An Old Mistake Corrected

Sale: CNG 78, Lot: 317. Estimate $200.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 14 May 2008.  Sold For $210. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

MACEDON, Dikaia. Circa 450-425/0 BC. AR Hemiobol (0.35 g, 12h). Head of nymph left / Head of bull right within incuse square. Schönert-Geiss, Bisanthe -; Traité IV 1439 corr., pl. CCCXL, 4; SNG ANS -. VF, porous. Extremely rare.

The entry for Traité IV 1439 is full of errors. While the description and photograph match this hemiobol, Babelon’s recording of the size, weight, and reference to BMC Thrace p. 233, 4a, are for a completely different coin (the BMC obol, with a facing bucranium on the reverse). Schönert-Geiss, Bisanthe 18, the BMC obol, compounds the error by referencing Traité 1439 in her listing, without mentioning the error in Traité. Furthermore, the hemiobol type which is photographed and described in Traité is completely missing from Schönert-Geiss’ corpus. As Traité only lists the BMC coin, the true reference for the photographed coin is unknown.