Leu Numismatik AG
Auction 7 24-25 Oct 2020
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CARIA. Uncertain. Circa 500-480 BC. Stater (Silver, 21 mm, 9.26 g). Donkey walking left. Rev. Sevenpartite rectangular incuse containing plant with six leaves around central stalk. Asyut -. BMC -. BMFA -. Müseler -. Rosen -. SNG Copenhagen -. SNG Kayhan -. SNG von Aulock -. Apparently unpublished and unique, a very interesting issue. Test cut on the obverse, otherwise, very fine.
Exactly where this enigmatic and charming coin was struck is unclear. It shows, on the obverse, a donkey walking left, whereas the reverse depicts a sevenpartite rectangular incuse with six leaves arranged around a central stalk. Style and fabric point towards a mint in southwestern Asia Minor, likely Caria, but the types are without parallels. The reverse in particular is highly unusual - perhaps the inspiration came from the staters of Kamiros, which show a fig leaf on the obverse, while the reverse is composed of a rectangular incuse divided lengthwise by a central band? The spiky leaves on our coin, however, are certainly not those of a fig tree, rather, perhaps, from a thistle, and their inclusion into a multipartite incuse is quite extraordinary. The obverse type, on the other hand, is somewhat reminiscent of the early Mende tetradrachms, but the rendering of the donkey differs significantly and is more in line with the beautiful electrum stater offered in NAC 92 (2016), 199. Finally, the weight is lower than contemporary Carian staters and more align with Lycian issues, but other than that, it clearly shares no similarity to the early Lycian coinage. All in all, a Carian origin of the coin is perhaps the most likely, but such an attribution must remain tentative for the time being. We are, thus, left with an enigma, albeit an adorable one, as the donkey on the obverse is undoubtedly among the most charming renderings of an animal on any Archaic silver coin.
Exactly where this enigmatic and charming coin was struck is unclear. It shows, on the obverse, a donkey walking left, whereas the reverse depicts a sevenpartite rectangular incuse with six leaves arranged around a central stalk. Style and fabric point towards a mint in southwestern Asia Minor, likely Caria, but the types are without parallels. The reverse in particular is highly unusual - perhaps the inspiration came from the staters of Kamiros, which show a fig leaf on the obverse, while the reverse is composed of a rectangular incuse divided lengthwise by a central band? The spiky leaves on our coin, however, are certainly not those of a fig tree, rather, perhaps, from a thistle, and their inclusion into a multipartite incuse is quite extraordinary. The obverse type, on the other hand, is somewhat reminiscent of the early Mende tetradrachms, but the rendering of the donkey differs significantly and is more in line with the beautiful electrum stater offered in NAC 92 (2016), 199. Finally, the weight is lower than contemporary Carian staters and more align with Lycian issues, but other than that, it clearly shares no similarity to the early Lycian coinage. All in all, a Carian origin of the coin is perhaps the most likely, but such an attribution must remain tentative for the time being. We are, thus, left with an enigma, albeit an adorable one, as the donkey on the obverse is undoubtedly among the most charming renderings of an animal on any Archaic silver coin.