Sale: CNG 78, Lot: 305. Estimate $200.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 14 May 2008.  Sold For $275. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

THRACO-MACEDONIAN REGION, Uncertain. 5th-4th centuries BC. AR Hemiobol (0.27 g, 6h). Facing gorgoneion / Crested helmet within incuse square. LHS 100, lot 197 (Maroneia), otherwise apparently unpublished. Near VF, a little porous.

LHS attributed their piece based on the similarity of style of the gorgoneion to known obols at Maroneia (Schönert-Geiss 354-6). The helmet, however, is problematic. First, an equal argument can be made for the similarity of the helmet to those on the issues of the early Macedonian kings as well as a number of mercenary issues in Magna Graecia. Second, a helmet never appears as a type at Maroneia. Finally, all of the issues of Maroneia prior to the second century BC include either some form of horse or grapes, neither of which appears here. Nonetheless, the characteristics of the flan, as well as the general style, suggest a placement in the Thraco-Macedonian region.