Ancient Gold

Lot 1687    Session 6 (9.30am Thursday)    Ancient Gold

Estimate $8,000
Bid at live.noble.com.au
SOLD $9,500

IONIA, Miletus, (c.570-550 B.C.), electrum stater, (14.010 grams), obv. lion lying to right, head reverted, within rectangular frame divided into smaller rectangular compartments, rev. incuse rectangle between two small squares, within rectangle a fox to left and three pellets, square punch below contains stellate pattern, square punch above containing a reversed N pattern (cf.S.3439, £10,000; ACNAC Rosen 577 [similar dies], cf. Traite Babelon I, 18 [pl.i,17], cf.Head, B.V., Principal Coins of the Greeks Pl.I, No.7, cf.Weidauer 127 [Pl.14). Very fine, with irregular flan, extremely rare with the right facing lion much rarer than the usual left facing lion.

Ex Classical Numismatic Group Auction Sale 43 (18th March 1998) lot 424 and Triton V (lot 1427). The piece has a highly unusual flan that was made by incomplete melting of a third and a two thirds stater. and as such is a fascinating aspect of minting technology and manufacture. A similar example of the more common variety was sold in our Noble Numismatics Sale No.57, 1-2 April 1998 (lot 729 sold for $13,200) and another in our Sale No.67 (lot 1581, sold for $9670). One of the earliest coins. It was made in Western Turkey a few decades after 600 B.C., from electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver. These electrum staters were made at three weight standards known today as the Phocaic, the Euboic and as in this coin the Milesian. The earliest coins have a design on one side and the reverse struck from three crude punches. As the coinage evolved these reverse punches evolved. Our coin one of the most interesting of ancient coins, evolved into a design and a pattern. The attribution to Miletus is fairly certain as the lion with reverted head remained the type for Miletus for another four centuries. It also shares this weight standard with Lydia. Hill knew of only six specimens of this then very rare coin type. A few additional specimens have come on the market in recent times, probably from a small hoard.