Sale: Nomos 5, Lot: 129. Estimate CHF2000.  Closing Date: Monday, 24 October 2011.  Sold For CHF1900. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ISLANDS off THRACE, Thasos. Circa 500-463 BC. Stater (Silver, 9.22 g), c. 490. Nude, ithyphallic satyr rushing to right in the archaic kneeling-running position, holding a nymph in his arms who raises her right arm in protest. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square. Asyut 117. Franke / Marathaki 1126. Gulbenkian 460. Kraay / Hirmer 435. An attractive, toned and well-centered piece on a slightly tight flan. Extremely fine.

From a European collection, bought in the 1980s or before.

The coinage of Thasos in the first half of the 5th century must have been enormous: they appear all over the eastern Mediterranean area and are found as far east as Afghanistan. The coins were made in order to utilize the silver from Island’s mines: not only were the coins used to pay expenses, they were also a convenient way to export bullion. The scene on the obverse refers to the Dionysiac revels that accompanied the Island’s other great speciality, the wine for which the Island was also famous.