Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 116 1 Oct 2019
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The Cyclades, Tenos
Tetradrachm circa 260-240, AR 13.10 g. Laureate head of Apollo Carneios r. Rev. ΤΗΝΙΩΝ Poseidon on throne l., holding dolphin on outstretched r. hand and trident in l.; in l. field, bunch of grapes. Gillet 1042 (this coin). F. Imhoof Blumer, Griechischen Münzen, NC 1895, pl. 10, 9 var. (monogram below the throne). É&A-G 102.
Of the highest rarity, only five specimens recorded. Pleasant old
cabinet tone and about extremely fine
Ex Ars Classica XVI, 1933, Spencer-Churchill, 1315; M&M 76, 1981, Boutin, 801; Auctiones 24, 1994, 273; M&M 85, 1997, 103; M&M 95, 2004, 41 and Nomos 3, 2011, 105 sales. From the Carystus hoard of 1930 (IGCH 210) and the Charles Gillet collection.
Although it is struck to a much lower weight standard than the Attic, this tetradrachm derives its types from two of the most widely recognized Attic-weight coinages of the third century BC. The reverse type depicts Poseidon holding a dolphin and trident, but his enthroned figure is clearly a modified version of the Zeus who graced the reverse of tetradrachms struck both during the lifetime and after the death of Alexander the Great. Here Zeus has essentially been turned into Poseidon by the replacement of his usual eagle with a dolphin and the substitution of his scepter with a trident. Likewise, while the laurel wreath worn by the youthful horned head on the obverse signals a representation of Apollo Karneios, the model for the head is clearly that of Alexander the Great with the horn of Ammon found on tetradrachms initially struck by Lysimachos in 297/6 BC. Even the anastole hairstyle typical of the Alexander portraits remains visible here at the same time that the head is supposed to be read as Apollo Karneios. This issue of Tenos, perhaps above all others of the third century BC, illustrates how strongly the coinage of Alexander the Great and Lysimachos influenced the civic coinages that evolved in the decades that followed their deaths. While influenced by some of the most common and widespread coinages of the Hellenistic age, the present tetradrachm of Tenos is actually one of the rarest in coinage struck by cities of the Cyclades.
Tetradrachm circa 260-240, AR 13.10 g. Laureate head of Apollo Carneios r. Rev. ΤΗΝΙΩΝ Poseidon on throne l., holding dolphin on outstretched r. hand and trident in l.; in l. field, bunch of grapes. Gillet 1042 (this coin). F. Imhoof Blumer, Griechischen Münzen, NC 1895, pl. 10, 9 var. (monogram below the throne). É&A-G 102.
Of the highest rarity, only five specimens recorded. Pleasant old
cabinet tone and about extremely fine
Ex Ars Classica XVI, 1933, Spencer-Churchill, 1315; M&M 76, 1981, Boutin, 801; Auctiones 24, 1994, 273; M&M 85, 1997, 103; M&M 95, 2004, 41 and Nomos 3, 2011, 105 sales. From the Carystus hoard of 1930 (IGCH 210) and the Charles Gillet collection.
Although it is struck to a much lower weight standard than the Attic, this tetradrachm derives its types from two of the most widely recognized Attic-weight coinages of the third century BC. The reverse type depicts Poseidon holding a dolphin and trident, but his enthroned figure is clearly a modified version of the Zeus who graced the reverse of tetradrachms struck both during the lifetime and after the death of Alexander the Great. Here Zeus has essentially been turned into Poseidon by the replacement of his usual eagle with a dolphin and the substitution of his scepter with a trident. Likewise, while the laurel wreath worn by the youthful horned head on the obverse signals a representation of Apollo Karneios, the model for the head is clearly that of Alexander the Great with the horn of Ammon found on tetradrachms initially struck by Lysimachos in 297/6 BC. Even the anastole hairstyle typical of the Alexander portraits remains visible here at the same time that the head is supposed to be read as Apollo Karneios. This issue of Tenos, perhaps above all others of the third century BC, illustrates how strongly the coinage of Alexander the Great and Lysimachos influenced the civic coinages that evolved in the decades that followed their deaths. While influenced by some of the most common and widespread coinages of the Hellenistic age, the present tetradrachm of Tenos is actually one of the rarest in coinage struck by cities of the Cyclades.