Nomos AG
Auction 17 26 Oct 2018
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CYPRUS. Uncertain mint. Circa 480/475-460 BC. Stater (Silver, 22 mm, 11.45 g, 4 h). Land tortoise. Rev. Wild goat standing left, with tall curved horn and a long beard; above to right, ankh; all within a shallow incuse square with a dotted border. Unpublished and unknown, save for an inferior piece that appeared as lot 325 in Numismatica Ars Classica 106, 2018. Well-struck and toned. With a die break on the obverse and some rough areas, otherwise, very fine.
In a British collection prior to 2000, and probably acquired around the time the NAC example was purchased: December 1981.
The NAC cataloguer associated the tortoise on this coin with Aphrodite Ourania, a goddess much worshipped in Cyprus who was fond of tortoises (though it is unlikely that the tortoise here really is a symbol of Aphrodite). The goat and the ankh rather point to Salamis, or, perhaps, a nearby mint under Salaminian influence.
In a British collection prior to 2000, and probably acquired around the time the NAC example was purchased: December 1981.
The NAC cataloguer associated the tortoise on this coin with Aphrodite Ourania, a goddess much worshipped in Cyprus who was fond of tortoises (though it is unlikely that the tortoise here really is a symbol of Aphrodite). The goat and the ankh rather point to Salamis, or, perhaps, a nearby mint under Salaminian influence.