Sale: Triton IX, Lot: 852. Estimate $750.  Closing Date: Monday, 9 January 2006.  Sold For $750. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ISLANDS off THRACE. Thasos. Circa 463-449 BC. AR Stater (9.11 g). Group Ic. Satyr advancing right, carrying off protesting nymph / Quadripartite incuse square. Le Rider, Thasiennes 5; SNG Ashmolean 3660; SNG Copenhagen 1010. VF. ($750)

Thasian staters of group Ic typically exhibit a transition in style, between the purely archaic forms of group Ib (see previous lot), but not yet reaching the high classical style of group II (see lot 854, below). This and the following coin both belong to group Ic, but clearly demonstrate that the transition of style is an ongoing process within the coinage of this group. The figures on the present coin have heads that are out of proportion with their bodies, while the following lot has well proportioned figures. Also, the nymph on the present coin has hands that retain the rudimentary style of group Ib, with a basic V-shape to which fingers are added as almost an afterthought. Her hair is also still formed by a series of dots. In contrast, the nymph on the following coin has well-formed, human-like hands, her hair is now a series of flowing lines, and her appearance has been enhanced with the addition of bracelets around her wrists. Clearly, the present coin is chronologically closer to the archaic group Ib, while the following lot has a closer affinity with the classical style of group II.