Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XIII 23 March 2017
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Karia, uncertain mint AR Trite. Circa 500 BC. Forepart of lion with open jaws standing left before sunburst; in front, forepart of boar with legs extended left / Irregular rough incuse markings. Cf. Roma Numismatics III, 287 (stater). 3.36g, 15mm.
Unpublished and Unique.
The ancient district of Karia in south-western Anatolia was one of the most thoroughly Hellenized areas in Asia Minor, with Greek cities along its Aegean coast; a mountainous interior surrounded by Ionia, Lydia, Phrygia and Lykia was populated by the non-Greek Karians, mentioned by Homer (Iliad 2.867ff) who considered themselves autochthonous, formerly calling themselves Leleges - the pre-Hellenic population of the Aegean who inhabited its islands and served in the navy of Minos. They claimed kinship with the Lydians and Mysians, with whom they shared a common worship. By 546, under Cyrus II the Great, most of Asia Minor was incorporated into the Achaemenid empire and Karia was placed under Lydian satrapy. However, the region was allowed the freedom to trade so long as it paid tribute to Persia.
Electrum and silver coinage had already been circulating in Ionia and Lydia for at least one hundred years on various weight standards. This Karian coin seems to be on the Persian silver standard, theoretically about 10.9 to 11.2 grams, struck just before or at the time of the Ionian revolt (499-494), in which the Karians took part.
The iconography used by its issuing authority seems to have been stylistically influenced by the uncertain mint Karian mainland lion/incuse staters (ACGC 99; Traité II 1, 735 pl. 19, 11; SNG von Aulock 2077; 284, 13; BMC Ionia, pl. 21, 1) on the Aeginetan silver standard of about 12.2 grams, and the lion/incuse staters (ACGC 100; Rosen coll. 613; SNG Kayhan 930; SNG Keckman 64 [Kaunos] also on the Persian standard).
This remarkable new addition to the archaic coinage of western Anatolia (a word symbolically suggesting "east" or "[sun]rise") depicts a totally original scene: a lion and a boar facing left before a sunburst. In myth the lion has always been associated with the sun and it was believed to be able to gaze at the sun without blinking, as can be seen on the electrum 1/3 staters (trites) attributed to Alyattes; Weidauer group XV, 63-75; ATEC group d, 14-25), which are characterized by a sunburst on the forehead of the lion. The boar is a primordial symbol of strength, fearless aggression and resolute courage, whose ferocity aroused fear, admiration and reverence amongst the peoples of Anatolia. It was the slayer of Adonis and an attribute of Demeter, goddess of the earth and of fertility. Both these symbols were widely used as coin types throughout Ionia, Lydia, Lykia and the Aegean islands.
Unpublished and Unique.
The ancient district of Karia in south-western Anatolia was one of the most thoroughly Hellenized areas in Asia Minor, with Greek cities along its Aegean coast; a mountainous interior surrounded by Ionia, Lydia, Phrygia and Lykia was populated by the non-Greek Karians, mentioned by Homer (Iliad 2.867ff) who considered themselves autochthonous, formerly calling themselves Leleges - the pre-Hellenic population of the Aegean who inhabited its islands and served in the navy of Minos. They claimed kinship with the Lydians and Mysians, with whom they shared a common worship. By 546, under Cyrus II the Great, most of Asia Minor was incorporated into the Achaemenid empire and Karia was placed under Lydian satrapy. However, the region was allowed the freedom to trade so long as it paid tribute to Persia.
Electrum and silver coinage had already been circulating in Ionia and Lydia for at least one hundred years on various weight standards. This Karian coin seems to be on the Persian silver standard, theoretically about 10.9 to 11.2 grams, struck just before or at the time of the Ionian revolt (499-494), in which the Karians took part.
The iconography used by its issuing authority seems to have been stylistically influenced by the uncertain mint Karian mainland lion/incuse staters (ACGC 99; Traité II 1, 735 pl. 19, 11; SNG von Aulock 2077; 284, 13; BMC Ionia, pl. 21, 1) on the Aeginetan silver standard of about 12.2 grams, and the lion/incuse staters (ACGC 100; Rosen coll. 613; SNG Kayhan 930; SNG Keckman 64 [Kaunos] also on the Persian standard).
This remarkable new addition to the archaic coinage of western Anatolia (a word symbolically suggesting "east" or "[sun]rise") depicts a totally original scene: a lion and a boar facing left before a sunburst. In myth the lion has always been associated with the sun and it was believed to be able to gaze at the sun without blinking, as can be seen on the electrum 1/3 staters (trites) attributed to Alyattes; Weidauer group XV, 63-75; ATEC group d, 14-25), which are characterized by a sunburst on the forehead of the lion. The boar is a primordial symbol of strength, fearless aggression and resolute courage, whose ferocity aroused fear, admiration and reverence amongst the peoples of Anatolia. It was the slayer of Adonis and an attribute of Demeter, goddess of the earth and of fertility. Both these symbols were widely used as coin types throughout Ionia, Lydia, Lykia and the Aegean islands.