246, Lot: 212. Estimate $200. Sold for $380. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ISLANDS off IONIA, Chios. Pseudo-autonomous issue. Circa 1st century AD. Æ 3 Assaria (31mm, 13.27 g, 6h). Publius Valerius Primus, archon for the second time. Sphinx crouching left, left forepaw raised; at feet, prow of galley left / Chian amphora within wreath. Mavrogordato 121; SNG Copenhagen 1653. Fine, brown patina.

The wine of Chios was famed throughout antiquity, and its distinctive amphoras, which feature so prominently on Chian coinage, have been found at ancient sites ranging from England to Egypt.