| Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 146 | Auction date: 8 May 2024 |
| Lot number: 2212 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction - Bid on this lot  | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: Troas, Abydos. Stater circa 330, AV 17 mm, 8.60 g. Facing head of Artemis, wearing an ornate stephanos decorated with acanthus leaves, triple pendant earrings and necklace. Rev. Eagle standing l. with closed wing; in l. field, vine-tendril with bunch of grapes. For similar reverse type. cf. Traite II, 2449 and pl. CLXVIII, 2 (eagle standing r.). Apparently unique and unpublished. A portrait of enchanting beauty, in the finest late Classical style work of a very talented master engraver. Virtually as struck and almost Fdc Ex NGSA sale 6, 2010, 84. From the Collection of a Man in Love with Art. The eagle type used for the reverse of this unique stater signals its production at the mint of Abydos on the Hellespont. This city, which faced Sestos in the Thracian Chersonesos, was a popular crossing point from Asia to Europe and vice versa due to is location at the narrowest point on the Hellespont. As such it was a staging area for various invasions, such as those of Xerxes against mainland Greece and of Philip II and Alexander the Great against the Persian Empire, ostensibly in revenge for the earlier campaign of Xerxes. Unlike most Greek cities, Abydos possessed its own gold mines and is known to have struck gold coins in the late fifth and early third centuries BC, probably in support of the fleets used by both the Spartans and Persians to end Athenian domination in the region. The city probably also struck gold coins in the name of Alexander the Great and Philip III Arrhidaeus in the period between 328 and 297 BC. The present coin, however, probably belongs to the 330s BC and the beginning of Alexander's conquest of the Persian Empire. The Mysian city of Pergamon also struck an unexpected civic gold emission at this time, possibly in support of Alexander's fleet before he could release the vast wealth of the Persian treasuries. The obverse type, depicting an exquisite image of Artemis, the patron goddess of the city, is mirrored in the contemporary bronze coinage of Abydos. The goddess is shown facing and wearing a polos on the bronze issues, but only on this remarkable stater is her headdress so masterfully ornamented with palmettes and acanthus decorations. Estimate: 500000 CHF |  |
