Sale: Triton XIII, Lot: 1234. Estimate $500.  Closing Date: Monday, 4 January 2010.  Sold For $750. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ATTICA, Athens. Circa 165-42 BC. AR Tetradrachm (16.85 g, 11h). New Style coinage. Polycharm-, Nikog-, and Phanokle(s), magistrates. Struck 133/2 BC. Helmeted head of Athena right / Owl standing right, head facing, on amphora; magistrates’ names in fields, winged kerykeion to left, A on amphora, ΔI below; all within wreath. Cf. Thompson 368 (same obv. die, different third magistrate); cf. Triton X, 242. Good VF, lightly toned, underlying luster, slight die shift on reverse.

Phanokles was one of the last third-magistrates to strike in the anchor-star series of the prior year (see Thompson 368g-h). He apparently continued into this winged caduceus series, and is known on both drachms (Thompson 373a) and tetradrachms (Thompson pp. 150-151 - unconfirmed piece cited in RN 1885, p. 15). The Triton X piece confirms the contiguity of these two series, as not only is this magistrate present on both, but this coin was struck with Thompson’s obverse die 367, which was previously only known with the anchor-star series. The two coins in the present sale were struck from obverse die 368, which was used in the previous issue, as stated above. In sum, all of this suggests that these coins were among the earliest issues of the winged kerykeion series.