Sale: CNG 73, Lot: 411. Estimate $300.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 13 September 2006.  Sold For $1700. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

CILICIA, Uncertain. 4th century BC. AR Obol (0.82 g, 9h). Wreathed head of female facing slightly left / Persian king, holding knife, bow and quiver on back, fighting griffin. CNG 70, lot 362, otherwise unpublished. Near EF, lightly toned. Extremely rare, this and the following lot are the second and third known.

Note that on the reverse of this coin, the king is fighting a griffin rather than the usual winged lion. While the king-lion type is known on a few rare issues of Cilicia, it is commonly found on the early coinages of Phoenicia. The king-griffin type, however, is apparently unknown as a coin-type.