Unique New Stater in Very Rare Series

CNG 102, Lot: 572. Estimate $1000. Sold for $1000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

CILICIA, Ura. Mid 5th century BC. AR Stater (18mm, 10.77 g, 9h). Stag (ibex) recumbent right; ‘RH (in Aramaic) above / Crenelated city wall with two towers; ‘RH (in Aramaic) above; all in pelleted square within incuse square. Unpublished issue, but for other issues from this mint, cf. Casabonne p. 90 and pl. I, 13; and A. Lemaire, “Remarques à propos du monnayage cilicien d’époque perse et de ses légendes ara-méennes” in REA XCI (1989), pl. III, 15–20. VF, irregular flan, struck from worn dies. Apparently unique.

Scholars have long known of an ancient city called Ura in Cilicia, but its location is yet unknown (and widely debated). From a numismatic standpoint, the obverse iconography suggests an earlier settlement at Kelenderis, which was the location favored by R. Beal in his 1992 study, The Location of Cilician Ura. All of the coins previously known depicted a facing owl on the reverse, similar to the reverses of the famous Athenian dekadrachms. The present piece, with a very clear obverse legend, is the first to break this pattern, suggesting that the city’s coinage was more prolific.