342, Lot: 217. Estimate $300. Sold for $425. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

MEGARIS, Megara. Late 2nd-early 1st centuries BC. Æ Tetrachalkon (20mm, 7.42 g, 12h). Wreathed head of Apollo right / Kithara. BCD Peloponnesos 36 (this coin); Kroll –; SNG Copenhagen 468. VF, black patina. Very rare.

From the RH Collection. Ex BCD Collection (LHS 96, 8 May 2006), lot 36.

From the BCD catalog: “This is yet another highly enigmatic coin. It is known from only a very few specimens (one, unillustrated unfortunately, was in the collection of Consul Weber, Hirsch XXI, 16 November 1908, 1745: the transcription S in the catalogue is incorrect). This coin has to be relatively late in date because of the presence of the lunate sigma in the reverse legend. Lunate sigmas and epsilons, and open omegas, are known from some coins of the 2nd century, are slightly more common in the 1st century BC, but really come into use on coins of Imperial date (see Warren, 1993, pp. 90-91, with associated notes, for a cogent discussion of later Hellenistic numismatic epigraphy). The lunate sigma here argues against an early 2nd century date for the coin, and rather toward one in either the late 2nd or early 1st century. A date later in the 1st century is excluded by the lack of either a lunate epsilon or an open omega, which became common by the mid century.”