Ira and Larry Goldberg Auctioneers
Auction 96 14-15 February 2017
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Lesbos, Methymna. Silver Stater (7.84 g), ca. 480-450BC. [MAΘVMNAIOΣ] (only partially legible), boar standing right. Reverse: MAΘVM-N-AI-OΣ, head of Athena right, wearing crested Attic helmet with spirals on bowl and Pegasos brow-guard; all in linear and dotted square border within shallow incuse square. Franke 3; Gulbenkian 718 (same dies); BMFA 1661 (same dies). Very Rare. Nicely toned and well centered. Choice Very Fine. Estimate Value $2,000 - 2,500
The Hanbery Collection; Purchased from Frank Kovacs 1984.
The obverse features a wild boar - a popular image for coins struck on Lesbos - with his head lowered and about to charge. It is an attractive illustration that reflects the engraver's close attention to the natural world as well as his artistic stylization. The animal's crest is especially well executed and is reminiscent of the crests on contemporary hoplite helmets.
The reverse depiction of Athena is a wonderful example of the intricate - almost bordering on baroque- detail of which Archaic die-engravers were capable. The almond-shaped facing eye is clear and a primary indicator of the Archaic style, while the scrollwork on the bowl of the helmet seems to prefigure the palmette used on the goddess' helmet on Athenian tetradrachms in the fifth century BC. The Methymnian helmet is distinct in its use of a Pegasos decoration on the forehead. The winged horse may allude to Athena's use of the aegis - a goatskin shield adorned with the head of Medusa. The stare of Medusa was able to turn men into stone, but when she was killed and her head taken by the hero Perseus, she is said to have given birth to Pegasos and the hero Chrysaor in her death throes.
The Hanbery Collection; Purchased from Frank Kovacs 1984.
The obverse features a wild boar - a popular image for coins struck on Lesbos - with his head lowered and about to charge. It is an attractive illustration that reflects the engraver's close attention to the natural world as well as his artistic stylization. The animal's crest is especially well executed and is reminiscent of the crests on contemporary hoplite helmets.
The reverse depiction of Athena is a wonderful example of the intricate - almost bordering on baroque- detail of which Archaic die-engravers were capable. The almond-shaped facing eye is clear and a primary indicator of the Archaic style, while the scrollwork on the bowl of the helmet seems to prefigure the palmette used on the goddess' helmet on Athenian tetradrachms in the fifth century BC. The Methymnian helmet is distinct in its use of a Pegasos decoration on the forehead. The winged horse may allude to Athena's use of the aegis - a goatskin shield adorned with the head of Medusa. The stare of Medusa was able to turn men into stone, but when she was killed and her head taken by the hero Perseus, she is said to have given birth to Pegasos and the hero Chrysaor in her death throes.