Sale: Nomos 7, Lot: 111. Estimate CHF45000.  Closing Date: Tuesday, 14 May 2013.  Sold For CHF36000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ARGOLIS, Argos. Circa 370-350 BC. Stater (Silver, 12.19 g 12). Head of Hera to right, wearing a stephane ornamented with palmettes, an earring and a pearl necklace, and with her hair falling down the back of her neck; along the top of the stephane, almost imperceptible letters. Rev. ΑΡΓΕΙΩΝ Two dolphins swimming in a circle to the left; between them, crab swimming downwards. BCD Peloponnesos 1061 (this coin). BMC 40. SNG Lockett 2495 (same dies). Extremely rare. Lightly toned. Good very fine.

From the Spina Collection and from the BCD Collection, LHS 96, 8 May 2006, 1061.

When this coin was carefully examined for the preparation of this catalogue it was realized that there were traces of what were surely letters along the top of Hera’s stephane. This phenomenon has apparently never been noticed before. It is possible that they read ΗΡΑ (as one would expect) but this is not sure. In any case it is a great surprise.