Nomos AG
Auction 17 26 Oct 2018
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IONIA. Erythrai. Circa 550-500 BC. Hekte (Electrum, 10 mm, 2.62 g), c. 550/540. Head of Herakles to left, with an almond-shaped frontal eye, and wearing lion's skin headdress with three rays above the lion's eye.Rev. Quadripartite incuse square. Cf. Boston MFA 1806–7, SNG Kayhan 737–8, and SNG von Aulock 1942, but all without rays on the obverse. Perfectly centered. A very rare variety with the rays on the obverse. About extremely fine.
Ex Classical Numismatic Group, eSale 393, 15 March 2017, 131.
The hektai of Erythrai, with their appealing heads of Herakles, are basically common enough now, but this variety is actually very rare. What we have is a lion's skin headdress that appears to have been taken from the lion that appears on the hektai of Alyattes of Lydia! This is because of the rays that appear above the lion's eye, which are just like those on the Lydian lions. This, as does Herakles' distinctly almond-shaped eye, suggests that this coin must date to the very start of the series.
Ex Classical Numismatic Group, eSale 393, 15 March 2017, 131.
The hektai of Erythrai, with their appealing heads of Herakles, are basically common enough now, but this variety is actually very rare. What we have is a lion's skin headdress that appears to have been taken from the lion that appears on the hektai of Alyattes of Lydia! This is because of the rays that appear above the lion's eye, which are just like those on the Lydian lions. This, as does Herakles' distinctly almond-shaped eye, suggests that this coin must date to the very start of the series.