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GROUP K

The coins of Group K are the first coins of Class III proper, and have the anchor-shaped nose that is characteristic of this class; as well, the eye no longer has the lateral line behind the pupil, found in Group J. Group K is defined by the shape of the front of the neck, which curves forward to meet the mouth ornament, giving the effect of a letter "C" with the opening at the four o'clock position. Note that in Group K, the mouth consists of two beads, but for the rest of Class III, a single bead is used.

The chronology, although tentative, is as follows:

Group

K

Coins

(68, 69, 70, 71).

Chronology of Group K Coins

The obverse of Coin 68 is distinguished from the other obverses in this group by the presence of a short diagonal beaded line terminating in a curl behind the neck. This is apparently a vestige of the small whisk behind the neck of Coin 67 of Group J, and could have been used to fill in the space between the lowest curl of the head and the neck, but it is interesting that the die-engraver chose to echo the curl of the mouth ornament, rather than oppose it in the normal way. In all other respects, this obverse follows the definition for the group and class.

The reverse of Coin 68 seems to be a continuation of Coin 67, in that the pony has a clearly defined face. In this case, the upper lip is a bead rather than a hemisphere, and there is neither a bead, nor a swelling of the line, at the end of the nose. The lower eyelid is omitted on the driver's head, and the beaded line of the base of the head is resumed. The curl of the driver's head is detached, and is shaped like the number "6" lying on its open side. The lash is wavy, and is divided from the outer curl-and-leaf emblem by a slight swelling of the line, rather than a clearly defined bead. The lash connects to the curl of the head above the pony in the usual manner.

The obverse of Coin 69 resembles the previous coin without the small beaded line and curl behind the head.

The reverse is similar to Coin 66, but the driver's head has a diadem, and the beads at the base of the head continue up to an isolated bead above the eye. The head above the pony resumes the normal style. The lashes and emblems are similar to those of Coin 68. There are two other varieties of this coin in which the pony's head varies: in the first variation, the style is the same as those of Class I; the second variation is similar, but omits the eye.

The obverse of Coin 70 is similar to the previous coin.

The reverse is similar to Coin 66, but the beaded line at the base of the driver's head consists of two elongated beads at the back, positioned at the inner top of the curl, and two round beads at the front by the arm. The position of this line can be compared to Coin 67. The space above this line and below the cheek section is filled by a round bead at the back and an elongated bead at the front. The overall effect is rather untidy. The pony's face is the same design as on Coin 66, and the arrangement of the lash and curl-and-leaf emblems is similar to Coin 68, but the outer lash is divided by a bead, and the bead on the inner lash touches the first bead of the pony's mane.

The obverse of Coin 71 resembles that of the previous coin.

The reverse is unusual in the style of the head above the pony, here enlarged by the addition of an enormous cheek section, so that the line of the front of the face curves outward and then back in a curl, its end tucked in beneath the bead at the end of the diadem line. The lash and emblems are similar to those of the previous coin, except that the inner lash does not have a defined bead terminal, but connects to the front bead of the mane.

Group K marks the end of the style of the pony that began Class I and is also the end of the style of driver that began in-group I. The lack of continuation of the reverse style, and the trial and error fashion of the designs without any clear evolutionary traits, made this group difficult to place in a certain chronological order. I put Coin 68 first because of the style of the pony's face and the vestigial whisk, although a variety of Coin 69 has a pony's face of Class I style, last seen in Group J; there is considerable subjectivity in the chronology of this group.

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