Sale: Nomos 8, Lot: 76. Estimate CHF35000.  Closing Date: Monday, 21 October 2013.  Sold For CHF60000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Northern Greece (or perhaps Ionia?), uncertain mint. c. 500-490 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 24mm, 17.16 g 11). Lion crouching to left, gnawing on a bone held by his forepaw; above, lotos; below, globe Rev. Forepart of a winged wild boar to right; all within a linear square border in an incuse square. Hell. Prim. p. 234, 9 and pls. 27, 20 and 27, 18 = Jameson 2028 = Traité I, 1857 and pl. LIX, 14 = Weber 8555 ( all this coin). Very rare. Toned and with a fascinating pedigree. About extremely fine.

From the Exceptional Collection, Leu 76, 27 October 1999, 88, ex Bank Leu 48, 10 May 1989, 142, and from the collections of W. Niggeler, Bank Leu-Münzen und Medaillen, 5 December 1965, 224, R. Jameson, Sir H. Weber, General W. Yorke Moore, Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, 1 March 1889, 363, and General C. R. Fox.

Exactly where this impressive coin was minted remains uncertain, though it seems most likely to be from the Thraco-Macedonian area. The lion on the obverse shares obvious parallels with the well-known electrum staters with the prowling lionesses, which seem to be found solely in Thrace. The way the ornament appears above the lion on the obverse of this coin is very close to the way ornaments appear at Akanthos. Of course the winged boar is well-known from the early coinage of Klazomenai, and the lion also has parallels on the coinage of Kyzikos. In addition, in 1891 B. V. Head published this coin as possibly being from Kyrene (NC 1891, pl. I, 9 = HN p. 867).