Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Triton XXIV 19-20 Jan 2021
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SICILY, Leontini. Circa 420-415 BC. AR Tetradrachm (25mm, 17.47 g, 12h). Head of Apollo right, wearing laurel wreath / Head of roaring lion right; LEON-T-IN-O-N and three barley grains around; below, fish right. Boehringer, Münzgeschichte 66 (same dies as illustration); HGC 2, 676 (same dies as illustration); SNG ANS 253 (same rev. die); SNG Lloyd –; McClean 2342 (same dies); Rizzo pl. XXIV, 13 (this coin). Attractive old cabinet tone with golden hues, minor flan flaw on reverse. EF. Struck from artistic dies. Extremely rare and the finest known.
Ex Baron Lorne Thyssen-Bornemisza & Dr. Thomas S. Kaplan Joint Collection (Numismatica Genevensis SA IX, 14 December 2015), lot 11; Numismatica Ars Classica 8 (3 April 1995), lot 137; R.A. von Every Collection (Leu 15, 4 May 1976), lot 82; Münzen und Medaillen AG 28 (19 June 1964), lot 50; Naville XVII (3 October 1934), lot 167.
This tetradrachm, executed by an unknown artist, displays all of the craft of a master engraver. In evidence of his exceptional artistic skill, and as often found with the master celators of Sicily during the Classical period, this engraver's work can be found at other mints, such as Katane (cf. Boehringer pl. 13, D). Here at Leontini, his rendition of Apollo displays an economy and delicate balance with an attention to youthful perfection that belies the awesome power of the god, while, at the same time, places him within the context of humanity (unlike other examples), suggesting some living model. On the reverse, the bold and vigorous depiction of the lion conveys both the beast's raw internal power and its external adherence to classical proportion, a balance between the wild and the cultivated that epitomizes the Classical ideal.
Ex Baron Lorne Thyssen-Bornemisza & Dr. Thomas S. Kaplan Joint Collection (Numismatica Genevensis SA IX, 14 December 2015), lot 11; Numismatica Ars Classica 8 (3 April 1995), lot 137; R.A. von Every Collection (Leu 15, 4 May 1976), lot 82; Münzen und Medaillen AG 28 (19 June 1964), lot 50; Naville XVII (3 October 1934), lot 167.
This tetradrachm, executed by an unknown artist, displays all of the craft of a master engraver. In evidence of his exceptional artistic skill, and as often found with the master celators of Sicily during the Classical period, this engraver's work can be found at other mints, such as Katane (cf. Boehringer pl. 13, D). Here at Leontini, his rendition of Apollo displays an economy and delicate balance with an attention to youthful perfection that belies the awesome power of the god, while, at the same time, places him within the context of humanity (unlike other examples), suggesting some living model. On the reverse, the bold and vigorous depiction of the lion conveys both the beast's raw internal power and its external adherence to classical proportion, a balance between the wild and the cultivated that epitomizes the Classical ideal.