Numismatica Genevensis SA
Auction 9 14 December 2015
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Southern Greece, Elis. Olympia. Stater, c. 416 BC. (Silver, 12.22g., 21.6mm). Head of Hera to right, wearing a stephane ornamented with two palmettes and two lilies that have the letters Η Ρ Α arranged between them / Ϝ Α Flaming thunderbolt; all within olive wreath. BCD Olympia 69 (this coin). Seltman 252a (EC/ηθ, this coin). SNG Spencer Churchill 166 (this coin).
A rare, beautifully toned and exceptionally pretty coin, one of the nicest staters of Olympia bearing a head of Hera known. Extremely fine.
Provenance: BCD Collection, Leu 90, 10 May 2004, 69. Collection of R. Abecassis Bank Leu 33, 3 May 1983, 331. Collection of Captain E. G. Spencer Churchill, Christie's 7 Dec. 1965, 113. Collection of Alberto Sangorski (sold privately c. 1925). Collection of G. Philipsen, J. Hirsch XXV, 29 November 1909, 1268.
Olympia was the site of the ancient Olympic Games, the athletic contests held in honor of Zeus, which were the most renowned Panhellenic events of the ancient world – and which, of course, served as the inspiration for the modern Olympic Games. The sanctuary, controlled by Elis over most of its history, was a holy site from at least Mycenaean times, but it was initially sacred to a number of agricultural deities, rather than to Zeus, to whom it later became most closely associated. Once the Eleans took over the site from the local Arcadian tribes in the early 6th century the sanctuary grew considerably in importance. More and more buildings were put up and the games, which were held every four years, became ever more elaborate. Not only were the games a spectacle that drew in large numbers of visitors from all over the Greek world, there was also a great market fair that took place at the same time. As a result the Eleans decided to issue a coinage for Olympia (it was also minted in the sanctuary) that was first struck for the 68th Olympiad, which took place in 468 BC. This coinage was initially a most unusual one: it was only valid for use in Olympia during the period of the games, with all other coinage brought by visitors banned from use. Thus, all coins brought by visitors had to be exchanged for Olympic issues, which would have been minted using the metal of the demonetized coins of the visitors: the sanctuary would have received the profit from the minting charges. The coins were invariably well designed, with some being among the most beautiful coins struck in Greece, but since they had to be struck very rapidly they often were misstruck. The earliest coins bore Zeus' eagle and thunderbolt as their types, but later Zeus himself appeared; and with the establishment of a second mint, Hera took her place on the coinage (it is likely that she had been honored at the site even before Zeus – her temple is certainly older than his). The present coin is a particularly elegant example of a stater struck in the Hera mint for the 91st Olympiad of 416 BC: the goddess herself is on the obverse with her husband's thunderbolt on the reverse (an interesting fact is that the thunderbolts that appear on the Zeus coinage are distinctly different from those on Hera's).
A rare, beautifully toned and exceptionally pretty coin, one of the nicest staters of Olympia bearing a head of Hera known. Extremely fine.
Provenance: BCD Collection, Leu 90, 10 May 2004, 69. Collection of R. Abecassis Bank Leu 33, 3 May 1983, 331. Collection of Captain E. G. Spencer Churchill, Christie's 7 Dec. 1965, 113. Collection of Alberto Sangorski (sold privately c. 1925). Collection of G. Philipsen, J. Hirsch XXV, 29 November 1909, 1268.
Olympia was the site of the ancient Olympic Games, the athletic contests held in honor of Zeus, which were the most renowned Panhellenic events of the ancient world – and which, of course, served as the inspiration for the modern Olympic Games. The sanctuary, controlled by Elis over most of its history, was a holy site from at least Mycenaean times, but it was initially sacred to a number of agricultural deities, rather than to Zeus, to whom it later became most closely associated. Once the Eleans took over the site from the local Arcadian tribes in the early 6th century the sanctuary grew considerably in importance. More and more buildings were put up and the games, which were held every four years, became ever more elaborate. Not only were the games a spectacle that drew in large numbers of visitors from all over the Greek world, there was also a great market fair that took place at the same time. As a result the Eleans decided to issue a coinage for Olympia (it was also minted in the sanctuary) that was first struck for the 68th Olympiad, which took place in 468 BC. This coinage was initially a most unusual one: it was only valid for use in Olympia during the period of the games, with all other coinage brought by visitors banned from use. Thus, all coins brought by visitors had to be exchanged for Olympic issues, which would have been minted using the metal of the demonetized coins of the visitors: the sanctuary would have received the profit from the minting charges. The coins were invariably well designed, with some being among the most beautiful coins struck in Greece, but since they had to be struck very rapidly they often were misstruck. The earliest coins bore Zeus' eagle and thunderbolt as their types, but later Zeus himself appeared; and with the establishment of a second mint, Hera took her place on the coinage (it is likely that she had been honored at the site even before Zeus – her temple is certainly older than his). The present coin is a particularly elegant example of a stater struck in the Hera mint for the 91st Olympiad of 416 BC: the goddess herself is on the obverse with her husband's thunderbolt on the reverse (an interesting fact is that the thunderbolts that appear on the Zeus coinage are distinctly different from those on Hera's).