Extremely Rare Sophytes Bronze - First Time at Auction

Sale: CNG 75, Lot: 614. Estimate $1000.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 23 May 2007.  Sold For $1100. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

BAKTRIA, Pre-Seleukid Era. Sophytes. Circa 305-294 BC. Æ 14mm (1.63 g, 8h). Helmeted head of Athena right / Owl standing right, head facing. Cf. Bopearachchi, Sophytes 4 (diobol); SNG ANS 27 (diobol); SC 444 (Antiochos I); SCB p. 25, I (Antiochos I). Good VF, red-brown patina. Extremely rare, the first to appear at auction.

P. Bernard (”Monnaies inédites de la Bactriane grecque à Äi Khanoum (Afghanistan)” in RN 1980) originally argued for a pre-Seleucid date of issue for this type. Kritt (SCB) doubted such an early date and, based on the edge technique and die axes, and the attribution of these to Aï Khanoum, suggested it was issued during the reign of Antiochos I. This view was adopted by Houghton and Lorber in SC, but in their forthcoming addenda to SC, they question the validity of their assignment of issues to Aï Khanoum versus Bactra. Nonetheless, the rather novel obverse style of Athena on these bronzes is strikingly similar to an issue of diobols in the name of Sophytes (cf. Bopearachchi, Sophytes 4; SNG ANS 27), and is significantly different from the depiction of Athena in the Seleukid series in Baktria. Further, the die axis of the present coin dilutes the relevance of the examples with inverted dies in Kritt’s analysis. Lastly, the absence of Sophytes’ name on this type is not dispositive, as Sophytes issues coins both with and without his name.