Extremely Rare Early Rhodes Tetradrachm
Ex Trampitsch Collection and Marmaris Hoard

Triton XVI, Lot: 499. Estimate $6000. Sold for $8500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ISLANDS off CARIA, Rhodos. Rhodes. Circa 408/7-404 BC. AR Tetradrachm (21mm, 15.25 g, 12h). Reverse die signed by the artist Tauro-. Head of Helios facing slightly right / Rose in profile, with bud on each side; POΔION above, TAYPO to right; all within shallow incuse circle. Hecatomnus 49a (A32/P42) = Bérend, Tétradrachmes 20 (this coin); Ashton 6; SNG Keckman –; Karl –; SNG von Aulock –; SNG Copenhagen –; HGC 6, 1417. VF, toned. Excellent metal. Extremely rare, one of only three examples of this issue known, all from the Marmaris Hoard.

From the RAJ Collection. Ex Armand Trampitsch Collection (Vinchon, 13 November 1986), lot 226; Marmaris Hoard (IGCH 1209).

The polis of Rhodes was created out of a synoecism of the cities of Ialysos, Kamiros, and Lindos in 408/7 BC, and immediately began to issue a series of coinage that endured until the Roman era. The rose was chosen as the perennial reverse type, a punning allusion to the city's name. The obverse type was usually the head of Helios, the patron deity of the new polis, but occasionally the nymph Rhodos appeared. Until the end of the Rhodian series, these types adorned the coins, with a few exceptional issues that featured novel designs. The Chian standard was employed, although after a reduction in the late 340s, the standard is commonly called 'Rhodian.' The first issue of Rhodian coinage was a brief, yet large, issue of tetradrachms that stand among the finest pieces of Classical Greek numismatic art. On the obverse, the head of Helios is displayed in a nearly frontal position. Such facing head coins were not novel by this time, but the boldness of the design and the particularly high relief of the dies sets the Rhodian coinage apart from all others. Moreover, this facing head type remained the standard obverse type for most of the Rhodian issues into the first century AD. The tetradrachm was the primary denomination until the later 4th century, when the didrachm became preeminent. Both of these denominations were supplemented by a wide variety of fractions, in both silver and bronze, and the tetradrachm was also issued on occasion after the 4th century. Around 190 BC, the coinage system was completely reorganized, with the primary denomination being the drachm, struck on a standard called 'plinthophoric' for the square incuse around the reverse type (plinthos = brick or ingot). Gold coinage was issued on only very rare occasions, and not until the 2nd century BC. As noted by Ashton, the coinage was issued fairly regularly, with occasional spikes in production that correlate to either construction work (e.g. the building of the Colossus) or military necessity. As a primary trading center in the Mediterranean, it is not surprising that the bulk of the coinage of Rhodes appears to have been used for regular state expenditure, such as maintaining its fleet, paying mercenaries, making contributions to the Nesiotic League (revived by Rhodes circa 200 BC), paying state officials, and maintaining a system that cared for its needy citizens (Ashton, pp. 96-7). The massive amount of coinage struck by Rhodes is evidenced by the adoption of the Rhodian weight standard by many other cities in the Hellenistic period, as well as the large amounts of Rhodian coins found in hoards today.