Sale: CNG 66, Lot: 1077. Estimate $500.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 19 May 2004.  Sold For $800. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ISLANDS off IONIA. Chios. Civic Issue.Circa 1st century AD. Æ 3 Assaria (18.40 gm). Publius Valerius Primus, archon for the second time. Sphinx seated left, paw resting on prow of galley / Wine amphora set within wreath. Mavrogordato 121; SNG Copenhagen 1653. VF, dark green patina, surfaces smoothed. ($500)

The wine of Chios was famed throughout antiquity, and its distinctive amphoras, which feature so prominently on Chian coinage, have been found at ancient sites ranging from England to Egypt.