Heritage World Coin Auctions
NYINC Signature Sale 3061 7-8 Jan 2018
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Ancients
SARMATIA. Olbia. Ca. 350-300 BC. AR stater (24mm, 12.71 gm, 2h). NGC AU 5/5 - 3/5. Head of Demeter left, wreathed in grain ears and wearing pearl necklace / OΛBIO, sea eagle standing to left on dolphin, wings spread and head right. SNG Stancomb 361 (same obverse die). SNG BM Black Sea 436. Extremely rare and almost never encountered! Dark gray "find patina" intact.
The remote Greco-Scythian trading post city of Olbia on the Black Sea boasts the rare feat of having successfully resisted conquest by a general of Alexander the Great. In the period of 331-328 BC, while Alexander was busy conquering Persia and Bactria, a Macedonian army under the command of the general Zopyrion marched north and placed Olbia under siege, looking to force its submission to Macedonian rule. The Olbians successfully resisted until a winter storm wrecked the Macedonian supply fleet and forced Zopyrion and his army to withdraw. On the march back, Zopyrion and thousands more Macedonians were picked off by Scythian raiders. Olbia's independence survived and it went on to great prosperity in the Hellenistic era.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 7500-9500 USD
SARMATIA. Olbia. Ca. 350-300 BC. AR stater (24mm, 12.71 gm, 2h). NGC AU 5/5 - 3/5. Head of Demeter left, wreathed in grain ears and wearing pearl necklace / OΛBIO, sea eagle standing to left on dolphin, wings spread and head right. SNG Stancomb 361 (same obverse die). SNG BM Black Sea 436. Extremely rare and almost never encountered! Dark gray "find patina" intact.
The remote Greco-Scythian trading post city of Olbia on the Black Sea boasts the rare feat of having successfully resisted conquest by a general of Alexander the Great. In the period of 331-328 BC, while Alexander was busy conquering Persia and Bactria, a Macedonian army under the command of the general Zopyrion marched north and placed Olbia under siege, looking to force its submission to Macedonian rule. The Olbians successfully resisted until a winter storm wrecked the Macedonian supply fleet and forced Zopyrion and his army to withdraw. On the march back, Zopyrion and thousands more Macedonians were picked off by Scythian raiders. Olbia's independence survived and it went on to great prosperity in the Hellenistic era.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 7500-9500 USD