Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 116 1 Oct 2019
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Islands off Thrace, Samothrace
Hemidrachm circa 500-475, AR 1.91 g. Sphinx seated l., raising r. foreleg. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square. Schwabacher, Transactions of the International Numismatic Congress London 1936, 110, 2 (this coin). IGCH 696 (this coin included). SNG Ashmolean 3638. SNG Lockett 1125.
Very rare and in an exceptional state of preservation. Perfectly struck and centred on a
full flan and with an exquisite old cabinet tone. Extremely fine
Ex Ars Classica XVI, 1933, 959; Leu 28, 1981, 59, DNW A10, 2011, 1011 sales. From the Kiourpet hoard found in 1930.
The island of Samothrace was named for its location off the coast of Thrace and its settlement by Samian colonists at the end of the eighth century BC. It became the center of a famous sanctuary and mystery cult of the Great Gods, deities often considered to be synonymous with the Kabeiroi. The latter were originally twin Anatolian gods who were absorbed into Greek and Thracian religions and often conflated with the Greek Dioskouroi, Kastor and Polydeukes. The Samothracian sanctuary of the Great Gods went on to enjoy patronage from Macedonian, Seleukid, and Ptolemaic kings as well as from Roman Emperors. Unfortunately, the meaning of the sphinx on Samothracian coins remains almost as mysterious as the religion practiced by the worshippers of the Great Gods on the island.
Hemidrachm circa 500-475, AR 1.91 g. Sphinx seated l., raising r. foreleg. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square. Schwabacher, Transactions of the International Numismatic Congress London 1936, 110, 2 (this coin). IGCH 696 (this coin included). SNG Ashmolean 3638. SNG Lockett 1125.
Very rare and in an exceptional state of preservation. Perfectly struck and centred on a
full flan and with an exquisite old cabinet tone. Extremely fine
Ex Ars Classica XVI, 1933, 959; Leu 28, 1981, 59, DNW A10, 2011, 1011 sales. From the Kiourpet hoard found in 1930.
The island of Samothrace was named for its location off the coast of Thrace and its settlement by Samian colonists at the end of the eighth century BC. It became the center of a famous sanctuary and mystery cult of the Great Gods, deities often considered to be synonymous with the Kabeiroi. The latter were originally twin Anatolian gods who were absorbed into Greek and Thracian religions and often conflated with the Greek Dioskouroi, Kastor and Polydeukes. The Samothracian sanctuary of the Great Gods went on to enjoy patronage from Macedonian, Seleukid, and Ptolemaic kings as well as from Roman Emperors. Unfortunately, the meaning of the sphinx on Samothracian coins remains almost as mysterious as the religion practiced by the worshippers of the Great Gods on the island.