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Lansky Auction 2 6 Jul 2020
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Macedon. Amyntas III. Aigai. 381-369 BC. AR Stater (9.96g, 12h). AMNG 6; Regling 694. Attractively toned. Perfectly centered and struck. A coin of great interest and fascination. Choice extremely fine. From a European private collection; Frank Sternberg 1988 (21) lot 65
The designs are usually interpreted together, as showing a rider and his quarry, a lion. But the lion holds a broken spear in his mouth, and so can be identified as the Nemean lion, which was impervious to weapons. The defeat of the Nemean lion was one of the labours of Herakles and the type can therefore be seen as an allusion to the claim of the Macedonian kings to be descended from Herakles.
The designs are usually interpreted together, as showing a rider and his quarry, a lion. But the lion holds a broken spear in his mouth, and so can be identified as the Nemean lion, which was impervious to weapons. The defeat of the Nemean lion was one of the labours of Herakles and the type can therefore be seen as an allusion to the claim of the Macedonian kings to be descended from Herakles.