Ira and Larry Goldberg Auctioneers
Auction 96 14-15 February 2017
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Cyprus, Salamis. Evagoras I. Silver Stater (10.53 g), ca. 411-374 BC. 'Euagoro' (Cypriot), head of Herakles to right, wearing lion's skin headress. Reverse: 'Basileus' (combined Cypriot and Greek letters), ibex recumbent right on dotted ground line; above, barley corn; to right, two letters. Masson & Amandry 36, II.B.c.1; de Hirsch 1614. Very Rare. Light grey toning. Virtually as struck. Superb Extremely Fine. Estimate Value $3,000 - UP
From the Hanbery Collection; Purchased privately from F. Kovacs in 1991.
Like most coins struck on Cyprus during the Classical period, this stater carries inscriptions written in the local Cypriot syllabic script, rather than any of the familiar Greek alphabetic scripts. Although the legends name Evagoras I on the obverse and give his royal title (Basileus) in a Greek dialect known as Arkadocypriot on the reverse, they are expressed using a series of glyphs representing syllables rather than individual letters. The Cypriot syllabic script evolved from the Linear B script of the Bronze Age Mycenaeans and the time of Schliemann's Trojan War. While this coin is traditional in its use of the ibex badge of Salamis on the reverse and the retention of the syllabic script, Evagoras also began to issue coins that also included abbreviated legends in alphabetic Greek. For initiating this process of "modernization" and introducing other aspects of mainstream Greek culture to Salamis, he was praised as a model ruler by the Athenian orator Isokrates. Evagoras I marked the beginning of the end for Cypriot syllabic writing. By the late third century BC it had all but vanished.
From the Hanbery Collection; Purchased privately from F. Kovacs in 1991.
Like most coins struck on Cyprus during the Classical period, this stater carries inscriptions written in the local Cypriot syllabic script, rather than any of the familiar Greek alphabetic scripts. Although the legends name Evagoras I on the obverse and give his royal title (Basileus) in a Greek dialect known as Arkadocypriot on the reverse, they are expressed using a series of glyphs representing syllables rather than individual letters. The Cypriot syllabic script evolved from the Linear B script of the Bronze Age Mycenaeans and the time of Schliemann's Trojan War. While this coin is traditional in its use of the ibex badge of Salamis on the reverse and the retention of the syllabic script, Evagoras also began to issue coins that also included abbreviated legends in alphabetic Greek. For initiating this process of "modernization" and introducing other aspects of mainstream Greek culture to Salamis, he was praised as a model ruler by the Athenian orator Isokrates. Evagoras I marked the beginning of the end for Cypriot syllabic writing. By the late third century BC it had all but vanished.