1751 - 1824) without providing evidence for the claim. Most specimens have been found in the area of Bizya, Thrace (modern Vize, Turkey).
- Although sales listings for this type include the denominations of Drachm, 3/4 Drachm, Hemidrachm, and Tetraobol it is unclear if they are correct. Ed Snible, in his webpage "The Gorgons ofParion" http://snible.org/coins/parion.html identifies two denominations and some possible ancient forgeries by the weight of the specimen. Following this method, specimens over 3.51 grams are classified as Sear 3917 (Drachm) and those below that weight as Sear 3918 (Hemidrachm) and ancient forgeries weighing less than 2.4 grams. As this method of identification makes sense and is easy to use, it has been used here.
