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Ancient Coins
Enlargement
1571 Macedonia, Olynthos. Silver Tetrobol (2.25 g), ca. 500-450 BC
. Horse advancing right; in background, Ionic column; above, flower.
Reverse:
-
-
-
, eagle facing, head right and wings displayed, devouring serpent; all within incuse square. SNG ANS 464.
Very Rare.
Lightly
toned and sound metal.
About Very Fine
.
Estimate Value ............................................................................................................................................................................ $250 - 300
From the Hanbery Collection; Purchased privately from V. England in the early 1980s.
Enlargement
1572 Macedonia, Orthagoreia. Silver Stater (10.32 g), ca. 350-330 BC
. Draped bust of Artemis right, wearing triple-pendant earring and neck-
lace, quiver at shoulder.
Reverse:
OP
A
O-PE
N, Chalkidian helmet facing; above, star; below, monogram. SNG ANS 562; AMNG III/2 2.
Rare.
Uniform antique grey tone.
Choice Very Fine
.
Estimate Value ............................................................................................................................................................................ $700 - 800
The Hanbery Collection; Purchased from A.H. Baldwin & Sons.
This issue of Orthagoreia is remarkable for its attractive depiction of Artemis wearing the distinctive "melon" hairstyle that became fashionable for
mortal (and some deified) women in the late fourth and third centuries BC. The hairstyle is so called by modern scholars because the braids tightly
pulled back give the impression of the striated rind of a watermelon. The reverse type is a little more enigmatic in its depiction of a facing Mace-
donian helmet surmounted by a star. To date no convincing explanation of the star crest has been offered. Does it indicate an association with the
Dioscuri, whose piloi (not helmets) were regularly depicted with a star above? Or could it be an allusion to the Argead dynasty of Macedonia,
which claimed that Perdikkas I, its dynastic founder, once received a bizarre payment of golden sunlight before setting out to claim his kingdom?
The question remains an open one.