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ISLANDS off THRACE, Thasos. Circa 90-75 BC. AR Tetradrachm (31mm, 16.98 g, 11h). “Imitative” series. Wreathed head of young Dionysos right / Herakles standing left, holding club, lion skin on arm; monogram to inner left. Prokopov, Silberprägung, Group XII, – (unlisted dies); Lukanc 1927; HGC 6, 359; CNG E-505, lot 75 (same obv. die); CNG 91, lot 95 (same obv. die). In NGC encapsulation 5771910-016, graded Ch XF, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 4/5. Very rare with this monogram, Prokopov records only 16 examples, 15 of which are in museums; eleven additional in CoinArchives.
Ex Lanz 117 (24 November 2003), lot 184.
Traditionally, this monogram has been thought to represent the first four letters of Aesillas' name (in Greek form), similar to the Thasian tetradrachms that bear the monogram of Sura (see Bauslaugh p. 23). Aesillas was Roman quaestor in Macedon, circa 95-70 BC. Prokopov, however, places the issues with this monogram early in her "Thasian type" coinage, which began circa 148 BC. This placement, however, is contradicted by her own hoard evidence. According to Prokopov, coins from dies tied to this monogram have been found in the following hoards: Mezek, Municipiului Bucureşti (CH II 104), Şieu Odorhei (CH VIII 300), and Sînpetru (IGCH 637). Two of these are unhelpful in dating, as the Mezek hoard publication is still forthcoming, and the date of c. 250-200 BC reported for Şieu Odorhei is impossible, as it predates the majority of the coinage in the hoard (Thasian spread-flan tetradrachms and Macedonian First Meris tetradrachms). The remaining two, Municipiului Bucureşti and Sînpetru, however, are dated to circa 94 BC and the early 1st century BC, respectively. If these dates of deposit are correct, then the assumption that the monogram represents Aesillas is probably correct.
The final winners of all CNG 120 lots will be determined at the live online sale that will be held on 11-12 May 2022. CNG 120 – Session One – Greek Coinage (Part 1) will be held Wednesday morning, 11 May 2022 beginning at 9:00 AM ET.
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