Heritage World Coin Auctions
ANA Signature Sale 3066 17 Aug 2018
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Ancients
LYDIAN KINGDOM. Alyattes or Walwet (ca. 610-561 BC). EL sixth stater or hecte (10mm, 2.32 gm). NGC Choice XF 5/5 - 4/5. Lydo-Milesian standard. Sardes (?) mint. Confronting lion's heads; WALWET (in Lydian script) between / Two incuse square punches side-by-side. Weidauer Group XVII, 103. Ochre flan with toning around the devices and matte surfaces.
Known examples of electrum coins inscribed in the name of the Lydian king Alyattes (rendered WALWET in Lydian script) were in the single digits until recently, when several examples appeared on the market. They remain rare and are certainly among the first coins in history to carry an inscription along with a "type." The dies of third staters (trites) and sixth staters (like this specimen) were engraved with two confronting lion heads with the Lydian legend between them; however, the flans are invariably too small to show both heads. Only a tiny number possess an inscription as complete as the one seen here, with nearly all letters present.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 6000-8000 USD
LYDIAN KINGDOM. Alyattes or Walwet (ca. 610-561 BC). EL sixth stater or hecte (10mm, 2.32 gm). NGC Choice XF 5/5 - 4/5. Lydo-Milesian standard. Sardes (?) mint. Confronting lion's heads; WALWET (in Lydian script) between / Two incuse square punches side-by-side. Weidauer Group XVII, 103. Ochre flan with toning around the devices and matte surfaces.
Known examples of electrum coins inscribed in the name of the Lydian king Alyattes (rendered WALWET in Lydian script) were in the single digits until recently, when several examples appeared on the market. They remain rare and are certainly among the first coins in history to carry an inscription along with a "type." The dies of third staters (trites) and sixth staters (like this specimen) were engraved with two confronting lion heads with the Lydian legend between them; however, the flans are invariably too small to show both heads. Only a tiny number possess an inscription as complete as the one seen here, with nearly all letters present.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 6000-8000 USD