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Electronic Auction 491

Lot nuber 102

KINGS of LYDIA. temp. Alyattes – Kroisos. Circa 620/10-550/39 BC. EL Trite – Third Stater (12.5mm, 4.72 g). Sardes mint.


Electronic Auction 491
Lot: 102.
 Estimated: $ 1 500

Greek, Electrum

Sold For $ 1 900. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Go to Live

KINGS of LYDIA. temp. Alyattes – Kroisos. Circa 620/10-550/39 BC. EL Trite – Third Stater (12.5mm, 4.72 g). Sardes mint. Head of roaring lion right, “sun” with five rays on forehead / Two incuse squares side-by-side. Weidauer Group XVI, 86–9; SNG Ashmolean 749–51. Toned, small edge splits, light scratches. Good VF.

This coin was withdrawn from our previous sale for further numismatic research. Current scholarship recognizes that the reverse of these coins were struck with two punches, in succession of one another (as evidenced by a slight overlap of one punch). However, on this coin, it appears that a single die break crosses both punches, which would not be possible if the two were separate. Over 30 examples were located in CoinArchives, some with pedigrees extending into the 1990s, and we used them to conduct a small die study. We were able to track the full extent of the use of these reverse punches, which were combined with over 11 obverse dies, until one of the punches was eventually replaced. What we discovered was that in their earliest state, each punch had a small contour extending inward from the side of that was facing the middle of the coin. Over time, these contours became enlarged, which, when placed side by side, gave the appearance of that they formed a single die break. The interesting discovery, though, was that the two punches appear in nearly the exact same position relative to one another on every coin, suggesting that the punches were somehow linked together; they were not completely independent of one another. In any case, we are assured that all of these coins considered are genuine.

Closing Date and Time: 5 May 2021 at 10:33:40 ET.

All winning bids are subject to an 18% buyer’s fee.