Heritage World Coin Auctions
ANA Signature Sale 3075 15 Aug 2019
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Ancients
MACEDON. Acanthus. Ca. 470-430 BC. AR tetradrachm (28mm, 17.12 gm, 4h). NGC MS★ 5/5 - 4/5, Fine Style. Di-, magistrate. Lion springing right, biting into hind quarters of bull kneeling to left with head raised, ΔΙ engraved on hind; tunny fish left in exergue, thick beaded border / ΑΚΑ-Ν-ΘΙΟ-Ν in raised letters on incuse band, around raised quadripartite square, all within shallow incuse square. Desneux 103.
Of the Archaic Greek coinages, the imagery of Acanthus is among the most striking and influential, depicting a lion attacking a bull, a motif soon adopted by several other cities. Lions prowled the hinterlands of Thrace and Macedon in this era and Herodotus recounts an episode when the baggage train of the Persian King Xerxes's army was set upon by lions during its march from Asia Minor into Greece proper. This particular rendering of the life-and-death struggle is especially powerful, with its yin-yang juxtapositioning of the two animals struck in living high relief.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/greek/ancients-macedon-acanthus-ca-470-430-bc-ar-tetradrachm-28mm-1712-gm-4h-ngc-msand-9733-5-5-4-5-fine-style/a/3075-32011.s?type=CoinArchives3075
HID02906262019
© 2019 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 20000-30000 USD
MACEDON. Acanthus. Ca. 470-430 BC. AR tetradrachm (28mm, 17.12 gm, 4h). NGC MS★ 5/5 - 4/5, Fine Style. Di-, magistrate. Lion springing right, biting into hind quarters of bull kneeling to left with head raised, ΔΙ engraved on hind; tunny fish left in exergue, thick beaded border / ΑΚΑ-Ν-ΘΙΟ-Ν in raised letters on incuse band, around raised quadripartite square, all within shallow incuse square. Desneux 103.
Of the Archaic Greek coinages, the imagery of Acanthus is among the most striking and influential, depicting a lion attacking a bull, a motif soon adopted by several other cities. Lions prowled the hinterlands of Thrace and Macedon in this era and Herodotus recounts an episode when the baggage train of the Persian King Xerxes's army was set upon by lions during its march from Asia Minor into Greece proper. This particular rendering of the life-and-death struggle is especially powerful, with its yin-yang juxtapositioning of the two animals struck in living high relief.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/greek/ancients-macedon-acanthus-ca-470-430-bc-ar-tetradrachm-28mm-1712-gm-4h-ngc-msand-9733-5-5-4-5-fine-style/a/3075-32011.s?type=CoinArchives3075
HID02906262019
© 2019 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 20000-30000 USD