The Bees of Artemis (Ephesis)

Lot 3472    SESSION 12 (11.30am Thursday)    The Bees of Artemis (Ephesis)

Estimate $10,000
Bid at live.noble.com.au

IONIA, Ephesos, (c.330-320 B.C.), "Cross band" silver tetradrachm, (12.564 grams), obv. bee with tendrils and straight wings, **E F* across, rev. broad quadripartite incuse square, **DHMOFwN* across one band, (S.-, Coin Hoards IX [Kinns 'Pixodarus Hoard' p.196-7 notes magistrate from a drachm], BMC -, SNG Cop. -, SNG von Aulock -, SNG Turkey -, SNG Munich -). Good very fine and extremely rare apparently unpublished and unique, the finest known of all tetradrachms of the cross-band type.

Ex Mediterranean Coins, Europe, c.2000-2001. The "Cross-band" issues are known for tetradrachms. Three tetradrachms are known and are in a private collection. They come from other magistrates (Komes, Peristratos and Timotheos). This example from Demophon makes the fourth example and is unpublished. It shares a common obverse die to two of the other known examples [Komes and Peristratos). Philip Kinns in an email to Rod Sell noted the significance of these coins. Coin Kinns also discusses these coins in Coin Hoards IX. Apparently all three previously known coins turned up in a twelve month period (August 1999 to September 2000). This piece and many of the drachms and fractions of this cross band series were acquired by Rod Sell in this same period and this may indicate a common source or hoard. A copy of this email comes with the lot.