Heritage World Coin Auctions
ANA Signature Sale 3066 17 Aug 2018
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SARONIC ISLANDS. Aegina. Ca. 480-457 BC. AR stater (21mm, 12.25 gm). NGC Choice AU ★ 5/5 - 5/5. Sea turtle, viewed from above, head turned sideways, with trefoil collar and row of five dots down center of shell / Large "skew pattern" incuse with five sunken compartments. HGC 6, 435. Meadows Group IIIa. Milbank pl. 1, 13. SNG Lockett 1970. Well-struck and preserved with matte surfaces and a halo of bright luster around the turtle.
The city of Aegina, located on the Saronic Gulf island of the same name, appears to have been the first European city to mint coins of any type, starting circa 550 BC. From earliest times, the maritime city placed a sea turtle on the obverse of its coins, with a simple abstract incuse punch on the reverse. These "turtles" soon circulated widely and impressed neighboring Athens enough that it began striking its own silver coins a few decades later. The sea turtle on Aeginetan coins underwent a slow evolution as the decades passed, with a brief divergence in the mid-sixth century of depicting a land tortoise with a segmented shell. This specimen represents the final form of the sea turtle circa 480-457 BC, after the Aeginetan navy distinguished itself at the Battle of Salamis. After about 450 BC the obverse type switched permanently to a land tortoise, perhaps reflecting the eclipse of Aegina's naval power by nearby Athens.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 8000-12000 USD
SARONIC ISLANDS. Aegina. Ca. 480-457 BC. AR stater (21mm, 12.25 gm). NGC Choice AU ★ 5/5 - 5/5. Sea turtle, viewed from above, head turned sideways, with trefoil collar and row of five dots down center of shell / Large "skew pattern" incuse with five sunken compartments. HGC 6, 435. Meadows Group IIIa. Milbank pl. 1, 13. SNG Lockett 1970. Well-struck and preserved with matte surfaces and a halo of bright luster around the turtle.
The city of Aegina, located on the Saronic Gulf island of the same name, appears to have been the first European city to mint coins of any type, starting circa 550 BC. From earliest times, the maritime city placed a sea turtle on the obverse of its coins, with a simple abstract incuse punch on the reverse. These "turtles" soon circulated widely and impressed neighboring Athens enough that it began striking its own silver coins a few decades later. The sea turtle on Aeginetan coins underwent a slow evolution as the decades passed, with a brief divergence in the mid-sixth century of depicting a land tortoise with a segmented shell. This specimen represents the final form of the sea turtle circa 480-457 BC, after the Aeginetan navy distinguished itself at the Battle of Salamis. After about 450 BC the obverse type switched permanently to a land tortoise, perhaps reflecting the eclipse of Aegina's naval power by nearby Athens.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 8000-12000 USD