ISLANDS OFF SICILY. Lipara. Circa 440-420 B.C. Æ hexas. 15.92 gm. 24 mm. Bearded head of Hephaistos right, wearing a pilos / ΑΙΠ, two pellets (mark of value) above and below. SNG Morcom (Western Greek Bronze coins) 862. Calciati 6/2 (I:10). HGC 2, 1763. SNG Copenhagen 1087. SNG ANS -. Good Fine; well struck, smooth green patina, an attractive example of this fascinating issue. Rare.

With IAPN IBSCC (International Bureau for the Suppression of Counterfeit Coins) Certificate of Authenticity.

Lipara is the largest of the Aeolian Islands off the northern coast of Sicily on the way to Italy. Aiolis is the Greek god of the winds, probably the son of Hippotes who is mentioned in the Odyssey and Aeneid as the Keeper of the Winds, and he reputedly lived on Lipara, the most important of the islands. The pilos was associated with the freeing of slaves, who wore it upon their liberation.