Sale: Triton IX, Lot: 470. Estimate $10000.  Closing Date: Monday, 9 January 2006.  Sold For $32500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

BOIOTIA, Thebes. Circa 395 BC. EL Hemidrachm (2.99 g). Bearded head of Dionysos right, wearing ivy wreath / The infant Herakles seated facing, strangling two serpents; Q/E to left; all within square incuse. SNG Cop. 302; Lucien de Hirsch 1251 (same dies); De Luynes 2004 = Traité 259 pl. CCI, 1 (same dies). Good VF, attractive pale yellow. Well struck and centered for issue, particularly the reverse. Very rare. ($10,000)

Ex Lanz Munich 64 (4 June 1993), lot 178.

This coin was probably struck with Persian Gold (see Head, Boeotia p. 41). This is a rare opportunity for the advanced collector to acquire one of the two denominations of the only issue from Thebes (and the whole of Boiotia) in precious metal. The smaller denomination is so rare that, to the knowledge of this writer, it has only been offered for sale once (Hess 14 April 1954, lot 111).