Sale: Triton VIII, Lot: 251. Estimate $5000.  Closing Date: Monday, 10 January 2005.  Sold For $6500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

THRACE, Maroneia. Circa 411/0-398/7 BC. AR Tetradrachm (12.92 gm, 7h). Deounys, magistrate. Horse rearing left, trailing rein; DEOUNUS above; all within wreath of ivy / MAR-WN-ITE-WN:, grape arbor in linear square; all within shallow incuse square. Schönert-Geiss -; West -; BMC Thrace -; SNG Copenhagen -; SNG Lockett -. Near EF, obverse die shift, overstruck on uncertain type. Unique. ($5000)

Truly an enigmatic coin, its place within Schönert-Geiss's period VI is certain: The magistrate is only known on a single example, which is in period VI (Schönert-Geiss 158); the reverse die must have been engraved by the same hand as that of Schönert-Geiss 167; and the weight is consistent with the tetradrachms of that period. As noted by Schönert-Geiss, May, and others who have studied the coinage of Maroneia, these early series have parallels in the coinage of other cities of that region, particularly Mende and Abdera. The unconventional appearance of the ivy wreath on the obverse has no parallel. If it is linked to an historical event, then the implication is that it was one of local rather than regional significance. With Maroneia's links to the Dionysiac cult, an event commemorated by an ivy wreath is just as likely to be religious as political or military. The only other coinage at Maroneia that may be related to this issue is the extremely rare gold emission (Schönert-Geiss 597), which Schönert-Geiss dates generally to the following two periods. Like this tetradrachm, the gold coins have the same obverse and reverse types, horse rearing left and grape arbor surrounded by the ethnic, and also have no parallel among the other cities in the region during this time. Most interesting is the addition of a grape-bunch-on-vine in the field above the horse. The size of the flans of these was quite small, and not enough room would be available to contain a full wreath, so this may have been a compromise. Likewise, the additional crescent symbol below the horse may indicate the magistrate, whose name also would likely not fit the small flan. Unfortunately, as noted in many of the reviews of Schönert-Geiss's work, the large quantity of hoard material that has appeared since her publication has greatly expanded the coinage in these periods, and a new study is greatly needed. Combined with a general lack of specific historical information on Maroneia at this time, the exact placement of this coin remains uncertain.