Leu Numismatik AG
Auction 7 24-25 Oct 2020
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KINGS OF ARMENIA MINOR. Mithradates, circa 180s-170s BC. Chalkous (Bronze, 11 mm, 1.00 g, 8 h). Draped bust of Mithradates to left, bearded and wearing upright bashlyk tied with a diadem. Rev. Griffin springing left. Kovacs -. Unpublished and unique, and of great importance. Good very fine.
From an important collection of Armenian coins.
While the coinage of Mithradates is, as this catalogue shows, particularly diverse, this coin is perhaps the most unexpected discovery: it shows a griffin on the reverse! The type was perhaps copied from Greek issues in western Asia Minor, but it is worth noting that the griffin, a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle, appears in ancient Iranian (and Egyptian) art as early as the 4th millennium BC.
From an important collection of Armenian coins.
While the coinage of Mithradates is, as this catalogue shows, particularly diverse, this coin is perhaps the most unexpected discovery: it shows a griffin on the reverse! The type was perhaps copied from Greek issues in western Asia Minor, but it is worth noting that the griffin, a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle, appears in ancient Iranian (and Egyptian) art as early as the 4th millennium BC.