Sale: Triton VII, Lot: 71. Estimate $2000.  Closing Date: Monday, 12 January 2004.  Sold For $2600. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

SICILY, Messana. Circa 412-408 BC. AR Tetradrachm (17.35 gm). The nymph Messana driving slow biga of mules left, holding kentron in right hand, reins with both; two dolphins in exergue / MESSANIOS, hare springing left; grain ear below, bird left above, traces of signature(?) (ANAL or ANAN?) before bird. Caltabiano 615.2 (D220/R242) = Rizzo pl. XXVII, 6 = Jameson 657 = L. Forrer, Notes sur les signatures de graveurs sur les monnaies grecques (Brussels, 1906), pg. 23 = A.J. Evans, "Contributions to Sicilian Numismatics -II" in NumChron 1896, pg. 123 (this coin); SNG ANS 378 (same obverse die); SNG Lloyd 1104 (same dies); SNG Copenhagen 404 (same obverse die). Attractively toned, nice VF. The only die on which the name of the city is given in the nominative form. ($2000)

Ex R.C. Jameson Collection, 657; Arthur J. Evans Collection; William Boyne Collection (Sotheby, 21 January 1896), lot 119.

Rizzo, Jameson, Forrer, and Evans mention the appearance of small letters, ANAL or ANAN, visible to the left of the bird on the reverse. Caltabiano does not note this "signature" in her corpus, nor is it mentioned in SNG Lloyd, whose example is of the same die.