Watch List notes:

GREEK COINS
LUCANIA

Metapontum. Circa 290-280 BC. Didrachm or nomos (Silver, 18mm, 7.96 g 3). Diademed head of bearded Herakles to left, club behind his neck. Rev. ΜΕΤΑ Ear of barley with leaf to right; to right, kantharos; to right below leaf, ΒΙ. HN III 1621. Johnston D4.1. This type, with the head of Herakles to left, is very rare. Attractive, well-struck and nicely toned. Minor edge split from striking, otherwise, extremely fine.

From a Swiss collection, acquired in the 1980s.
While the coins of this issue (Johnson D4.1-3) with right facing heads of Herakles are scarce, those with a left facing head, as here, are remarkably rare. Johnson was only able to cite a single example, from a private collection. In any case this coin is remarkably elegant: it is a true masterpiece of early Hellenistic art!