Who is depicted and what is written on the medal? [solved]

4 posts • viewed 99 times

 

Hello everyone,
I have this small copper medal, weighing 4.5 grams and measuring 22.4 mm in diameter, with a blank reverse side.

Can anyone identify the image and decipher the inscription? 

I'm having a bit of trouble and can't come up with a conclusive translation.

So far, I only have various theories, but I'm hoping for your help.

Many thanks in advance.

 The image is of Athena - according to 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/385327654786 

a different item entirely but image is similar. 

 

 

Token collector [1600-1899] with some coins

I’ll tackle the inscriptions. In this case, it helps if you have some knowledge of Greek, and Greek numerals.

 

It reads as follows: ARPA ΑΘΗΝΑΙ αϠξγ

 

The ΑΘΗΝΑΙ part is easiest. This is the ancient Greek word for the city of Athens (not the goddess Athena, although she’s depicted on the medal too).
 

αϠξγ are Greek numerals, here appearing in cursive form. Each letter stands for a particular numerical value. The second numeral may look like π, but is actually sampi, an archaic Greek letter. Together, the letters symbolize 1000 + 900 + 60 + 3 = 1963. The mark just to the upper right of α should really appear on the lower left, to show 1000 instead of 1.

Now we can figure out ARPA. This may be the former organization ARPA Internationale. The acronym stands for “Association pour les recherches sur les parodontopathies” (Association for Research on Periodontal Diseases). This organization held their 17th congress in Athens in 1963. So I’m guessing the medal is from that convention.

Hello wacko,
Thank you very much for deciphering the inscription. The medal will come from former ARPA. My parents were dentists at the time, so the overall appearance of the medal makes sense.
I will post the medal, along with your excellent breakdown of the inscription, on Numista shortly.

Status changed to Solved (car-nev, 6 Feb 2026, 10:47)

» Forum policy

Used time zone is UTC+2:00.
Current time is 22:48.