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1003
Etruria, Populonia. Silver 10 Asses (3.88 g), ca. 300-250 BC. Laureate head of Aplu left; behind, X. Blank.
(SNG ANS 26; HN Italy 168). Toned. Extremely fine.
$ 2,000
Purchased privately from Tom Cederlind.
Like many aspects of Etruscan culture, Etruscan coins have a distinctive character. In contrast to most contemporary Greek and
native Italian coinages, the flan of this Populonian silver issue was struck by a single die against a flat surface rather than an anvil
die, leaving it with only a single type (technical reverse) and an enigmatic blank side (technical obverse). In this case the type depicts
Aplu, the Etruscan version of the Greek god Apollo, and features the numeral X to indicate a face value of 10 bronze asses. A similar
value indicator was later adopted by the Romans to indicate the number of asses in the silver denarius.
1004
Calabria, Taras. Campano-Tarantine series. Silver Nomos, ca. 281-272 BC. Diademed head of Satyra left,
wearing triple-pendant earring. Rev. TA below horse’s raised foreleg, youth on horseback right, crowning
horse with wreath; above, crescent. (Vlasto 1038-41; SNG ANS 1302). Lustrous. Extremely fine.
$ 600
1005
Calabria, Taras. Silver Nomos (6.40 g), ca. 280-272 BC. Phy…, Sodamos and Gy…, magistrates. The
Dioskouroi on horseback riding left; above, magistrate’s monogram:
FU
; below, between horses’
hooves, magistrate’s name: [
SW
]
D
-A-M-O-
S
. Rev.
TA
-
RAS
, Taras seated astride dolphin left over
waves, holding Nike crowning him with wreath and small, round shield ornamented with a hippocamp
and javelins; in left field, magistrate’s name:
G
Y. (Vlasto 773-80; HN Italy 1011). Lovely cabinet toning.
Extremely fine.
$ 2,000
ex Roma V (23 March 2013), lot 24.
The city of Taras was named for the hero of the same name who was a son of Poseidon and the nymph Satyrion. He
was shipwrecked during a crossing from Tainaron in the Peloponnesos to southern Italy, but Poseidon sent a dolphin to
carry him to safety. The city was founded not far from the site where the hero came ashore. It has been suggested that
this myth may reflect actual occurrences of dolphins saving shipwrecked sailors from drowning. This particular issue
may have been struck to hire mercenaries to support Taras against the Romans during the Pyrrhic War (280-275 BC).