Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XVI 26 Sep 2018
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Etruria, Populonia AR 20 Units. Early-mid 5th century BC. Amphora with blunt base set in elaborate stand, from the top of which emerges an octopus, tentacles spread to either side; XX below / Blank. EC I, 1.1-5 (O1, misattributed to Pisae); HN Italy 104 (Pisae); SNG ANS 16 (Uncertain mints). 22.59g. 33mm.
Good Very Fine. One of six recorded examples, of which only two are in private hands, the others being in Basel's Antikenmuseum, Lisbon's Gulbenkian Collection, the BM in London, and the ANS collection in New York.
From the collection of a Swiss Etruscologist;
Ex Dr. Edward Salkin Collection (Newport Beach, CA);
Privately purchased from Seaby's, 1982.
The previous attribution to Pisae of the octopus/amphora series was originally based on Garrucci's statement (Le monete dell'Italia antica 1885, p. 49, 18) that two examples, first published by Bompois 1879, pl. 18, come from Pisa and that the name teuthìs or teuthòs, Greek for octopus, is similar to the ethnic Teuta-Teutones recorded by Pliny and Cato as the name of the first inhabitants of Italian Pisa. However, there is no verifiable evidence for a coin of this type ever having been found in or around Pisa. Authors including Toscanelli 1933 (p. 369 note 2 ), Neppi-Modona 1953 (p. 30h and p. 42 k), Bruni 1993 (pp. 81-82), ASAT (p. 63), Tesei 1992 (p. 196), BTCGI XIII (pp. 597-598) and HN Italy (p. 30) all perpetuated Pisan provenance for the series, without actually attesting to specific finds in Pisa or in the vicinity. Pisa in the 19th and early 20th centuries was then the principal commercial centre of Tuscany to where such collectors' coins would gravitate, which likely caused this confusion. The amphora 20, 10 and 5 unit issues fit metrologically between the Populonia undenominated Chalkidian weight standard silver animal and monster series, EC I, 1-6, and the first Metus X, 5 and 2.5 denominated series EC I, 7-10. The octopus fractional issues EC I, 7-5 also belong to Populonia in the 3rd century BC.
The design on this coin is impressive for its boldness and novelty, and at the same time highly enigmatic. Depicting an amphora on an elaborate (and probably weighted) stand intended to keep it upright when dropped from a boat into the sea, along with the top of the head of an octopus emerging from the opening with its tentacles splayed outwards on all sides, a quotidian fishing tool is transformed into a powerful sigil for the issuing authority. Along with the ubiquitous Gorgoneion, this type is emblematic of the Etruscan coinage series, though because of its extreme rarity few have ever seen one in hand and so it has for the most part been considered unobtainable by collectors and institutions alike. The elusive nature of the coin is matched by the obscurity of its significance; why the octopus motif occurs repeatedly on the coinage of Populonia is not known. It seems unlikely to be apotropaic in nature despite the qualities (some real, some imagined) attributed to octopodes by the ancients, since though it was known to be a dangerous, crafty and venomous animal, it was evidently also prized as a food source by the coastal Etruscans. The portrayal of the octopus in an amphora therefore suggests a usage similar to that of the crab of Akragas or the barley grain of Metapontion, which represented a prime local produce.
As a powerful marine predator it is tempting to visualise a connection between the recurrent octopus theme and Etruscan naval prowess. Aside from their extensive maritime trade connections, the Etruscans were also renowned for possessing a formidable navy - something which only the richest states could afford to construct, equip and maintain. Indeed, Herodotus credits the Etruscans with the invention of the rostrum - the bronze beak affixed to the prow of warships to ram enemy vessels. Until the 5th century BC the Etruscans had effectively dominated the Tyrrhenian Sea, and at the Battle of Alalia were strong enough to form a combined fleet of 120 warships with the Carthaginians to resist Greek encroachment and piracy.
The other principal types of the period - the Chimaera, the lion, the boar, and a marine lion-serpent monster - are clearly carefully chosen for their connotations of strength and intimidatory qualities. A simply mundane significance to this particular issue would therefore seem particularly incongruous. It thus seems highly likely that the ancient observer was intended to infer some deeper level of meaning from this motif, perhaps related to guile and ferocity in a marine context.
Good Very Fine. One of six recorded examples, of which only two are in private hands, the others being in Basel's Antikenmuseum, Lisbon's Gulbenkian Collection, the BM in London, and the ANS collection in New York.
From the collection of a Swiss Etruscologist;
Ex Dr. Edward Salkin Collection (Newport Beach, CA);
Privately purchased from Seaby's, 1982.
The previous attribution to Pisae of the octopus/amphora series was originally based on Garrucci's statement (Le monete dell'Italia antica 1885, p. 49, 18) that two examples, first published by Bompois 1879, pl. 18, come from Pisa and that the name teuthìs or teuthòs, Greek for octopus, is similar to the ethnic Teuta-Teutones recorded by Pliny and Cato as the name of the first inhabitants of Italian Pisa. However, there is no verifiable evidence for a coin of this type ever having been found in or around Pisa. Authors including Toscanelli 1933 (p. 369 note 2 ), Neppi-Modona 1953 (p. 30h and p. 42 k), Bruni 1993 (pp. 81-82), ASAT (p. 63), Tesei 1992 (p. 196), BTCGI XIII (pp. 597-598) and HN Italy (p. 30) all perpetuated Pisan provenance for the series, without actually attesting to specific finds in Pisa or in the vicinity. Pisa in the 19th and early 20th centuries was then the principal commercial centre of Tuscany to where such collectors' coins would gravitate, which likely caused this confusion. The amphora 20, 10 and 5 unit issues fit metrologically between the Populonia undenominated Chalkidian weight standard silver animal and monster series, EC I, 1-6, and the first Metus X, 5 and 2.5 denominated series EC I, 7-10. The octopus fractional issues EC I, 7-5 also belong to Populonia in the 3rd century BC.
The design on this coin is impressive for its boldness and novelty, and at the same time highly enigmatic. Depicting an amphora on an elaborate (and probably weighted) stand intended to keep it upright when dropped from a boat into the sea, along with the top of the head of an octopus emerging from the opening with its tentacles splayed outwards on all sides, a quotidian fishing tool is transformed into a powerful sigil for the issuing authority. Along with the ubiquitous Gorgoneion, this type is emblematic of the Etruscan coinage series, though because of its extreme rarity few have ever seen one in hand and so it has for the most part been considered unobtainable by collectors and institutions alike. The elusive nature of the coin is matched by the obscurity of its significance; why the octopus motif occurs repeatedly on the coinage of Populonia is not known. It seems unlikely to be apotropaic in nature despite the qualities (some real, some imagined) attributed to octopodes by the ancients, since though it was known to be a dangerous, crafty and venomous animal, it was evidently also prized as a food source by the coastal Etruscans. The portrayal of the octopus in an amphora therefore suggests a usage similar to that of the crab of Akragas or the barley grain of Metapontion, which represented a prime local produce.
As a powerful marine predator it is tempting to visualise a connection between the recurrent octopus theme and Etruscan naval prowess. Aside from their extensive maritime trade connections, the Etruscans were also renowned for possessing a formidable navy - something which only the richest states could afford to construct, equip and maintain. Indeed, Herodotus credits the Etruscans with the invention of the rostrum - the bronze beak affixed to the prow of warships to ram enemy vessels. Until the 5th century BC the Etruscans had effectively dominated the Tyrrhenian Sea, and at the Battle of Alalia were strong enough to form a combined fleet of 120 warships with the Carthaginians to resist Greek encroachment and piracy.
The other principal types of the period - the Chimaera, the lion, the boar, and a marine lion-serpent monster - are clearly carefully chosen for their connotations of strength and intimidatory qualities. A simply mundane significance to this particular issue would therefore seem particularly incongruous. It thus seems highly likely that the ancient observer was intended to infer some deeper level of meaning from this motif, perhaps related to guile and ferocity in a marine context.