Among the Rarest Staters of Kyzikos

CNG 108, Lot: 169. Estimate $10000. Sold for $27500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

MYSIA, Kyzikos. Circa 450-330 BC. EL Stater (15mm, 16.04 g). Demeter, wearing long chiton, himation draped over right arm, holding grain ear in left hand and scepter in right, seated left on tunny left / Quadripartite incuse square. Von Fritze I 201 (same dies as illustration [Boston MFA]); Greenwell –; Boston MFA 1544 = Warren 1433 = C. Greenwell, “On some Rare Greek Coins” in NC 1890, p. 21 and pl. III, 2; SNG BN –; SNG von Aulock –; BMC –; Dewing –; FSD –; Gillet –; Gulbenkian –; Jameson –; McClean –; Myrmekion –; Pozzi –; Rosen –; Weber –. Near EF, toned. Well centered. Extremely rare, the third known; only the Boston MFA piece published in the references, and only one in CoinArchives (Roma XIV, lot 233 [hammer £30,000]).

This is undoubtedly one of the rarest issues of electrum from the mint of Kyzikos. The type was unknown upon the publication of Greenwell’s catalog in the 1880s, though it was among others that he added in a supplemental article, while the piece was in the Warren Collection. The same piece, now in Boston, was then used to illustrate the issue in von Fritze, suggesting that it was still the only piece known. Von Fritze also did not identify any fractional pieces for the issue, nor did Hurter & Liewald in their articles. None were reported in any hoards, including the impressive Myrmekion hoard, nor among the single finds reported in FSD.