Triton XVIII, Lot: 432. Estimate $5000. Sold for $5500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

MACEDON, Akanthos. Circa 500-480 BC. AR Tetradrachm (27mm, 17.18 g). Attic standard. Lion right, attacking bull crouching left; floral ornament in exergue / Quadripartite incuse square. Desneux 2–8 var. (unlisted dies); AMNG III/2, –; SNG ANS 1–3; SNG Ashmolean 2195–7; Kraay & Hirmer 397; Rosen 83. Near EF, toned, some granularity, a few light marks under tone, minor doubling on obverse. Rare early issue.

From the collection of the MoneyMuseum, Zurich. Ex Tkalec (23 October 1998), lot 24.

The form of the incuse on this coin is quite unlike the windmill pattern found on contemporary issues at Akanthos. Even Desneux’s reverse dies 7 and 8 seem to have slightly canted fields within each of the four incuses. The present piece has rough-hewn squares without any consistent form. It is possible that the die used for this coin was an experimental design that was not adopted by the mint.