MESSENIA. Messene. Circa 180-150 B.C. Æ hemiobol or hexachalkon. 6.04 gm. 21 mm. Head of Demeter right, diademed and wreathed with barley / Zeus standing right, brandishing thunderbolt and holding eagle on his outstretched left arm; ME monogram over E IA downwards to left, tripod to right. BMC 33. Grandjean 352a (this coin, illustrated). Weber 4127 (this coin). BCD Peloponnesos 719 (this coin). Good Very Fine; finest style; beautiful green patina with areas of red. Rare.

Ex BCD Collection (LHS Numismatik AG Auction 96, 8 May 2006), lot 719.Ex Virgil M. Brand Collection (Sotheby's, 25 October 1984), lot 306.Ex Sir Hermann Weber Collection (Spink & Son, 1922-1929), acquired in Corfu in 1885, lot 4127.Includes copy of David Sear certificate of authenticity with historical notes.

Messene was an important city on the southwest Peloponnese dominated for centuries by Sparta. This coin is one of the finest known examples of this series.