IONIA, Priene. Circa 190-170 BC. AR Didrachm (22mm, 8.41 g, 12h). Akrisios, magistrate. Near EF.

CNG Feature Auction 132
Lot: 423. Estimated: $ 6 000

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

Sold For $ 13 000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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IONIA, Priene. Circa 190-170 BC. AR Didrachm (22mm, 8.41 g, 12h). Akrisios, magistrate. Head of Athena right, wearing crested Attic helmet decorated with vine tendril and Pegasos right / The sage Bias of Priene standing facing, holding staff; tripod to right; ΠPIHNEΩ[N] AKPIΣIOΣ to left and right. Cf. Regling 30 (for a unique drachm of same issue); ANS inv. 1968.63.1 (same obv. die); otherwise, unpublished. Toned, light deposits. Near EF. The second known, and the only example in private hands.

From the Thomas Palmer Collection. Ex Freeman & Sear FPL 11 (Spring/Summer 2006), no. 54.

Priene, on the Ionian coast near the mouth of the River Maeander, was founded circa 800 BC by Theban colonists as a harbor city. Its fortunes were tied to a river famous for wandering—and for depositing prodigious quantities of silt. In time the Maeander quietly filled the harbor, leaving Priene landlocked. In the mid-4th century BC the Carian satrap Maussolos—whose own tomb would later give the world the word mausoleum—relocated the city to higher ground at the foot of Mount Mycale. The rebuilding was completed and dedicated by Alexander the Great around 323 BC, providing the new Priene with both improved geography and enviable prestige. Though never a large polis, Priene was impressively planned and beautifully situated, overlooking the Maeander plain. Its public monuments included a fine theater and the renowned Temple of Athena Polias, whose portrait appears on the city’s very rare silver coinage. The site is so well preserved that it has often been called a “Greek Pompeii,” though fortunately without the volcano.

Priene’s most celebrated citizen was the philosopher Bias, one of the legendary Seven Sages of Greece, famed both as an advocate for the oppressed and for his rather bleak assessment of humanity: “most men are wicked.” Ancient writers credit him with once ending a siege by the Lydian king Alyattes through an inspired display of confidence—sending out two conspicuously well-fed mules to suggest the city’s supplies were abundant. Alyattes, apparently persuaded that starvation was not imminent, withdrew. Bias also appears in the well-known story of the sacred tripod depicted on this remarkable didrachm. Inscribed “to the wisest,” the tripod was first given to Thales of Miletos, who declined the honor and passed it to Bias; Bias passed it to another Sage, and so on until all seven had politely refused the title. The moral was clear: truly wise men rarely nominate themselves. The tripod was ultimately dedicated to Apollo, ending its philosophical circuit at Delphi (or, according to some versions, Didyma). Thus the coin neatly celebrates Priene’s identity: Athena, patron of the city, on the obverse; Bias, its most famous thinker, on the reverse. Few coins manage to combine theology, philosophy, civic pride—and a wry moral lesson—quite so effectively.

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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