North Syrian mint

1 Mina

Lead

Cast

Square

8.70 cm

9.30 cm

- cm

Mass (g)	Mass (grain)	Date of measurement	Reference	fragmented	cleaned	reference weight
499.00	-	-	Auction Ares 2019	No	No	Yes
498.00	-	-	Auction Ares 2019	No	No	No
492.00	-	-	Auction Ares 2019	No	No	No

Symbol	Technique	Direction	Position	Number	Synecdoche
Elephant	Relief	LEFT

Auction Ares 2019: Syria. Antioch. Ca. 2nd–1st Century BC. PB square 1-mina weight (93mm × 87mm, 499 gm). Square plaque, with decorated inner border, linear border within enclosing an elephant walking left; above, ANTIOXEIAΣ, below, M-N-A. Cf. C. Daremberg - E. Saglio L Dictionnaire des Antiquités Grecques et Romaines, III.2, Paris, 1904, p. 1910 (similar square 1 mina weight with elephant). Beige "lead patina" overall, some compression of edges and "dent" along lower rim, otherwise Very Fine. Ex [Auction Gorny & Mosch 2008a], lot 464 (part of). [...] This lead weight, clearly marked as a mina, was employed in Antioch, Syria, probably by the Seleucid government of the first century BC. At 492 grams, it would seem to weigh about 10-20% more than 100 Attic Greek drachms, which averaged 4.3 grams each, indicating that the silver coinage was perhaps deliberately undervalued versus the theoretical ideal. The elephant is both a symbol of the Seleucid Kingdom and, apparently, for the mina as a weight. Condition: Very Fine. Weight: 498gr. Diameter: 180.05mm. From a Private Uk Collection.

No

Language	Technique	Legend type

GREEK

FROM -250 TO -1

Name	Date of acquisition	Inventory number
Antiquities Trade	Sept. 28, 2019	None

Reference	Page/Column	Reference (number)	Plate / Figure	Comment
Auction Ares 2019b	None	970	None	None