Sale: CNG 81, Lot: 2708. Estimate $100.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 20 May 2009.  Sold For $100. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ARKADIA, Pheneos. Circa 350/40-300 BC. Æ Dichalkon (4.48 g, 11h). Wreathed head of Demeter right; E behind neck / Kerykeion with spike at base. BCD Peloponnesos 1624 var. (no spike); SNG Copenhagen 275. Near VF, green patina. Extremely rare variety.

Ex BCD Collection (not in LHS sale).

In this Demeter / Kerykeion series, there appears to be a variant that was not mentioned, or differentiated, in the BCD catalog. While the kerykeion is usually shown with the shaft ending in a flat line, on some coins one may discern an intentional shape that resembles a triangle. This probably represents a spike that would be used for standing the kerykeion in the ground, as is seen in some depictions of kerykeioi on ancient Greek pottery (see, e.g., Louvre N3157, a late Classical Paestan red-figure calyx krater, attributed to the painter Python, and New York [Metropolitan Museum] 25.78.2, an early Classical Attic Red Figure lekythos attributed to the Tithonus Painter). This spike appears on most of the different Demeter head right types, but is extremely rare on all but the latest (E-A) type.