Watch List notes:

Syracuse, dekadrachm by Kimon, c. 405-400 BC, fast quadriga driven left by charioteer who holds goad over horses in extended right hand and reins in left; above, Nike flies to crown him; below, in exergual area, arranged on two steps are a panoply of arms below which, ΑΘΛΑ; on exergual line faint traces of the signature ΚΙΜΩΝ, rev., [ΣΥΡΑΚΟΣΙΩ], head of Arethusa left, her hair in ampyx and held in net, wearing single-drop earring and pearl necklace; Κ on ampyx; four dolphins around (one off flan) with the lower one bearing the signature ΚΙΜΩ[Ν], 43.36g, die axis 11.00 (Jongkees 3p, this coin; Rizzo pl. LII, 3, same dies; SNG Lockett 998, same dies), about extremely fine and rare, formerly in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. Provenance: Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris (published by J. De Foville, Choix des monnaies grecques du Cabinet de France, RN 1913, pl. I, 173); Münzen und Medaillen XXV, 17 November 1962, lot 419; Denyse Bérend collection (before 1985); exhibited at the Edward Merrin Gallery, New York, 1985; Morton & Eden 66, 7 November 2013, lot 340. In the 1962 Münzen und Medaillen sale this coin was described as Chef-d'œuvre du célèbre graveur syracusain et peut-être sa creation la plus attachante – Superbe. It is struck from the dies which are signed three times by the artist, once on the obverse and twice on the reverse. The purpose of this issue is thought to be in celebration of the famous Syracusan victory over the Carthaginians in 405 BC and Kimon's brief coinage was followed by the much larger issue of decadrachms by Euainetos which extend into the early 4th century BC.
(40000-60000 GBP)