CNG 90, Lot: 593. Estimate $1000. Sold for $1900. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

IONIA, Phokaia. Circa 625/0-522 BC. EL Hekte (10mm, 2.56 g). Helmeted head left; to right, seal upward / Quadripartite incuse square. Bodenstedt Em. 6 (unlisted dies) = Münzen und Medaillen FPL 201, no. 240; Triton XIV, lot 283 = CNG 57, lot 491; CNG E-237, lot 28; Tkalec (29 February 2000), lot 126. Near EF. Extremely rare issue, the fifth known.

There are four emissions in Bodenstedt with this type, emissions 6, 15, 30, and 50. The latter three share common characteristics: there is a crest on the helmet, the bowl is adorned with some ornament, the eye is better formed (rather than a dot), and the seal is below the helmet. None of these characteristics are found on the first emission of this type, which features a helmet without crest, no ornamentation on the bowl, an eye formed of a large dot, and the seal placed to the right of the helmet. Additionally, the incuse on the reverse is also distinctly different from the later emissions.