Alexander the Great (336-323 BC) bronze coins.

[vince76]

Hello MD-s

I have been metal detecting for other two days at the same site. In total three days. The temperature is around 40•C. It is easy getting wet ears. I can hardly support the garrett's headphones even when it is cold.
But finding these 2300 years old coins is .... mmmm... don't know what to say!


Alexander the Great (quiver type) 336-323 BC.


It is possible that these coins are from Philip II of Macedonia.


Other stuff from the same area.











I also found a Turkish coin maybe from 20th centuary..



.....and this small silver coin (or an ear ring).




This one is my preferred coin




Enjoy my post mates. Wish you best luck.

 

[vince76]

Holy Moly Vince you have been on a roll. Wow, awesome coinage bro. Maybe someday if I get across the pond, you'll take me out for a little coil swinging. I'll pay for dinner.

My banner vote is in.

My answer is:
I will pay for the dinner and you can pay for the beers.
You are welcome any time[emoji106]

 

[CRUSADER]

Hi guys.
I went back to the site and i found some more coins, two arrow heads and another 'bullet'.
I didn't know anything about this kind of bullets. First i thought they were steelyards but i have been wondering why should they be damaged. then a friend of mine told me they were used for the fishing nets. I thought he was right and i've been thinking all this days about this theory. But i was wondering how could they manage going up and down the hill with the net and all these weights, and why would they bring the nets on top of the hill?
But as i arrived home i red the Plumbata's comment and i ran on the bathroom, took my new toothbrush and cleaned them all. But, no signs or maybe i am not able to notice them.
For sure, i noticed that i have both types. And i agree with Plumbata because there are signs on them that show they were banged on hard surface, like a wall.
Thank you guys. That was really helpful.

OK. At the top or near the top of the hill is the perfect defensive position for slingshots, which is what I first thought but was unsure. If they had iron residue at either end then they are steelyard weights.

 

[CRUSADER]

''I also found a Turkish coin maybe from 20th centuary and this small silver coin (or a ring).''

The Lead in the picture above the statement I just quoted is called a 'Pot Mend' - used to fill a hole in an ancient pot (made from clay)

Its a good base indicator for a Roman or Medieval Site (in the UK).

 

[Scrappy]

Very cool sling weights and the Alexander coinage is excellent! Wow!

 

[Army of 1]

Congrats vince76 , a great collection of coins and artefacts , some real ancient history there ! .. cheers Mick

 

[vince76]

Yeah Westfront, there was a lot of variation and I've mosty handled Romano-Iberian, Cypriot and Balkan examples; not sure what was going on with them in Italy.

Vince, here's what I'm talking about by embossed bullets, this is the most recent one I added to my collection:
View attachment 1349239

I identified it as a Hellenistic bullet from Aspendos in Pamphylia, with the bent-leg Triskelion symbol being the symbol of the city. The mercenary slingers from the city were of such renown that the reverse of their silver staters bore a slinger (plus the Triskelion):
View attachment 1349240

A plain bullet might be worth 10 dollars, but ones with decent inscriptions can be 50-300.00 items so are definitely worth scrutinizing. Please be sure to hit that spot hard and post more goodies as you find them!

Hi Plumbata.
Your sling bullet is beautiful. It doesn't seem to have the white patina! Did you clean it?
I hit the spot again yesterday and here is the stuff i could dig yesterday.

 

[vince76]

I would say by the pics. There is a very wide range on size, starting with little as 28 grams, found in a camp here up to 140 and more. With no signs of a rusted out loop i stay with bullet. I'll have a look if i can find a pic about shape of them.

Here we go

Source Wikipedia

I agree with you Westfront.
I have different shapes and weights.
I am fascinated with them now and i weighed them one by one. I would separate them in 25,30,35,45,50 and 60 gr.
This is one from 35 gr. It looks like almond shape!

 

[vince76]

The Lead in the picture above the statement I just quoted is called a 'Pot Mend' - used to fill a hole in an ancient pot (made from clay)

Its a good base indicator for a Roman or Medieval Site (in the UK).

WOOOW
That is great news too. I was sure it was made on purpose but i had no idea at all what it was.
Thanks Cru.

 

[Diggin Dude]

Incredible !!! What history you recovered!! Congrats and HH

 

[CRUSADER]

WOOOW
That is great news too. I was sure it was made on purpose but i had no idea at all what it was.
Thanks Cru.

No worries.
Find these & there is normally a Site nearby. I get lots of them. Look out for some with little bits of clay pot still attached or even better, the 'Thumb Print' of the person doing the fix.

 

[kcm]

40°C?? That's not Italy - that's Hades!

Nice finds!!

 

[Westfront]

With the finds you made yesterday it looks like you're really onto something! You're lucky the iron survived. There will be a lot more to find in that area.

 

[vince76]

No worries.
Find these & there is normally a Site nearby. I get lots of them. Look out for some with little bits of clay pot still attached or even better, the 'Thumb Print' of the person doing the fix.

With the fingerprint!! It would be seriously the best find for me. I hope it happens.
I checked the stuff i have found in this area and i have another one but bigger. First i thought it was only scrap.

 

[niffler]

Love the big iron arrowheads, maybe from a "scorpion"? The coins are just amazing also. Your finds just give me chills! Thanks for sharing them, they are incredible.

 

[CRUSADER]

With the fingerprint!! It would be seriously the best find for me. I hope it happens.
I checked the stuff i have found in this area and i have another one but bigger. First i thought it was only scrap.

Yeap, about as personal as you can get with someone from 2000 years ago.

 

[Plumbata]

Hey Vince, my bullet has a thick patina, some is stained darker but it must be the flash or poor lighting making it look cleaned. I wasn't trying to hijack your thread, just show you a good example.

I had been trying to learn about the ballistic properties of lead sling bullets a while ago and read that a trained slinger could achieve ranges up to and in excess of 400 yards, and a velocity of up to 190 feet per second upon release, which for my particular 452 grain (29.3 gram) bullet would impart 36 foot-pounds of energy; more than enough to cause massive damage.

For one of your 60 gram bullets, that would be 74 foot-pounds of energy. Compared to a standard 40 grain .22 LR round going 1,085 FPS with muzzle energy of 105 foot-pounds some may scoff, but the small .22 bullet won't crush bones and cause catastrophic contusions and organ damage quite like a sling bullet, which transfers most of that energy on impact instead of generally passing through soft tissue like the .22 bullet. It truly was a fearsome weapon for 300 BC!

View attachment 1349513

I love iron spearheads and arrowheads as well, but it is hard to date/attribute them. The Arrowhead on the left has a wide midrib that is reminiscent of pre-Christian Iron Age examples from a broad geographic range but I wouldn't be surprised if the style was made for 1,500 years.

The Iron point on the right actually appears to be a "spear butt" spike used to both protect the bottom of the spear shaft and also easily stab and kill wounded enemies lying on the ground. It could have been a quickly-produced point made by the blacksmith as the enemies were approaching, but my guess is that it was a spear butt that was originally longer and had a wider socket which rusted away (like the socket of your spearhead)

Superb discoveries, please keep this spot a secret because I'm sure there are many more treasures waiting to be found, and many people would be happy to steal your spot if they figured out where it was. I hope you find some fat silver Tetradrachms of Alexander next time you hunt!

 

[sutphin]

WHAT THE , YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN . COOL ARTIFACTS .

 

[villagenut]

Vince, you are always killing it with the coinage...but now with relics too? Now you are killin me...great job, as always.

 

[vince76]

Hey Vince, my bullet has a thick patina, some is stained darker but it must be the flash or poor lighting making it look cleaned. I wasn't trying to hijack your thread, just show you a good example.

I had been trying to learn about the ballistic properties of lead sling bullets a while ago and read that a trained slinger could achieve ranges up to and in excess of 400 yards, and a velocity of up to 190 feet per second upon release, which for my particular 452 grain (29.3 gram) bullet would impart 36 foot-pounds of energy; more than enough to cause massive damage.

For one of your 60 gram bullets, that would be 74 foot-pounds of energy. Compared to a standard 40 grain .22 LR round going 1,085 FPS with muzzle energy of 105 foot-pounds some may scoff, but the small .22 bullet won't crush bones and cause catastrophic contusions and organ damage quite like a sling bullet, which transfers most of that energy on impact instead of generally passing through soft tissue like the .22 bullet. It truly was a fearsome weapon for 300 BC!



I love iron spearheads and arrowheads as well, but it is hard to date/attribute them. The Arrowhead on the left has a wide midrib that is reminiscent of pre-Christian Iron Age examples from a broad geographic range but I wouldn't be surprised if the style was made for 1,500 years.

The Iron point on the right actually appears to be a "spear butt" spike used to both protect the bottom of the spear shaft and also easily stab and kill wounded enemies lying on the ground. It could have been a quickly-produced point made by the blacksmith as the enemies were approaching, but my guess is that it was a spear butt that was originally longer and had a wider socket which rusted away (like the socket of your spearhead)

Superb discoveries, please keep this spot a secret because I'm sure there are many more treasures waiting to be found, and many people would be happy to steal your spot if they figured out where it was. I hope you find some fat silver Tetradrachms of Alexander next time you hunt!

Wow
I am impressed with all this info.
Now it is easy to understand why some of them are really damaged.
I have found most of them at the same altitude around the hill. Maybe, the defending troops were situated there or maybe some defending walls that don't exist any more.

I'm also suprised with the spear butt's info. It is impresive keeping it in my hand.

Thanks a lot Plumbata

 

[vince76]

WHAT THE , YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN . COOL ARTIFACTS .

I know i know
Thanks Sutphin