Two WALWET Issues

Triton XV, Lot: 1239. Estimate $15000. Sold for $19000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

KINGS of LYDIA. Alyattes. Circa 610-560 BC. EL Trite – Third Stater (13mm, 4.71 g). “Branch” mint. Confronted lion heads; WALWE[T] (in Lydian, retrograde) between / Two incuse square punches. Weidauer Group XVII, 96; Traité I 54; SNG Kayhan –; SNG von Aulock 8204 (same die and punch). Good VF. Exceptional for issue.

This issue is struck with an obverse die containing two heads, but is typically struck so that only one or the other lion head is visible. Here we can see just the tip of the lion on the left, but enough to discern that it is the same obverse die as the von Aulock coin, which was struck to feature the lion on the left.