Bruttium, Terina AR Stater. Circa 445-425 BC. Head of the nymph Terina left, wearing ampyx and earring, her hair tied up; all within olive wreath / Nike seated to left, holding wreath in outstretched right hand and resting left on stool, [TEPI]NAIΩN above. McClean pl. 62, 3 (same dies); Holloway-Jenkins 18; HN Italy 2576; Regling 18. 7.74g, 22mm, 3h. Extremely Fine. Very Rare. Ex Numismatica Ars Classica Auction Q, 6 April 2006, lot 1149. Little is known of the history of Terina. The city was probably founded by Kroton around the time of the Krotoniate defeat of Sybaris circa 510 BC. A war with Thourioi is attested a few years after 444/3 BC. In 356 the city was besieged and taken by the Brettians, and it became a Brettian community, surviving the conquest of Alexander the Molossian in 325. Ultimately, Terina was razed by Hannibal in 203 and never rebuilt.
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Bruttium, Terina AR Stater. Circa 420-400 BC. Head of the nymph Terina to right, ΤΕΡΙΝΑΙΟΝ behind / Winged Nike seated to left, resting left hand on cippus, holding olive branch in right hand over crane which stands before her. HN Italy 2619; SNG Lloyd 756 (same dies); Holloway and Jenkins 66 (same dies). 7.82g, 20mm, 7h. Good Very Fine. Very Rare. Ex Stack's, Stack and Kroisos Collections, 14 January 2008, lot 2279.
Bruttium, Terina AR Drachm. Circa 300 BC. Head of nymph Terina left, wearing triple-drop earring and pearl necklace; TEPINAIΩN to left, triskeles behind / Nike, wearing chiton and himation, seated left on square cippus, dove alighting on her extended right hand; star to left. SNG Lockett 680 (this reverse die); Holloway & Jenkins 114. 2.46g, 17mm, 3h. Extremely Fine. Rare. Beautiful old tone over good metal, with appealing iridescent highlights around the devices. From the Ambrose Collection; Ex Dove Collection, Morton & Eden, 9 June 2011, lot 201; Ex Leu 54, 28 April 1992, lot 19; Ex Ars Classica 15, 2 July 1930, lot 262; Ex Berlin Museum Collection, Hirsch 26 (Berlin Duplicates), 1910, lot 358.
Sicily, Panormos (as Ziz) AR Tetradrachm. Circa 340-310 BC. Charioteer holding kentron and reins, driving galloping quadriga to left; Nike flying above to crown charioteer; Punic script ‘ṢYṢ’ (Ziz) below exergual line / Head of Arethusa left, wearing grain wreath, pendant earring and necklace; scallop shell below chin, four dolphins around. Jenkins 78; SNG Copenhagen 502; SNG ANS 540; SNG Lloyd 1586. 17.08g, 25mm, 12h. Good Very Fine. Beautiful style. Very Rare.
Sicily, Akragas Æ Hemilitron. Circa 400-380 BC. Diademed head of river-god left, ΑΚΡΑΓΑΣ before / Sea eagle standing left on Ionic column, head right; crab to left, six pellets (mark of value) to right. CNS I 89; SNG ANS 1097-1101. 17.84g, 26mm, 3h. Good Very Fine. A very attractive example of the type. Rare. Ex Roma Numismatics II, 2 October 2011, lot 65.
Sicily, Himera AR Litra. Circa 420-410 BC. Head of Herakles to right wearing lion skin headdress, IMEPAIΩN before / Archaistic Palladion: statue of Pallas Athena standing facing, holding spear aloft in right hand, preparing to strike, on left arm, a shield. SNG Copenhagen -; SNG ANS -; Lanz 151, lot 251. 0.64g, 10mm, 4h. Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare.
Sicily, Kephaloidion AR Litra. Circa 307-305 BC. EK ΚΕΦΑΛΟΙΔΙON, head of young Herakles to right wearing lion skin headdress / HEΡΑΚΛΕΙΩTAN, bull butting to right, AK monogram above. Campana CNAI, PN131 1999, 3b = Jenkins, AIIN 20 suppl. 1975, p. 98, 3b = de Luynes 915. 0.75g, 12mm, 2h. Good Very Fine. Very Rare; only 4 examples of this variant cited by Campana.
Etruria, Populonia AR Didrachm of 10 Units (or Litrai?). Late 5th century BC. Head of Metus facing, hair bound with diadem, X below, dotted border / Blank. EC I, 8.10 (this coin); HN Italy 117; Sambon 35-56. 8.07g, 22mm. Extremely Fine, beautifully toned. Very Rare; exceptionally well struck, centred, and preserved for the type. One of the finest known. From the VCV Collection. The second coinage - the first silver Metus group and its fractions - is dated by hoard evidence to the late fifth century. The principal denominations are 10 ‘units’ (EC I, 7-8), close to the silver Attic didrachm or Corinthian stater, theoretically of 8.6g, and 5 ‘units’ (EC I, 9).
Sicily, Syracuse AR Didrachm. Deinomenid Tyranny. Time of Gelon I, circa 490-485 BC. Nude rider on horseback right, leading a second horse on far side / Head of Arethusa right within thin linear circle, wearing hair-tie, earring and necklace, hair falling simply behind; ΣVRAQOΣION and four dolphins around. Boehringer 51 (V28/R34); SNG ANS 11 (these dies); Antikenmuseum Basel 429 (these dies); Rizzo pl. XXXIV, 16 (these dies); Jameson 745 (these dies); SNG Lloyd 1282 (these dies). 8.64g, 20mm, 1h. Extremely Fine. Lustrous metal, lightly toned with vivid iridescent flashes. Very Rare. From the Ambrose Collection; Ex Giessener Münzhandlung 46, 30 October 1989, lot 36. This beautiful archaic didrachm dates to the time of Gelon, Tyrant of Syracuse, under whom Syracuse expanded and prospered greatly both in economic and military terms. By forcing wealthy families of conquered cities to move to Syracuse, and by initiating grand civil building programmes, Syracuse soon became extraordinarily prosperous and the greatest Greek city in the west. Gelon’s fortifications and formation of a powerful mercenary army ensure the safety of the city and indeed very probably all of Sicily. Upon the Carthaginian invasion of the island that coincided with the Persian assault on mainland Greece, Gelon led an army of 55,000 to Himera and the aid of his ally Theron, winning a decisive victory and keeping Sicily safe from Carthaginian invasion for the next seventy years. While the didrachm denomination had been introduced at Syracuse shortly after 510 BC, with the denomination indicated by the number of horses on the obverse (2= didrachm; 4 = tetradrachm), it was not until the reign of Gelon that the Syracusan monetary system was expanded to include a comprehensive series of silver fractional denominations - the drachm, obol, pentonkion, and hexas.
Sicily, Syracuse AR Tetradrachm. Deinomenid Tyranny. Time of Gelon I, circa 485-480 BC. Charioteer, holding kentron and reins, driving walking quadriga left; above, Nike flying to left, crowning horses / Head of Arethusa right, wearing earring, necklace and headband, her hair tied in a krobylos; ΣVRΑKΟΣΙΟΝ and four dolphins around. Boehringer 78 (V36/R44). 16.61g, 25mm, 11h. Near Extremely Fine. Toned and attractive. Rare left facing quadriga on obverse.
Sicily, Syracuse AR Tetradrachm. Deinomenid Tyranny. Time of Hieron I, circa 475-470 BC. Charioteer, holding kentron and reins, driving walking quadriga right; above, Nike flying to right, crowning horses / Head of Arethusa right, wearing earring, necklace and headband, her hair tied in a krobylos; ΣVRΑKΟΣΙΟΝ and four dolphins around. Boehringer 314 (V152/R220); Randazzo 482 (same dies); SNG ANS -. 17.10g, 25mm, 12h. Good Very Fine. Rare.
Sicily, Syracuse AR Tetradrachm. Deinomenid Tyranny. Time of Hieron I, circa 470-466 BC. Charioteer driving walking quadriga right, holding reins with both hands; Nike above, flying left to crown charioteer, ketos to right in exergue / Head of Arethusa right, wearing earring and necklace, hair tied at back with pearl headband; ΣVRAKOΣION and four dolphins swimming clockwise around. Boehringer 448 (V234/R319). 17.17g, 26mm, 9h. Evidence of old corrosion and smoothing on rev., otherwise Extremely Fine. Very Rare.
Sicily, Syracuse AR Tetradrachm. Second Democracy, circa 460-450 BC. Charioteer, wearing long chiton and holding the reins in both hands, driving slow quadriga right; above, Nike flying right to crown the charioteer; ketos swimming to right in exergue / Head of Arethusa right, wearing pearl diadem, earring and necklace, her hair rolled in a bun at the back, ΣYRAKOΣION and four dolphins swimming clockwise around. Boehringer 509 (V268/R365); SNG ANS 162 (same dies). 17.28g, 25mm, 3h. Extremely Fine. Pleasing old cabinet tone. Very Rare. Privately purchased from Numismatica Ars Classica, January 2011.
Sicily, Syracuse Æ Hemilitron. Dionysios I, circa 415-405 BC. Obverse die signed by Phrygillos. Head of Arethusa left, hair in sphendone inscribed ΦPI; dolphin behind / Wheel of four spokes; ΣY-PA in upper quarters, dolphins in lower quarters. CNS 19; SNG ANS 412. 3.64g, 17mm, 2h. Extremely Fine. Rare. A very pleasing example of a signed Syracusan bronze.
Etruria, Populonia AR Drachm of 5 Units (or Litrai ?). Late 5th century BC. Head of Metus facing, Λ below, dotted border / Blank. EC I, 9.2 (this coin); HN Italy 118; Sambon 38. 3.41g, 16mm. Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare, one of just four known examples, and the only one in private hands. From the VCV Collection.
Thessaly, Larissa AR Drachm. Circa 420-400. Head of the nymph Larissa right wearing pearl earring, her hair raised and bound in a sakkos; border of dots / ΛΑΡΙ (left to right) - ΣΑΙΑ (right to left), free horse cantering left. F. Herrmann. “Die Silbermünzen von Larissa in Thessalien” in ZfN 35, 1925, pl. 4, 5 (same dies); C. Lorber. “Thessalian Hoards and the Coinage of Larissa” in AJN 20 (2008), pl. 43, 62 (same dies); BCD collection, Triton 15, 2012, 376.4 (same obverse die); Cf. BCD collection, Nomos 4, 2011, 1130 (same obverse die). 6.04g, 19mm, 12h. Near Extremely Fine. Very Rare. A note by BCD in Nomos 4, 2011, 1130: “Many years ago, Herbert Cahn, speaking to a circle of collector friends, described this obverse die as his favourite die in the entire Larissa series. He went on to prove that he really meant it by bidding and buying for himself the de Sartiges coin of these dies, lot 113 at M+M auction 64 of 30 January 1984. The hammer price was CHF 5000, double the already high estimate. It was not often that the professor wanted a coin from one of this own sales but when he did it always was for a good reason (I will never forget the speed with which he knocked to his name lot 150 at the Kunstfreund auction during a moment’s hesitation in the bidding and after the coin had climbed up to CHF 11,500 from an estimate of just 4500)”.
Elis, Olympia AR Stater. 93rd Olympiad, 408 BC. Unsigned by the artist Da.... Eagle's head left; below, large white poplar leaf / Thunderbolt with wings above and volutes below; all within olive-wreath. Seltman 154 (same dies), countermark XI on obverse. 11.45g, 23mm, 7h. Very Fine. Very Rare.
Arkadia, Stymphalos AR Obol. Circa 350 BC. Head of Herakles to right wearing lion skin headdress / Head of water bird to right, ΣΤΥΜΦΑΛΙΟΝ (retrograde) around. BCD 1703 (but from different dies); SNG Copenhagen 286; Nomos 2, 18 May 2010, 100 (same dies). 0.95g, 12mm, 6h. Fleur De Coin. Very Rare. Superb metal quality; this coin is among the very finest known obols of Stymphalos. From the Gutekunst Collection; Acquired privately before 2009.
Corinthia, Corinth AR Stater. Circa 400-375 BC. Pegasos flying left / Head of Athena left, wearing Corinthian helmet; dolphin above, thymiaterion behind, ivy branch with five leaves below. Pegasi 324 (these dies); Ravel 835. 8.64g, 23mm, 4h. Good Very Fine, spectacular toning. Very Rare. Ex John Hayes Collection.
Argolis, Argos AR Tetradrachm. Social War issue, circa 225-215 BC. In the name and types of Alexander III of Macedon. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin headdress / Zeus seated left, holding eagle and sceptre; ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ to right, bukranion with fillets tied from horns in left field, APΓ below throne. Price 727; Müller -. 16.99g, 31mm, 1h. Near Extremely Fine. Very Rare. By the end of the 220s Greece was effectively split between two great alliances - the Aitolian League on the one hand formed by the Aitolian states, Athens, Elis and Sparta, and the Hellenic Symmachy on the other, which was principally controlled by Philip V of Macedon, and Epeiros, though it also included the Achaian League and Boiotia. The Social War (or the War of the Allies, as it was also known), was fought from 220 BC to 217 BC between these two opposing powers. This issue was struck at Argos under the auspices of the Achaian League as part of that alliance’s war effort to counter the multiple invasions that were at that time bringing it near to collapse. Concerned about the prospect of Achaia forming an alliance with the territory of Messenia and thus leaving the Aitolian League surrounded by its enemies, the Aitolian strategos Ariston sent a force through Achaia to the city of Phigaleia, in Messenia. A declaration of war by Macedon and the Hellenic Symmachy followed; Achaia was then assailed from the south by Sparta under Lykurgos, from the west by Elis, and from the north by the Aitolians – attacks which Achaia was unable to face alone, and which brought it to its knees. Sikyon fared very badly – it was besieged by the Spartan Kleomenes for three months, and its territory was severely ravaged. In the winter of 219 however, Philip launched a counter-offensive, devastating Elis and central Aitolia, as well as launching a series of successful raids on Sparta. The war came to an end only when in the summer of 217, Philip received word of Rome’s crushing defeat at Lake Trasimene, and called for peace in order to focus his attentions on Rome. Despite this inconclusive end to the war, Philip was left the undisputed military power in central Greece.
Macedon, Akanthos AR Tetradrachm. Circa 480 BC. AKA-N above bull collapsing to left, head lowered, attacked and mauled by lion upon his back to right; floral motif below exergual line of pellets between two lines / Quartered incuse square with raised fields. J. Desneux. “Les tétradrachmes d’Akanthos” in RBN 95, 1949, 91 (D88/R81) = München Münzkabinet. 17.39g, 28mm. Good Very Fine. Very Rare.
Kingdom of Macedon, Philip II AR Tetradrachm. Lifetime issue. Amphipolis, circa 355-348 BC. Laureate head of Zeus right / The king, wearing kausia and chlamys, raising his right hand in salute and riding a horse walking to the left; ΦIΛIΠΠOY above; a bow below the horse´s foreleg. Le Rider 167a (076/R137); SNG ANS 487. 14.24g, 24mm, 3h. Extremely Fine. Beautifully toned; a splendid, perfectly centred example of very fine style. Struck in exceptionally high relief; crystal-like metal. Rare. Ex Roma Numismatics VII, 22 March 2014, lot 384. This is an exceptional example of classical Greek art, where the skill of the die cutter is obviously superior to that of other coins of the same series. The overall image of the reverse side of the coin is characterised by a harmony which is derived from the proportionality of the rider and the horse. Even the small letters of the inscription indicate the skill of the artist. The head of Zeus renders this skill even more visible and its proportionality and expression make it delightful to look at. The style of the horse was adopted from the previous coins of the Bisaltai and of Alexander I, whilst the style of the king was adopted later on by the Romans mainly in ADVENTVS reverse types.
![Etruria, Populonia AR 20 Asses. 3rd century BC. Facing head of Metus, tongue protruding, hair bound with diadem, [X X below]](https://cdn.globalauctionplatform.com/fd0beea0-94bb-4568-87e5-a50800efba14/6ba61b32-40b6-49ae-e45d-017e8d9a73e9/468x382.jpg)
Etruria, Populonia AR 20 Asses. 3rd century BC. Facing head of Metus, tongue protruding, hair bound with diadem, [X X below] / Etruscan legend: [pvpl]vna and crescent around six pointed sun-burst. EC I, 38 (O3/R3); HN Italy 143; Sambon 59. 8.00g, 21mm. Good Very Fine. Very Rare; although EC records 53 known specimens, there are none on CoinArchives. From the VCV Collection.
![Etruria, Populonia AR 20 Asses. 3rd century BC. Facing head of Metus, tongue protruding, hair bound with diadem, [X X below]](https://cdn.globalauctionplatform.com/fd0beea0-94bb-4568-87e5-a50800efba14/99a2ed41-0965-4771-f0d6-52e3e8b3dc4f/468x382.jpg)
Etruria, Populonia AR 20 Asses. 3rd century BC. Facing head of Metus, tongue protruding, hair bound with diadem, [X X below] / Etruscan legend: [pvpl]vna and crescent around six pointed sun-burst. EC I, 38 (O3/R3); HN Italy 143; Sambon 59. 6.96g, 21mm. Very Fine, Very Rare. From the VCV Collection.
Kingdom of Macedon, Alexander III 'the Great' AR Tetradrachm. Amphipolis, circa 320-317 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin headdress / Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; club with fillets in left field, Π with pellet below throne, ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ to right. Price 128. 17.17g, 25mm, 8h. Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare.
Kingdom of Macedon, Alexander III 'the Great' AV Stater. Kolophon, circa 319-310 BC. Head of Athena right, wearing crested Corinthian helmet decorated with a coiled serpent / Nike standing left, holding wreath and stylis, AΛEΞANΔPOY to right, kithara and EΛI in left field. Price 1772. 8.49g, 18mm, 12h. Very Fine. Rare.
Kingdom of Macedon, Alexander III 'the Great' AR Tetradrachm. Tarsos, circa 333-327 BC. Struck under Balakros, governor of Cilicia. Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress, B below / Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, holding sceptre, ΒAΣΙΛEΩΣ AΛEΞANΔPOY around; in left field, Nike flying to right above B and kerykeion, monogram below throne. Price 3051. 17.22g, 28mm, 9h. Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare. Ex Roma Numismatics VII, 22 March 2014, lot 438. Prior to Alexander's arrival at Tarsos there was already a well established Persian coinage produced from that city by the satrapal governors of Cilicia, whose silver staters displayed the figure of Baal, seated and holding his lotus-tipped sceptre. Indeed, the depiction of this deity is in some cases so similar to the Zeus of Alexander's imperial coinage that O. Zervos and F. de Callataÿ suggested that Alexander's tetradrachms could not have been issued until after his arrival at Tarsos – that the Baal of Tarsos was the model for his enthroned Zeus. Though shown to be an improbable notion by Price, what is certain is that the engravers working at Tarsos were immediately re-tasked to producing Alexandrine coinage without any great break in production. Price demonstrates conclusively that the dies produced at Tarsos bearing BA as well as simply B refer to Balakros, son of Nikanor, who was one of Alexander's somatophylakes (bodyguards) and was appointed satrap of Cilicia after the Battle of Issos in 333 BC. His initial appears on a great many issues from Tarsos, and his name appears in full on one very rare issue of staters (Price pl. CLVIII.k). He enacted many new fiscal measures in Alexander's name, and served Alexander loyally until his death in circa 324 BC while leading an expedition against a revolt in Pisidia. In adulthood his three sons all served Antigonos Monophthalmos and his son Demetrios afterwards, and were honoured with dedications at the Sanctuary of Delos.
Kingdom of Macedon, Alexander III 'the Great' AR Tetradrachm. Myriandros, circa 330-325 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin headdress / Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, BAI monogram in left field; MI monogram below throne; ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ to right. Price 3229; Müller 1302. 17.25g, 26mm, 9h. Near Extremely Fine. Rare.
Etruria, Populonia AR 20 Asses. 3rd century BC. Facing head of Metus, tongue protruding, hair bound with diadem, X X below / Two caducei, head to tail. EC I, 48.44 (O14/R18, this coin) HN Italy 150; Sambon 52. 8.04g, 20mm. Very Fine. Rare, only three examples offered at auction since online records began. From the VCV Collection.
Thrace, Apollonia Pontika AR Tetradrachm. Circa 400-350 BC. Laureate head of Apollo to right / Anchor, crayfish to right, A and ΠOΛYANAΞ (magistral name) to right. Traité -; SNG Copenhagen -; SNG BM -; SNG Stancomb -; SNG Berry -; Helios 8, lot 3 (this coin); Winterthur I. 1159 (same obverse die); Bunbury collection part II, Sotheby, Wilkison & Hodge 7 October 1896, lot 119. 16.97g, 23mm, 7h. Extremely Fine. An extremely rare variety, apparently only the second known. Ex Helios 8, 13 October 2012, lot 3. This coin is struck from an obverse die which is arguably the most sensitively and delicately engraved of the whole series. The artist has paid particularly close attention to the hair and laurel wreath of Apollo, and has created a composition of rare beauty among what are all too often functional portraits of parochial style. Founded in the 7th century BC by colonists from Miletos, from its earliest days Apollonia possessed an important extra-urban sanctuary of Apollo from which the city took its name. The temple contained a famous colossal statue of Apollo by Calamis which stood forty five feet high, though this would in 72 BC be captured and transported to Rome by the general Lucullus, and placed in the Capitol. The earliest coinage of Apollonia seems to have been cast bronze arrow-head ‘proto-money’, which soon gave way to the familiar Apollo and anchor with crayfish types. The presence of the crayfish (astakos) on its coinage may be a punning reference to the name of the region, Astike.
Etruria, Populonia AR 20 Asses. 3rd century BC. Facing head of Metus, tongue protruding, hair bound with diadem, X X below / Two caducei, head to tail. EC I, 48.43 (O14/R18, this coin); HN Italy 150; Sambon 52. 7.69g, 20mm. Very Fine. Rare, only three examples offered at auction since online records began. From the VCV Collection.
![Crete, Aptera AR Stater. Signed by Pythodoros. Circa 4th century BC. Α[ΠΤAΡΑΙΩΝ] around head of Artemis Aptera to right, with](https://cdn.globalauctionplatform.com/fd0beea0-94bb-4568-87e5-a50800efba14/e51fd784-96a5-4bd5-e3a2-f95cc4c4a180/468x382.jpg)
Crete, Aptera AR Stater. Signed by Pythodoros. Circa 4th century BC. Α[ΠΤAΡΑΙΩΝ] around head of Artemis Aptera to right, with hair elaborately curled upwards around a stephane ornamented with palmettes; she wears an elaborate crescent and solar-disk pendant earring with three drops and a pearl necklace; to right in smaller letters the artist's signature: ΠΥΘΟΔΟΡΟΥ / Warrior hero Apteros, called Ptolioikos, standing facing, his bearded head left, wearing crested helmet and cuirass, holding in his left hand a spear and shield decorated with a sunburst, his right is raised towards a sacred fir tree in left field; ΠΤΟΛΙΟΙΚΟΣ around. Le Rider, Monnaies crétoises, p. 36, 269-70, pl. 9, 11-12; Svoronos, Crète, p. 15, pl. 1, 10 (same dies); BMC 1, pl. 2, 3 (same dies); BMFA Suppl. 108 (same dies); LIMC VII/1, p. 588, VII/2, sv. Ptolioikos 2 (same rev. die); for the engraver's signature see L. Forrer, Notes sur les signatures de graveurs sur les monnaies grecques, Bruxelles 1906, pp. 277-284. 11.41g, 14mm, 12. Good Very Fine. Extremely Rare. Of exceptionally fine style and quality, and very well preserved for the type, which is mostly found in lamentably poor condition. From a private American collection. The stunningly beautiful obverse female portrait is that of Artemis Aptera (or Aptara as inscribed on the coins, a local form of the Cretan Artemis Diktynna), the patron goddess of the city. Before her image in small characters proudly appears the name of the artist Pythodoros, a master die-engraver who also worked at Polyrherion on the equally beautifully styled female head which has been defined as that of Britomartis, 'sweet maiden' in the Cretan dialect. Also identified as Artemis Diktynna, Britomartis in Cretan myth was caught in a fisherman's net (diktyon) while trying to escape the advances of Poseidon, and was the subject of several Cretan coin types inspired by a statue then attributed to Daedalos, who was reputed to be the father of Cretan art (cf. Le Rider pp. 114-6, 3-6 pl. 28, 19-38; Svoronos 15-16, pl. 26, 4-5; Traité pl. 261, 25; BMC 1-2). Both images are very much influenced by the Sicilian school of die engraving as epitomised by the celebrated artists such as Kimon, Phrygillos, Eukleidas, Euainetos and Eumenes. The reverse type is of no less mythological and historic interest; the warrior in question is Apteros, called Ptolioikos, a title literally meaning 'dweller in the city'. He is shown saluting a tree, a scene which can be interpreted as a rendering of what must surely be a now lost myth concerning the oiktistes or founder of the city. The fine remains of the ancient polis of Aptera or Aptara (IACP 947), the modern Palaiokastro, are situated near the Minoan site of Megala Chorapia on the south side of Suda Bay, the safest anchorage in Crete throughout Greek, Venetian and Ottoman times, and which is today an important NATO naval base. Eusebius informs us that the city was founded by an eponymous hero, Apteros in the year 1503 BC (Chronicon 44c). The first historical mention of Aptera dates from the 7th century BC when a contingent of archers is reported to have fought along with Spartans in the war against Messene (Pausanius, Description of Greece IV 20, 8). Various attemps in antiquity were made to explain the city's name: notably, that it was the site of the song contest of the Muses and Sirens. In this story the latter lost their wings in a fight that ensued after their defeat (Stephen of Byzantium sv. Aptera; 'aptera' = 'wingless'). The city's name most likely derives from one of the epithets of Artemis, Aπτερα (cf. Inscriptionis Cretae 2), similar to that of the statue in the temple of Athena Nike on the Acropolis at Athens, which later took on the name of Nike Apteros, meaning 'wingless' Nike. From the fourth century BC Aptera produced coins on the Aiginetan weight standard, but by later Hellenistic times it gradually declined in favour of its powerful neighbour Kydonia and was finally absorbed by Rome in 67 BC.
Crete, Phaistos AR Stater. Mid-Late 4th century BC. Herakles standing in fighting attitude to left, wearing Nemean lion skin, seizing with his left hand one of the heads of the Lernean Hydra, and with his right hand preparing to strike with club; between legs, crab on exegual line / ΦΑΙΣΤΙΩΝ, Bull butting to right on wavy exergual line. Cf. for obverse Svoronos 61, pl. 24, 21, and for reverse 21, p. 24, 22 (same die); cf. Le Rider 61, pl. 23, 24 (bull butting left). 11.81g, 26mm, 11h. About Good Very Fine. Extremely Rare; apparently also a unique die combination. It has been repeatedly suggested that the later designs of Phaistos copy a now lost masterpiece of sculpture or painting, perhaps even a statue group by the great sculptor Lysippos (see Lehmann, ‘Statues on Coins’, New York 1946; see also Lacroix, ‘Les Reproductions de Statues sur les Monnaies Grecques’, Liege 1949; see also Lattimore, ‘Lysippian Sculpture on Greek Coins’, California Studies in Classical Antiquity Vol. 5 1972). Lattimore makes a plausible and convincing argument for the Herakles-Hydra confrontation as depicted here being copied from a sculpture; in particular he notes that a sculptural prototype is strongly suggested by ‘a feature that is rare, possibly unique, in Greek numismatic design: the group of combatants is shown from both sides, not in mirror reversal, but as two profile views of a three-dimensional group’ (cf. Svoronos pl. XXIV, 17 and 22, and Wroth pl. XV, 6). Lattimore notes two discrepancies: that the head of the lion skin is sometimes depicted whether we are shown the fron or back view of Herakles, and the lion’s paw always passes behind the body of Herakles, but he explains these as a minor and illustrative artistic licence on the part of the die engraver, and a practical necessity to avoid overlapping planes, respectively.
Crete, Phalasarna AR Stater. Circa 300-270 BC. Head of Artemis-Britomartis right, wearing single-pendant earring and necklace / Ornate trident head; Φ-A between prongs. Svoronos 2; SNG Copenhagen 522; BMC 1-2; Le Rider pl. X, 12-13; SNG Lockett 2596. 11.23g, 24mm, 12h. Extremely Fine. Rare. Ex Numismatic Fine Arts XXXIIII, 1984, lot 205. Britomartis was the Minoan goddess of mountains and hunting, who was later assimilated into classical Greek mythology through her equation to Artemis. She was worshipped as an aspect of Potnia, the Cretan Mother of Mountains, who in Minoan art appears as a demonic gorgon, accompanied by double-axes of power, and gripping divine serpents. Her name Britomartis, which means 'sweet maid', appears to have been an apotropaic euphemism to allay the dangerous, terrifying side to the goddess.
Crete, Polyrhenion AR Stater. 4th century BC. Magistrate Charisthe. Laureate head of Zeus to right / Head of sacrificial bull facing, with pendant fillets hanging from horns; ΧΑΡΙΣΘΕ above, ΠΟΛΥΡΗΝΙΟΝ around. Svoronos (1972) 6, pl. XXV, 29 (same dies); Le Rider (1966) pl. XXXIII, 19 (same dies). 11.43g, 25mm, 1h. Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare, and among the finest known examples. From a private American Collection. Polyrhenion was one the oldest Dorian settlements of Crete, whose etymology is 'rich in lambs'. According to Strabo it was settled in archaic times by Achaian and Lakonian immigrants who gathered into one city the existing population, who had lived in villages, some 7 km inland from the Bay of Kissamos. Excavations from 1938 have exposed several building foundations which defy identification, but it may safely be presumed that one of these was a temple dedicated to Zeus. The bull sacrifice was a universal and key element of Greek religion, and it held particular significance in Crete which was rich in mythological traditions relating to the bull as a divine animal, being either divinely directed or indeed itself a theriomorphic god in bull form. Indeed, the central importance of the bull in Cretan culture was an ancient one predating even the arrival of the Mycenean Greeks in the 14th century BC; twentieth century archaeological excavations begun by Arthur Evans in 1900 dramatically 'resurrected' the lost Minoan civilisation and uncovered a wealth of artefacts which, among other things, portray the bull as a major religious symbol. The mythical origin of the idea of bull or ox sacrifice was believed to be from the story of Prometheos in Hesiod's Theogamy (521-616). At Mekone, in a a sacrificial meal marking the 'settling of accounts' between mortals and immortals, Prometheos purposely deceives Zeus by assigning to him a good-looking portion 'wrapped in glistening fat' that consists of nothing but bones, thus ensuring humans would keep the meat for themselves and burn the bones wrapped in fat as an offering to the gods.
Ionia, uncertain mint EL Hekte. Circa 600-550 BC. Phokaic standard. Lion standing to right, head turned backwards, tail curved upwards over body / Quadripartite incuse square. Rosen -; Weidauer -; cf. SNG von Aulock 1797 (hemihekte); Gemini VI, 10 January 2010 157. 2.71g, 11mm. Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare, undoubtedly the finest of very few specimens known.
Ionia, Ephesos (?) EL Stater. Circa 575-560 BC. Forepart of bridled horse left, sunburst before; lotus flower on its back / Rectangular incuse punch between two square incuse punches, all with roughly patterned surfaces. Weidauer 138 (these dies); Mitchiner 135; ACGC 56. 14.30g, 21mm. Extremely Fine. Very Rare. The lotus flower that appears upon the horse's back is an element common to several electrum staters from uncertain mints attributed to Lydia or Ionia, all struck on the Milesian standard: the recumbent lion type (Rosen 245; NAC 72, 16 May 2013, 369), bull kneeling with its head reverted (Rosen 148), and two rampant lions upright on their hind legs with heads reverted and paws extended (Rosen 149). On all of these coins the lotus flower may initially appear incidental, though its commonality to all types indicates otherwise – it is evidently to be seen as the key element of the obverse type that links the different animal designs together. The lotus flower appears only sporadically in Greek mythology, though it had a deep rooted use in Egyptian art and legend, where it was taken as a symbolic representation of the sun on account of its physical behaviour: it closes at night time and descends into the water, rising and flowering again at dawn. In Egyptian creation myth, the lotus was the first thing to spontaneously form from chaos, and it was from the lotus that the sun itself was born on the first day. The eastern coastal areas of the Mediterranean in the sixth century BC had been for a long time familiar with Egyptian religious beliefs that spread as a consequence of trade and population dispersal; the lotus' insinuation in its Egyptian meaning into Greek culture is evident in the lotus-tipped sceptre carried by Zeus on the coinages of Karia, Mysia and Kilikia (among others), being a legacy of the assimilation of an attribute of the major Egyptian solar deity Ra with the principal god of the Greek pantheon Zeus. The lotus' appearance here as a polyvalent symbol can best be understood then in the context of assimilated Egyptian beliefs, representing at once both a solar and divine aspect, as well as a clear allusion to the minting city's location. Interestingly however, the lotus is not the only solar element present on this coin – immediately before the horse's chest we can discern the presence of a sunburst similar in depiction to those found on the contemporary coinage of Alyattes. This element may have been included on account of its being more universally familiar, being well understood to signify what we now refer to as Anatolia, which comes from the Greek Aνατολή (Anatolē) meaning the 'East' or more literally 'sunrise', used to refer to the Ionian colonies on the west coast of Asia Minor. Moreover the horse was itself considered a solar symbol, not only throughout the East, but also among Celtic and Germanic tribes, suggesting a common ancient root to this association. Such preponderance of solar symbology is indeed only fitting for this metal, and is in fact an overt statement of the coin's composition: ἤλεκτρον, the Greek word for electrum, is derived from the word ἠλέκτωρ (ēlektōr) - 'shining sun'.
Ionia, Miletos EL Stater. Circa 600-550 BC. Lion reclining left, head right, within rectangular frame / Central oblong punch containing a running fox and three pellets, two of which are connected by bar; flanked by square punches containing stellate pattern and stag's head right, respectively. Weidauer 126; SNG Kayhan 440. 13.97g, 20mm. Very Fine. Rare.
Ionia, Phokaia EL Hekte. Circa 625-600 BC. Helmeted head to left, seal upwards behind / Quadripartite incuse square. Bodenstedt 6 (unlisted dies) = Münzen und Medaillen FPL 201, no. 240; Tkalec (29 February 2000), lot 126. 2.59g, 11mm. Good Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare – Bodenstedt recorded only one example. Ex Gutekunst Collection; Ex Sternberg 18, 20 November 1986, lot 149.
Ionia, Phokaia EL Hekte. Circa 625-522 BC. Head of African left; behind, seal downward behind / Quadripartite incuse square. Bodenstedt 24; Roma Numismatics VI, lot 629; Triton XII, lot 296; CNG 99, lot 226; otherwise unpublished. 2.53g, 10mm. Very Fine. Extremely Rare, apparently the fifth known; only one example cited by Bodenstedt (in Karlsruhe), and only three in CoinArchives.
Ionia, Phokaia EL Hekte. Circa 520-500 BC. Three seals swimming in a circle to left around a central pellet within a ring; all within a border of pellets / Quadripartite incuse square. BMFA 1895; Bodenstedt 29. 2.58g, 10mm. Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare; only 6 examples recorded by Bodenstedt.
Ionia, Phokaia EL Hekte. Circa 521-478 BC. Panther's head facing, small seal to right above / Irregular quadripartite incuse square punch. Bodenstedt -; Rosen collection, Münzen und Medaillen 72, 1987, 75 = Rosen 312 = ATEC 339 (these dies). 2.59g, 10mm. Good Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare - the second recorded example. The small seal above the head was off the flan in Copenhagen, missed by Münzen und Medaillen and the type was not known to Bodenstedt.
Ionia, Phokaia EL Hekte. Circa 521-478 BC. Forepart of lion left, devouring prey; above, small seal to left / Quadripartite incuse square. Bodenstedt 36; SNG von Aulock –; SNG Copenhagen –; Boston MFA –; BMC 21; de Luynes 2646; Traité II 2095. 2.53g, 10mm. Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare, only one other example offered at auction in the past fifteen years. From the Kleines Meisterwerk Collection. The obverse type of the forepart of a lion tearing at its prey was used extensively by the Phokaian refugees who had settled at Velia in Bruttium after their native city had been conquered by the Persians in the 540s BC. The appearance of the same motif here can thus be easily explained as symbolising the link between Phokaia and their kin at Velia.
Ionia, Phokaia EL Hekte. Circa 521-478 BC. Head of ram right; below, small seal left / Quadripartite incuse square. Bodenstedt 37; SNG von Aulock –; SNG Copenhagen –; Boston MFA 1896; BMC 28. 2.56g, 10mm. Near Extremely Fine. Very Rare - the seal to right variant is much scarcer than the seal to left. From the Kleines Meisterwerk Collection.
Ionia, Phokaia EL Hekte. Circa 521-478 BC. Helmeted male head to left, with frontal eye and tendril ornament on bowl of helmet; below, seal swimming to left / Rough quadripartite incuse square. Bodenstedt 50. 2.60g, 10mm. Near Extremely Fine. Very Rare. This militaristic type appears to depict an anonymous warrior or hero, the latter appearing more likely considering the ornamentation of the helmet he wears. His individual features being completely obscured, leaving only his eye and nose visible, imparts a stern, solemn tone to the composition. The type may have held some special significance to Phokaia, as it is a restoration of a much earlier type (Bodenstedt 6).
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