Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 106 9-10 May 2018
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Cyprus, Uncertain mint. Siglos circa 480 BC, AR 9.81 g. Land tortoise. Rev. Goat standing l.; above, ankh. All within incuse square. Traité II –. BMC –. Tziambazis –.
Apparently unrecorded unique and unrecorded. An issue of tremendous
interest, surface somewhat corroded, otherwise very fine
Privately purchased from Spink & Sons in December 1981.
The tortoise on this stater may perhaps take some inspiration from the popular early trade coinage of Aegina, although the animal on staters of Aegina was a sea tortoise before 456/445 B.C. and this uncertain Cypriot stater seems to have been struck ca. 480 B.C. More probably, the land tortoise here is a reference to Aphrodite, the primary deity associated with the island of Cyprus. The tortoise was regularly associated with Aphrodite Ourania ("Heavenly Aphrodite"), a title often given to Near Eastern goddesses equated by the Greeks with Aphrodite. A famous cult statue of Aphrodite Ourania created by Pheidias for the temple of the goddess at Elis depicted Aphrodite standing with one foot on a tortoise. The goat reverse is unparalleled on Cypriot coins, although recumbent goats do occur on issues of Evagoras I of Salamis (ca. 412-387/6 B.C.). The ankh reflects the longstanding cultural and trade contacts between Egypt and Cyprus, but its unusual form with two crossbars is otherwise noted only on coins of Nikodamas of Salamis (ca. 460-450 B.C.). It is unclear whether these observations provide a basis for suggesting the possibility of Salamis as the issuing city. The dynasty of Evelthon that ruled Salamis in the first half of the fifth century regularly employed ram types for its coinage.
Apparently unrecorded unique and unrecorded. An issue of tremendous
interest, surface somewhat corroded, otherwise very fine
Privately purchased from Spink & Sons in December 1981.
The tortoise on this stater may perhaps take some inspiration from the popular early trade coinage of Aegina, although the animal on staters of Aegina was a sea tortoise before 456/445 B.C. and this uncertain Cypriot stater seems to have been struck ca. 480 B.C. More probably, the land tortoise here is a reference to Aphrodite, the primary deity associated with the island of Cyprus. The tortoise was regularly associated with Aphrodite Ourania ("Heavenly Aphrodite"), a title often given to Near Eastern goddesses equated by the Greeks with Aphrodite. A famous cult statue of Aphrodite Ourania created by Pheidias for the temple of the goddess at Elis depicted Aphrodite standing with one foot on a tortoise. The goat reverse is unparalleled on Cypriot coins, although recumbent goats do occur on issues of Evagoras I of Salamis (ca. 412-387/6 B.C.). The ankh reflects the longstanding cultural and trade contacts between Egypt and Cyprus, but its unusual form with two crossbars is otherwise noted only on coins of Nikodamas of Salamis (ca. 460-450 B.C.). It is unclear whether these observations provide a basis for suggesting the possibility of Salamis as the issuing city. The dynasty of Evelthon that ruled Salamis in the first half of the fifth century regularly employed ram types for its coinage.