Watch List notes:

Ionia, Miletos, electrum stater, 600-550 BC, two lion's heads back to back and seen from above, rev., three individually applied incuse punches, 14.20g, partly weak on obverse, very fine and extremely rare. References: Weidauer 156; Traité 27, pl. 1, 21; Kraay/Hirmer pl. 177, 588; SNG Kayhan 706. Provenance: Gemini & Heritage, Auction VIII, Chicago, 14 April 2011, lot 74. Note: The attribution of mint locations to the earliest of Greek coins, as here, is difficult but on the basis that later coins of Miletos feature a lion's head and that the weight standard employed is Milesian point to the likelihood that this coin emanates from that mint. At this early date no ethnic has developed and the incuse punches on the reverse were individually applied. They pre-date or overlap with the Lydian coinage attributed to Croesus who introduced the first pure gold coins, dispensing with the naturally occurring electrum alloy. (20000 - 30000 GBP)