Sale: Nomos 8, Lot: 63. Estimate CHF50000.  Closing Date: Monday, 21 October 2013.  Sold For CHF85000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

CIMMERIAN BOSPOROS, Pantikapaion. Circa 340-325 BC. Stater (Gold, 21mm, 9.11 g 10). Head of a satyr to left, with a pointed beard and a pug nose, and wearing an ivy wreath. Rev. Π - Α - Ν Griffin prancing on a grain ear to left, his head facing holding a spear in his jaws, and with his right forepaw raised. Gulbenkian 589. Kraay/Hirmer 440. MacDonald 54. SNG BM Black Sea 867. A superb piece, beautifully struck on a broad flan. A few very minor marks, otherwise, good extremely fine.

Ex Triton XIII, 5 January 2010, 168.

The coinage of Pantikapaion, the wealthy trading and agricultural city on the Crimea, is famous for its gold issues. They bear the head of a satyr, the city’s badge, combined with a griffin, the mythical guardian of the gold that was found far to the east. This is a superb example.