Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 116 1 Oct 2019
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Terone
Tetradrachm circa 490-480, AR 17.51 g. Wine-jug with two bunches of grapes at sides. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square. Traité pl. LII, 15. AMNG III, 2 and pl. XXII, 8. C.M. Kraay, NC 1954, 6. Hardwick, Essays Price 4, pl. 29 (this obverse die).
Very rare and undoubtedly among the finest specimens known. Struck on a very
broad flan and with a superb old cabinet tone, unobtrusive areas of oxidation
on reverse, otherwise extremely fine
Ex NFA XXII, 1989, 256 and New York XXVII, 2012, Prospero, 289 sales.
The archaic tetradrachms of Terone, a prosperous city in Chalcidice, rarely are encountered and so finely preserved that we may fully appreciate their design. Wine was one of the most important trade goods in the ancient Mediterranean world, and we have evidence of this from a myriad of archaeological, literary and art-historical sources. Though Terone must have been a significant producer of wine, we have no evidence of this beyond its coinage. This tetradrachm shows a pointed amphora which presumably was quite large and had a capacity of between 5 and 20 gallons. The contents of Terone's amphorae must have been wine, as vine-shoots with leaves and grape clusters adorn the neck of the vessel. A contemporary tetrobol of this city that shows Silenus holding an oenochoe from which he appears ready to drink only adds to the evidence that wine was the city's most valued export. Archaic Macedonian coins such as this are found throughout the eastern Mediterranean, notably in Egypt, the Levant and southern Asia Minor, which suggests Terone was known to a broad audience of international trade contacts.
Tetradrachm circa 490-480, AR 17.51 g. Wine-jug with two bunches of grapes at sides. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square. Traité pl. LII, 15. AMNG III, 2 and pl. XXII, 8. C.M. Kraay, NC 1954, 6. Hardwick, Essays Price 4, pl. 29 (this obverse die).
Very rare and undoubtedly among the finest specimens known. Struck on a very
broad flan and with a superb old cabinet tone, unobtrusive areas of oxidation
on reverse, otherwise extremely fine
Ex NFA XXII, 1989, 256 and New York XXVII, 2012, Prospero, 289 sales.
The archaic tetradrachms of Terone, a prosperous city in Chalcidice, rarely are encountered and so finely preserved that we may fully appreciate their design. Wine was one of the most important trade goods in the ancient Mediterranean world, and we have evidence of this from a myriad of archaeological, literary and art-historical sources. Though Terone must have been a significant producer of wine, we have no evidence of this beyond its coinage. This tetradrachm shows a pointed amphora which presumably was quite large and had a capacity of between 5 and 20 gallons. The contents of Terone's amphorae must have been wine, as vine-shoots with leaves and grape clusters adorn the neck of the vessel. A contemporary tetrobol of this city that shows Silenus holding an oenochoe from which he appears ready to drink only adds to the evidence that wine was the city's most valued export. Archaic Macedonian coins such as this are found throughout the eastern Mediterranean, notably in Egypt, the Levant and southern Asia Minor, which suggests Terone was known to a broad audience of international trade contacts.