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Ancient Coins
R
EMARKABLE
S
ILVER
S
TATER OF
M
ETHYMNA
,
CA
. 480-450 BC
Enlargement
1704 Lesbos, Methymna. Silver Stater (7.84 g), ca. 480-450BC
. [MA
VMNAIO
] (only partially legible), boar standing right.
Reverse:
MA
VM-
N-AI-O
, head of Athena right, wearing crested Attic helmet with spirals on bowl and Pegasos brow-guard; all in linear and dotted square border
within shallow incuse square. Franke 3; Gulbenkian 718 (same dies); BMFA 1661 (same dies).
Very Rare.
Nicely toned and well centered.
Choice Very Fine
.
Estimate Value .......................................................................................................................................................................$2,000 - 2,500
The Hanbery Collection; Purchased from Frank Kovacs 1984.
The obverse features a wild boar - a popular image for coins struck on Lesbos - with his head lowered and about to charge. It is an attractive illus-
tration that reflects the engraver' s close attention to the natural world as well as his artistic stylization. The animal' s crest is especially well exe-
cuted and is reminiscent of the crests on contemporary hoplite helmets.
The reverse depiction of Athena is a wonderful example of the intricate - almost bordering on baroque- detail of which Archaic die-engravers were
capable. The almond-shaped facing eye is clear and a primary indicator of the Archaic style, while the scrollwork on the bowl of the helmet seems
to prefigure the palmette used on the goddess' helmet on Athenian tetradrachms in the fifth century BC. The Methymnian helmet is distinct in its
use of a Pegasos decoration on the forehead. The winged horse may allude to Athena' s use of the aegis - a goatskin shield adorned with the head
of Medusa. The stare of Medusa was able to turn men into stone, but when she was killed and her head taken by the hero Perseus, she is said to
have given birth to Pegasos and the hero Chrysaor in her death throes.
Enlargement
1705 Lesbos, Methymna. Silver Hemidrachm (2.60 g), ca. 350/30-250/40 BC
. Head of Athena, wearing crested Corinthian helmet.
Reverse:
MA/
-Y, lyre; in lower right field, A; all within pelleted square frame. Franke 13; HGC 6, 907.
Very Scarce.
Lightly toned.
Extremely Fine
.
Estimate Value ............................................................................................................................................................................ $300 - 350
The Hanbery Collection; Purchased privately from Palladium Numismatics in 1993.
Enlargement
1706 Lesbos, Mytilene. Electrum Hekte (2.45 g), ca. 521-478 BC
. Forepart of winged boar right.
Reverse:
Incuse head of roaring lion right;
behind, rectangular punch. Bodenstedt 15; HGC 6, 940. Nicely toned.
Extremely Fine
.
Estimate Value ............................................................................................................................................................................ $700 - 800
From the Hanbery Collection; Purchased privately from F. Kovacs. Also comes with an old dealer ticket from the 1910s-1920s priced £14.