Chatter

19 Months until ANA in Chicago

Let the countdown begin! The dates are not finalized, but all indications are early in August, 2011. The venue will be the Rosemont Convention Center, same as in 1999.

The only current major activity is ideas for the convention medal, but ideas for a convention theme also would seem appropriate. The previous Chatter issue had a call from committee chair David Simpson for ideas to be submitted by Tuesday, January 19, so they could be discussed at a committee meeting on Wednesday, January 20, one week after our regular January club meeting. Committee meeting details will be announced at our January meeting. Before our January meeting, our web site will have a link to the local organizing group — look under the Upcoming Special Events section.

Minutes of the 1092nd Meeting

The 1092nd meeting and annual banquet of the Chicago Coin Club took place December 9, 2009 at Marcello’s Restaurant, 645 W. North Ave. Due to inclement weather 12 cancellations were received, but 38 members and guests attended. Guests included: Nicholas Brown, LuAnne and Jennifer Freeman, Dr. Jennifer Tobin & Mark Woodford, Janet Leonard, Mary Claire Jakes, Theresa Thompson, Heidi Feiler & Jon Bliese, Larry & Carol Poston.

Following a cocktail hour that began at 6 PM, President Jeffrey Rosinia called the meeting to order at 7 PM. A motion was passed to adopt an abbreviated meeting agenda. The application for membership of Nicholas Brown received first reading. Following an invocation by Joel Reznick, President Rosinia called for a warm round of applause and thanks to: Steve Zitowsky, Banquet Chairman; Sharon & Kevin Blocker, Mark Wieclaw, Phil Carrigan and Bill Burd for complimentary hor d’oeuvres; Sharon & Kevin Blocker for the room deposit and complimentary dinner for the speakers.

First V.P. Lyle Daly introduced the evening’s featured speaker Dr. Jennifer Tobin with a program titled The Coinage of Mithrapata of Lycia: Evidence of Dynastic Struggles in the Fourth Century B.C. Following a question and answer period, Dr. Tobin received an engraved Club medal and an ANA Educational Certificate.

Carl Wolf gave a brief history of the Club’s Medal of Merit award and presented the 2009 award to Steve Zitowsky whose work as Treasurer was cited in addition to many hours manning the Club table during local coin shows and his recruitment of new members.

Second V.P. Elliot Krieter presented the 2009 Cabeen Exhibit Awards. Recipients included: Honorable Mention: Marc Stackler, Robert Weinstein, William Burd (not present), Robert Leonard, Robert Feiler and Eugene Freeman; Second Place: Mark Wieclaw; and First Place: Carl Wolf.

Robert Leonard, Chairman of the 2011 ANA Chicago Convention, announced the appointment of Eugene Freeman as the Boy Scout Chairman and Jason Freeman as his assistant. Robert also called for a round of applause for Jason who would receive his Boy Scout Eagle Scout Badge in the upcoming week.

President Rosinia donated and conducted a drawing of door-prizes that included a one ounce silver round. Adjournment was called at 9:23 PM

Sincerely Submitted,
Carl Wolf, Secretary

Speaker’s Wor[l]d
The Coinage of Mithrapata of Lycia: Evidence of Dynastic Struggles in the Fourth Century B.C.

presented by Dr. Jennifer Tobin
to our December 9, 2009 meeting

Dr. Tobin started by showing a coin bearing the bust of Mithrapata; not a crude representation, but lifelike, with sculpted cheeks and forehead. This coin is from Lycia — a rounded peninsula of modern Turkey that extends into the Mediteranean.. Located at the western end of the Tauros Mountains, it is mountainous with small coves but no sheltered harbors. Lycia was a mythical place to the ancient Greeks, home of such strange creatures as the Chimera; a place people went to, to prove their worth. Naturally occurring methane deposits burn here; one slide showed a flame above a vent on a sea-side cliff.

The Lycian people, known from about 2,000 BC, probably were related to the Hittites. Lycia was invaded by the Persians in the mid sixth century BC. The city of Xanthus was defeated after a fierce battle mentioned by Herodotus; after losing the battle outside the the city walls, the survivors returned to the city, gathered their families with them in a large structure, and burned it. The only surviving citizens were those who were away from Xanthus. The theme of death by fire instead of surrendering recurs in Lycian history, but too often for it always to have been true.

Before the Persian conquest, Lycia’s many small towns were run by local chieftans. The Persians created a central political dynasty, and based it at Xanthus. Each leader issued his own coinage in small denominations for internal use — they rarely are found outside of Lycia. Today, the rulers are known as the Kherigan dynasty, named after the first ruler, Kherigan I. Other major rulers in this dynasty included his grandson Kuprlla, and then his grandson, Kheriga II.

As they were located between the Greeks and Persians, some aspects of Lycian culture showed influences from both. The Lycians built many “pillar” tombs, so named because the vault is about six feet above the ground, atop a pillar. Jennifer showed images of the so-called Harpy Monument (from 485 BC, it is the tomb of Kheziga, a son of Kheriga I). One closeup showed a relief of a departing warrior, which is very similar to a motif from Greek art, as shown on a funerary vessel from Athens. On other monuments, the reliefs o a seated king receiving offerings is very similar to a relief from a Persian reception hall at Persepolis; this showed that Lycian kings were kings in their own right.

The Greek influence appears to have been most pronounced during the reign of Kuprlla (485-440 BC). One example of his coinage used a winged lion on one side and a triskeles on the other, while another used Pegasus and a triskeles. Could the triskeles have been a type of national Lycian symbol? His portrait coinage is one of the earliest examples of a realistic man’s head on a coin — he even wears a Greek helmet. Although the coinage was executed with Greek artistic skill, the style was mostly Lycian. Compare these coins to the standardized coins of Athens after 449 BC that show a deity, Athena, and an owl.

The reign of Kheriga II saw a stronger Persian rule in Lycia, but he does appear in a Greek helmet on one of his coins. His monument includes a reference to a Mithrapata, but that is the father of the Mithrapata on the coin that started this program. Kheriga II was succeeded by his brother Kherei for a time, and he issued many coins; he appears in a Persian cap on some, possibly to gain the support of the Persians against Erbinna, the son of Kheriga II. Erbinna gained the throne after taking Xanthus and other cities, but his death ended the Kherigan dynasty. The Nereid Monument in Xanthus is the tomb of Erbinna.

The Persians tried to solved the troubles in Lycia by installing Artumpara (a Persian) in the east, and Mithrapata in the west; Mithrapata is a Persian name meaning protected by Mithra (the Persian sun god), but his family is considered to have been from Lycia. Artumpara appears in Greek helmet on some of his coins and in a Persian bashlik cap on others, possibly trying to identify with both groups. Mithrapata appears bare headed on all of his coins, probably because the locals knew him and his identity. A hoard of 1,600 coins of Mithrapata was found in the 1950s, but only about 500 are available for study today.

Mithrapata disappeared after the defeat of Artumpara by Perikles of Limyra, who issued his own Lycian coinage. The Persians replaced him with a king of Karia, named Mausolus, finally ending the coinage of Lycia. Upon his death, Mausolus was buried in a stately tomb that was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The name of that structure, Mausoleum, is used to this day to denote a stately tomb.

Current Advertisers

Our 1093rd Meeting

Important Dates

Chatter Matter

All correspondence pertaining to Club matters should be addressed to the Secretary and mailed to:

CHICAGO COIN CLUB
P.O. Box 2301
CHICAGO, IL 60690

http://www.ChicagoCoinClub.org/

Club Officers

Contacting Your Editor / Chatter Delivery Option

chatter_editor@yahoo.com

The print version of the Chatter is simply a printout of the Chatter web page, with a little cutting and pasting to fill out each print page. The web page is available before the Chatter is mailed.
If you would like to receive an email link to the latest issue instead of a mailed print copy send an email to chatter_editor@yahoo.com. You can resume receiving a mailed print copy at any time, just by sending another email.