Sale: Triton XIII, Lot: 122. Estimate $7500.  Closing Date: Monday, 4 January 2010.  Sold For $15000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

LOKRIS, Lokris Opuntii. Circa 382-356 BC. AR Stater (12.15 g, 2h). Head of Persephone left, wearing wreath of grain ears, single pendant earring, and pearl necklace / Ajax, nude but for crested Corinthian helmet, advancing right on rocks, holding sword in right hand, shield decorated with serpent on left arm; OΠON-TIΩN around, ivy leaf and broken spear below. Wartenberg 5; SNG Copenhagen -; Traité III 426, pl. CCVI, 15 (same rev. die). EF, a hint of die rust.

Struck from the same obverse die as the following lot. The reverse die on this particular piece appears to have been engraved with an unusual attention to detail. The edge of the shield is typically depicted plain, whereas here it is ornamented with a zigzag decoration. Also, the inner veins are visible in the ivy leaf between the legs of Ajax, and the serpent on the shield has an intricate segmented body. While all of the staters of Lokris display a high degree of artistry, this particular piece is certainly among the finest.