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 W H' Am^hrt 
 
 HAMPSHIRE 
 
 INTER-LIBR^Y 
 
 CENTfi&^fQ 
 
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 NUMISMATIC 
 
 AND MONOGRAI^^^ 
 
 
 No. 14 
 
 ^» V ^i 
 
 ATTAMBELOS I OF CHARACENE 
 By GEORGE F. HILL, M.A. 
 
 THE AMERICAN NUMISMATIC SOCIETY 
 BROADWAY AT 156TH STREET 
 NEW YORK 
 
 1922 
 
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NUMISMATIC 
 
 NOTES AND MONOGRAPHS 
 
 EDITOR : SYDNEY P. NOE 
 
Numismatic Notes and Monographs 
 is devoted to essays and treatises on sub- 
 jects relating to coins, paper money, 
 medals and decorations, and is uniform 
 with Hispanic Notes and Monographs 
 published by the Hispanic Society of 
 America, and with Indian Notes and 
 Monographs issued by the Museum of the 
 American Indian — Heye Foundation. 
 
ATTAMBELOS I OF 
 
 CHARACENE 
 
 GEORGE F. HILL, M.A. 
 U I 
 
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 THE AMERICAN NUMISMATIC SOCIETY 
 BROADWAY AT 156th STREET 
 NEW YORK 
 1922 
 
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COPYRIGHT 1922 BY 
 
 THE AMERICAN NUMISMATIC SOCIETY 
 
 Press of Patterson & White Co., Philadelphia 
 
 THE GETTY CENTER 
 IIBRARY 
 

 1 
 
 ATTAMBELOS I OF CHARACENE 
 
 BY G. F. HILL. 
 
 The five tetradrachms of this king, 
 which were published in the recently 
 issued volume of the British Museum 
 Catalogue, 1 formed part of a hoard. 
 Of this hoard 50 pieces in all were se- 
 cured by Col. H. B. McCormick, D.S.O. 
 Whether the hoard ever contained any 
 more than these I am unable to state. It 
 was reported to have been fetched across 
 the border from Susa to Amara, where it 
 was bought ; but there may be no more 
 truth in that statement than in another, 
 to wit : that the coins had been buried 
 in a bronze pot which, when examined 
 by experts, proved to be of Arab work- 
 manship and perhaps a thousand years 
 later than the coins. That the coins 
 had been in contact, with copper is, how- 
 ever, undoubtedly true, for the forty-five 
 coins which were brought to me by Col. 
 
 
 NUMISMATIC NOTES 
 
 
2 
 
 ATTAMBELOS I 
 
 
 McCormick were so thickly coated with 
 a copper deposit that their real compo- 
 sition — a not very pure silver 2 — could 
 hardly be surmised. They have all since 
 been cleaned — nearly all with complete 
 success ; two, however, had considerable 
 patches of deep-seated decay, which in 
 the cleaning disappeared altogether, 
 leaving large cavities on the obverses. 
 
 Of the 45 new coins shown by Colonel 
 McCormick, one has been kept by him- 
 self, and 22 by the British Museum. In 
 the following list, an asterisk is placed 
 against the weight of the specimens re- 
 tained by the Museum. I proceed to 
 give a complete list of all the coins 
 known to me of this king — 51 in all, in- 
 cluding the Berlin specimen, or 52, if, as 
 seems probable, the bronze coin at Paris 
 is of him and not of the second Attam- 
 belos. 
 
 All the coins are of the general de- 
 scription already given in the Museum 
 .Catalogue, as follows : 
 
 Obv. Head of King r., diademed, 
 
 bearded, hair in curls; border of dots. 
 
 
 NUMISMATIC NOTES 
 
OF CHARACENE 
 
 3 
 
 Rev. Herakles seated 1., with club 
 which rests on his r. knee. On r. 
 downwards and on 1. downwards, in- 
 scription (rarely preserved in full) 
 BAXIAEDX ATTAMBHADY on r, 
 XOTHPDX KAI EYEPrETDY onl. 
 Above r. arm, monogram ; in exergue, 
 date (too often mutilated). 
 
 They fall into three groups, according 
 as they have 
 
 (A) a monogram on obverse in front 
 of the head, and on the reverse a mono- 
 gram or letter under the arm, as well as 
 the monogram above it. 
 
 (B) no monogram on obverse, but a 
 letter under the arm as well as the mono- 
 gram above it. 
 
 (C) no monogram on obverse, and on 
 the reverse no letter under the arm, but 
 only the monogram above it. 
 
 Contrary to the usual rule in the de- 
 velopment of coins, the equipment of 
 monograms and letters becomes less com- 
 plicated as time goes on; the chrono- 
 logical order of the groups is the same 
 as that given above. 
 
 
 AND MONOGRAPHS 
 
 
4 
 
 ATTAMBELOS I 
 
 
 Series A. 
 
 On the obverse, monogram in front 
 
 of head. 
 
 1—5. On the reverse, above arm, 
 
 0 below; date, when legible ZZZ. (267). 
 Weights, 15.09 grammes, 14.78 gr.*, 13,41 
 gr., 12.97 gr.* (PI. I), 12.82 gr. 
 
 6. On the reverse, obscure mono- 
 gram 3 above arm, O below date HZZ 
 (268). Wt. 11.24 gT-* (PI- I)- 
 
 Series B. 
 
 No monogram on obverse; on reverse, 
 above arm (No. 7) or j^J (Nos. 8-13) ; 
 
 below, a letter. 
 
 7. Letter under arm obliterated. 
 Date, 0ZZ (269). Wt. 10.50 gr.* 
 (B.M C. p. 291, No. 1). 
 
 8. Letter under arm, Z. Date, IZZ 
 Wt. 14.47 g r - 
 
 9. Letter under arm, Z- Date illegi- 
 ble. Wt. 13.37 g r -* 
 
 10. Letter under arm, P. Date illegi- 
 ble. Same obv. die as No. 0. Wt. 14.02 
 gr* (PL I). 
 
 11. Similar to No. 10, but from differ- 
 
 
 NUMISMATIC NOTES 
 
OF CH ARACENE 
 
 5 
 
 ent dies. Date, □(?)£ (270). Double- 
 struck on rev. Wt. 11.88 gr. 
 
 12. Letter X (?) under arm. Date, 
 □ 11(270). Wt. 13.15 gr*. 
 
 13. Letter X under arm. Date off 
 the flan. Wt. 10.74 gr.* (B.M.C. p. 292, 
 No. 5). 
 
 Series C. 
 
 No monogram on obverse ; on reverse, 
 monogram ^ above arm. 
 
 14. 15. Date, B OT (272). Wts. 13.68 
 gr.* (B.M.C. p. 291, No. 3) and 13.72 
 gr* 
 
 16, 17. Date, rnr (273). Both from 
 same ohv. die as No. 15. Wts. 10.69 g r -* 
 and ( ?) (the latter retained by Col. Mc- 
 Cormick) . 
 
 18, 19. Date, rnr. Both from same 
 ohv. die. Wtsr 13.46 gr.* (PI. II) and 
 10.37 gr. 
 
 20. Date, TDr or rnX(283). Wt. ? 
 (Berlin; Waddington, Melanges PI. VI. 
 7, where the date is taken to be pnX ). 
 The bottoms of the letters of the date are 
 off the flan or not struck up, judging 
 -from a cast which I owe to Dr. Regling. 
 
 
 AND MONOGRAPHS 
 
 
6 
 
 ATTAMBELOS I 
 
 
 21. Bate, ED 21(275). Wt. 12.53 gr.* 
 
 22. Date, E(?) DT. Wt. 9.95 gr.* 
 
 23. Date,r ,0£( 2 76) . ofay. die 
 
 as No. 22. Wt. 12.43 gr.* 
 
 24. Date, C. [Q12L- Different dies. 
 Wt. 11.22 gr. 
 
 25,26. Date, ZCIZ (277). Both from 
 same obv. die. Wts. 15.07 gr.* (PI. II), 
 12.09 g r -* 
 
 27,28. Date, HDZ (278). From the 
 same pair of dies. Wts. 14.13 gr.* (PI. 
 II), II-54 g r - 
 
 29. Date, HDZ. Different dies. Wt. 
 I3-9 8 g r - 
 
 30. Date, ODE (279). Wt. 13.54 gr.* 
 (B.M.C. p. 291, No. 2). 
 
 31. Date, 8DZ. Wt. 12.13 gr.* 
 
 32. Date, PDZ. Wt. 12.15 gr.* 
 (B.M.C. p 292, No. 4). I cannot ex- 
 plain the very puzzling digit sign. In 
 some lights there seems to be a middle 
 horizontal. If the right vertical were 
 continued downwards and a bottom hori- 
 zontal supplied, we should have a square 
 theta, such as is used in the name of the 
 next king, Thionesios. The loss of the 
 
 
 NUMISMATIC NOTES 
 
OF CH ARACENE 
 
 7 
 
 missing parts would be accounted for by 
 a slight depression in the surface which 
 occupies their place. Judging by the 
 style of the obverse, the coin belongs to 
 about this period of the reign. The 
 weak point of this explanation is that a 
 round theta seems to be used on Nos. 30 
 and 31. 
 
 33. Date, gOZ. Wt. 11.20 gr.* 
 
 34. Date quite illegible. Same obv. 
 die as No, 33. Wt. 11.50 gr. 
 
 35,36. Date, IDE or tflZ. From 
 same obv. die. Wts. 12.97 g r -*, 12.18 gr. 
 (a large cavity on obverse of the latter). 
 
 37-40. Date, BUT or »riZ. Wts. 
 12.14 gr., 11.96 gr., 11.94 gr., 10.04 g r - 
 
 41. Date, mi! (283) . Wt. 12.42 gr.* 
 (large cavity on obverse). 
 
 42. Date, AnZ (284). Wt. 12.30 
 gr* (PI. III). 
 
 43. Date, §nZ. Same obv. die as 
 No. 42; therefore the first letter of the 
 date is probably H A or E • 
 
 44, 45. Date illegible. Both from 
 same obv. die. Wts. 13.20 gr.*, 12.72 gr. 
 
 46, -47. Date illegible. Both from 
 
 
 AND MONOGRAPHS 
 
 
8 
 
 ATTAMBELOS I 
 
 
 same pair of dies. Weights n.66 
 grammes, 10.11 grammes.* 
 
 48-51. Date illegible. Wts. 14.05 gr., 
 11.63 g r -. H-3 1 gr-, 9-93 gr- 
 
 52. The bronze coin with Nike as re- 
 verse type (Waddington, Melanges , p. 89, 
 No. 6, here Pl. III) seems to me, judging 
 from a cast, to be of this Attambelos 
 rather than of the second. 
 
 The first point to be noted is .that if 
 the date on the coins of Thionesios I 
 were really TOE, as it has always been 
 read, he would be an intruder in the 
 middle of the reign of Attambelos I. 
 But, as Mr. Robinson has observed to me, 
 the omicron on these coins is always 
 square, and the middle sign is therefore 
 presumably a koppa. His suggestion is 
 completely confirmed by M. Babelon who, 
 having re-examined the coins, kindly in- 
 forms me that the beginning of the tail 
 of the koppa is discernible on the two 
 out of the three specimens on which the 
 date is legible at all. (See PL III, A.) 
 We thus have the dates 267 to 284 
 (46/5-29/8 B.C.) fixed in the chronology 
 
 
 NUMISMATIC NOTES 
 
OF CHARACENE 
 
 9 
 
 of Attambelos I and 293 (20/19 B. C.) 
 in that of Thionesios I. 4 There thus still 
 remains a gap of nine years to be sup- 
 plied between the dates established for 
 the two kings ; and, ftirther, since it is 
 uncertain whether the latest date of 
 Tiraios II is 261 or 264, there may be a 
 year or two to add on at the beginning 
 of the reign of Attambelos. 
 
 The next king known in succession to 
 Thionesios I is Attambelos II. His por- 
 trait is easily distinguishable from that 
 of Attambelos I by the treatment of the 
 hair ; both are in long locks, but those 
 of the first king are frizzed, whereas 
 on the head of the second they hang 
 more or less lankly. A good specimen is 
 figured in PL III, B. This is the piece 
 the date on which M. Babelon 5 has read 
 EriZ. Since this would make Thio- 
 nesios I an intruder in his reign, the 
 reading would seem to require revision. 
 The coin is slightly double struck, and on 
 the cast I seem to see that the hundreds 
 figure may have been a f of which only 
 the right-hand portion of the horizontal 
 
 
 AND MONOGRAPHS 
 
 
10 
 
 ATTAMBELOS I 
 
 
 and the upper portion of the vertical re - 
 main legible. It bears the same mono- 
 gram as coins dated riT(?),QT and 
 HT 6 and resembles them also in the 
 style of its lettering. The earliest date 
 otherwise read on coins of this king is 
 EQZ (Berlin). 7 Taking this, then, as 
 the first fixed point in his reign, we have 
 a gap of 12 years between him and 
 Thionesios I. 
 
 It is unlikely that these gaps will be 
 filled by the discovery of other kings, be- 
 cause, as I have remarked elsewhere, the 
 series we now know squares with the 
 numbers given by a passage of Pseudo- 
 Lucian which caused some difficulty be- 
 fore the discovery of Attambelos I. 
 
 I am unable to offer any certain ex- 
 planation of the monograms and letters 
 which distinguish these coins. But it 
 seems probable that those on the reverses 
 represent officials in charge of the mint, 
 for they are used continuously for a 
 shorter or longer period of years, and do 
 not recur after an interval, as they might 
 if they represented place names. The 
 
 
 NUMISMATIC NOTES 
 
 | 
 
0 F CH A R A G E N E 
 
 II 
 
 monogram on the obverse of Series A 
 is possibly meant for the king’s own 
 name, like the somewhat similar counter- 
 mark, which is found on coins of 
 Attambelos III and Thionesios III. 8 
 The letters under the arm cannot repre- 
 sent months, since they run to X. 
 
 The weights, it will be observed, are 
 excessively irregular. This may partly 
 be due to the cleaning of the coins; al- 
 though nothing has been deliberately 
 removed, chemical changes in alloy may 
 have affected the weights of some of the 
 pieces. 
 
 
 AND MONOGRAPHS 
 
 
12 
 
 ATTAMBELOS I 
 
 
 NOTES 
 
 1 Arabia &c., pp. 291-2. In the course of 
 these notes I have made a few tacit corrections 
 in my previous descriptions of these coins. 
 
 2 But easily distinguishable from the metal 
 of the succeeding kings, which is very base. 
 
 3 All that is clear is a loop resembling the 
 lower part of a B. 
 
 4 Assuming the use of the Seleucid era, and 
 not that of Alexander ; a point on which Col. 
 Allotte de la Fuye will have something to say. 
 
 5 Melanges numismatiques iii (1900) p. 230. 
 
 6 B.M.C. p. 293. Nos. 1-3. I note here that 
 
 No. s of this king has the same monogram as 
 his earlier coins of and X- an ^ 
 
 should therefore have been placed before No. 1, 
 although its date is illegible. 
 
 7 There is also one at Paris with ^ 9 H- 
 
 s B.M.C. Arabia, p. cciii. 
 
 j 
 
 NUMISMATIC NOTES 
 
 1 - - 
 
ATTAMBELOS I 
 
 Plate I 
 
 :i 
 
 i 
 
 | 
 
ATTAMBELOS I 
 
 
 
 Plate II 
 

ATTAMBELOS I 
 
 Plate III 
 
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