Ancient Gold

Lot 4516    Session 15 (7.30pm Friday)    Ancient Gold

Estimate $1,000
Bid at live.noble.com.au
SOLD $1,100

IONIA, Southern Ionia, possibly Miletus, (c.600-550 B.C.), electrum twelth stater (Lydo-Milesian standard), (1.152 grams), obv. lion's head to left, rev. quadripartite incuse with a dot as centre axis, dots at each end of a cross, (S.3532, cf.NFA Sale VI, 27/2/1979 [lot 281 $600US] = M & M sale 72 6 October 1987 [lot 39]). Good fine/very fine and very rare.

This coinage was struck within the first half century of true coinage and is the succesor to the weighed but unmarked electrum nuggets. These crude types evolved almost immediately although attempts to identify the mint of this coinage are mostly conjectural. However this weight standard is common to Miletus and Lydia and sometimes called 'Phoenician' which circulated in southern Ionia and Caria. Several other example have been sold in recent times. The NFA example above is from similar if not the same dies as our coin.