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TROAS, Dardanos. 5th century BC. AV Hemistater – Half Daric (12mm, 3.90 g). Persic standard. Parallel lines across field / Cross-hatch pattern. Unpublished. Trace deposits, faint cleaning marks, edge loss. As made. Unique.
From the Dr. Adrian Carr Collection. Ex Classical Numismatic Review XLV.2 (Summer 2020), no. 539239; Jonathan P. Rosen Collection (Classical Numismatic Group 114, 13 May 2020), lot 324; Roma XIII (23 March 2017), lot 146.
This archaic issue had originally been offered as an electrum coin, but a recent thorough metal analysis of the coin by ANSTO in Australia has conclusively shown that it has a gold content of approximately 91.7% (this analysis is included with this lot). A connection to Dardanos had been proposed since the coin appeared, based on the cross-hatch pattern on the reverse, an unusual feature that is only known on an archaic issue that has been attributed to Dardanos featuring a cock on the obverse (cf. SNG Ashmolean 1119). This attribution has been strengthened by the metal analysis, which has found a minute amount of the rare element iridium, which has also been found in silver coins of Dardanos, but not in Lydian gold, which was the main source for gold coinage at the time. Although the weight of the coin is a little low for a Persic hemistater, there is clear evidence of some edge loss, which could account for the discrepancy of 0.2–0.3 grams. Interestingly, the cross-hatch silver coins, of which there is a unit (~0.65 grams) and half (~0.32 grams), appear to also have been struck on the 5th century Persic standard (with the silver siglos increased to 5.55 grams), equating to 1/8th and 1/16th sigloi, respectively. If this is correct, it implies a slightly later dating to the silver than the traditional late 6th/early 5th centuries, but if this gold coin is linked to the silver, a 5th century date would be more plausible.
The final winners of all Triton XXVIII lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 14-15 January 2025.
Triton XXVIII – Session One – Lot 1–287 will be held Tuesday morning, 14 January 2025 beginning at 9:00 AM ET.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
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