IONIA, Herakleia ad Latmon. Circa 140-135 BC. AR Tetradrachm (34.5mm, 16.68 g, 12h). Stephanophoric type. EF.

CNG Feature Auction 132
Lot: 411. Estimated: $ 2 000

Greek, 12h, Coin-in-Hand Video, Silver

Sold For $ 7 000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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IONIA, Herakleia ad Latmon. Circa 140-135 BC. AR Tetradrachm (34.5mm, 16.68 g, 12h). Stephanophoric type. Head of Athena Parthenos right, wearing crested Attic helmet decorated with Pegasos above the foreparts of five galloping horses / Club; below, Nike walking left, holding wreath, flanked by two monograms; all within oak wreath. Lavva, Silberprägung, Group II.B, 11–2 var. (V7/R– [unlisted rev. die]); SNG Keckman II 235 (same obv. die). Lovely old cabinet tone, minor deposit on reverse. EF. Fine style and well centered on a broad flan.

From the Thomas Palmer Collection. Ex Classical Numismatic Review XLIX.2 (Summer 2024), no. 5677356; MACM inventory MMoCA23C; Manhattan Sale I (5 January 2010), lot 72.

With the collapse of Seleukid authority in Asia Minor in 189 BC, many communities of western Asia Minor celebrated their liberation from regal authority by issuing series of large and impressive tetradrachms. All of these coins were struck on the reduced Attic standard, and were struck on broad, thin flans that were influenced by the Athenian New Style coinage. These series also copied a feature on their reverses, a large laurel or oak wreath that formed the border encompassing the entire reverse type. We know from the Delos inventory lists that these coins were referred to as stephanophoroi, attesting to the ubiquity of these series. The types appearing on the coins clearly indicated their civic nature, depicting the city's patron deity on the obverse and various aspects of the city's culture on the reverse.

Regardless of the particular city of issue, the stephanophoric coinage is regarded among the more artistic of the Hellenistic period. This is no surprise as nearly all of the issuing cities were located in western Asia Minor, an area whose numismatic artistry is well attested in the preceding Classical period. Whether the wreath reverse type indicated a kind of unified league coinage or just a common artistic vision remains an open question. Stephanophoric coinage was a major focus of Thomas Palmer’s collecting interests and, after assembling an impressive collection of the series, he wrote an informative article on Stephanophoroi for the Florida United Numismatist journal, FUN Topics, in March 2025.

The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 132 lots will be determined at the live online sale that will be held on 18-19 May 2026.

CNG Feature Auction 132 – Session Two – Lot 319-587 will be held Monday afternoon, 18 May 2026 beginning at 2:00 PM 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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