Heritage World Coin Auctions
NYINC Signature Sale 3044 3-4 January 2016
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Ancients
MACEDON. Acanthus. Ca. 525-470 BC. AR tetradrachm (30mm, 16.75 gm). Struck ca. 480-470 BC. Lion springing right, attacking bull kneeling to left and biting into his hind quarters, Θ above, stylised acanthus flower below dotted exergual line / Quadripartite incuse square, the interior compartments granulated. SNG ANS 10. de Luynes 1535. Desnaux 50. An impressive piece, struck on a broad, medallic flan and handsomely toned. NGC Choice VF 5/5 - 4/5. Of the Archaic Greek coinages, the imagery of Acanthus is among the most striking and influential, depicting a lion attacking a bull, a motif soon adopted by several other cities. Lions prowled the hinterlands of Thrace and Macedon in this era and Herodotus recounts an episode when the baggage train of the Persian King Xerxes's army was set upon by lions during its march from Asia Minor into Greece proper. This particular rendering of the life-and-death struggle is especially powerful, with its yin-yang juxtapositioning of the two animals struck in living high relief, displaying the full vigor of Archaic Greek art.
Estimate: 6000-8000 USD
MACEDON. Acanthus. Ca. 525-470 BC. AR tetradrachm (30mm, 16.75 gm). Struck ca. 480-470 BC. Lion springing right, attacking bull kneeling to left and biting into his hind quarters, Θ above, stylised acanthus flower below dotted exergual line / Quadripartite incuse square, the interior compartments granulated. SNG ANS 10. de Luynes 1535. Desnaux 50. An impressive piece, struck on a broad, medallic flan and handsomely toned. NGC Choice VF 5/5 - 4/5. Of the Archaic Greek coinages, the imagery of Acanthus is among the most striking and influential, depicting a lion attacking a bull, a motif soon adopted by several other cities. Lions prowled the hinterlands of Thrace and Macedon in this era and Herodotus recounts an episode when the baggage train of the Persian King Xerxes's army was set upon by lions during its march from Asia Minor into Greece proper. This particular rendering of the life-and-death struggle is especially powerful, with its yin-yang juxtapositioning of the two animals struck in living high relief, displaying the full vigor of Archaic Greek art.
Estimate: 6000-8000 USD