Spectacular Imperial Seleukid Mina Weight
SYRIA, Seleukis and Pieria. Seleukeia Pieria. Mid-late 3rd century BC. Cast Æ Mina Weight (105x102mm, 457 g). Indian elephant standing left; ΣEΛEYKEIOΣ above, MNA (=
Mina [mark of value]) in exergue; c/m to left: upright anchor within incuse rectangle; all in dotted square within double linear square border / Latticework design. J. Paul Getty Museum inv. 96.AC.142 = M. True & K. Hamma, eds.,
A Passion for Antiquities. Ancient Art from the Collection of Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman (Malibu: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 1994), no. 94. As made, dark green and red patina, some light cleaning marks, scrape on reverse, small hole (for suspension). Extremely rare, the second known.
This spectacular mina weight from Seleukeia Pieria is the second known of its type – the other, formerly a part of the Fleischman collection, is now in the J. Paul Getty Museum. Weights from various cities in Syria and Phoenicia are well known, and the standard reference on them is Henri Seyrig’s "Poids antiques de la Syrie et Phénicie sous la domination grecque et romaine" in Bulletin du Musée de Beyrouth 8 (1949). They are known in a full range of weight values, from a double mina to a sixteenth-mina, as well as the Roman libra (pound) and half libra. Typically, the weights are marked with a Seleukid Era date, which are known from the 2nd century BC to the early 3rd century AD. Some of these, such as the present type, are undated, and it is thought that these are the earliest weights, likely from the mid-late 3rd century BC. Leo Mildenberg, in his discussion of the Fleischman piece in the Getty Museum exhibition catalog (see above), noted that this type is remarkable for a variety of reasons: (1) this type is well known in lead (cf. E. Lang, “Five Hellenistic Lead Weights” in MN 14 [1968], 5), but unpublished in bronze; (2) the presence of the Seleukid anchor countermark; (3) the elephant and epigraphy are "unusually well designed", as is the border; (4) it lacks a date; and (5) the unusual form of the name of Seleukeia as ΣEΛEYKEIOΣ (= Seleukeian), rather than the expected ΣEΛEYKEION (= of the Seleukeians), which is found on all other published weights from that city. Mildenberg considered it an enigma, since he doubted that such a weight would have an obvious misspelling, but could not find a plausible reason for its occurrence. The use of the masculine form of the adjective along with the feminine noun MNA (ἡ μνᾶ) would seem an obvious error were the engraver comfortable with Greek, but this combination might suggest an Aramaic engraver more familiar with Hebrew, where MNA is masculine (מְנֵא). Thus, the legend ΣEΛEYKEIOΣ MNA would correctly translate to "Seleukeian mina." Mildenberg did not address the Seleukid anchor countermark in detail, since he did not describe it as a countermark. It is clear, though, that this element was added to the weights after they were cast, as the corresponding area on the reverse is deformed, as one would expect from countermarking. Other than these two weights, this countermark is only published on an undated quarter-mina weight also from Seleukeia Pieria (P.-L. Gatier, "Poids inscrits de la Syrie hellénistique et romaine (II)" in Syria 71 [1994], fig. 3 = S.S. Weinberg, "A Hellenistic Royal Weight" in Eretz-Israel 19 [1987], pp. 71-2). This countermark is remarkably similar to the anchor countermarks that were applied in the early-mid 2nd century BC to southern Asia Minor tetradrachms that circulated in Seleukid territory. If there is a correlation between the tetradrachm countermarks and the ones on these weights, it would suggest that these weights were still in use at that time, and might refine the dating of the undated weights to the late 3rd-early 2nd century BC (see also Gatier [ibid.], who posits a theory that these undated pieces may have been used concurrently with the dated weights).
