Portrait of the Satrap Pharnabazos

Triton XVIII, Lot: 625. Estimate $20000. Sold for $17000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

IONIA, Phokaia. Circa 387-326 BC. EL Hekte (10mm, 2.53 g). Bearded head left, wearing Persian tiara bound with diadem; to right, small seal downward / Quadripartite incuse square. Bodenstedt Em. 101; SNG von Aulock –; Boston MFA –; BMC –; Traité II 63; Nomos 1, lot 107 corr. (Bodenstedt citation). Good VF, toned. Extremely rare, Bodenstedt only noted one example (in Paris), and this piece is one of only two in CoinArchives.

As noted in the Nomos sale, this coin appears to depict the portrait of the Persian satrap Pharnabazos, based on the strong similarity of the portrait compared to issues traditionally given to Kyzikos that are signed in his name (cf. Kraay & Hirmer 618 and SNG von Aulock 1216). If the identification is correct, it calls into question the chronology of the piece, Bodensted’s dates are clearly too late for a lifetime issue of the satrap, but it is plausible if the type was chosen for a commemorative purpose.