Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 124 23 Jun 2021
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Phistelia.
Didrachm circa 405-400, AR 7.39 g. Female head facing three-quarters r. Rev. 8ISTLVS Man-headed bull advancing l.; in exergue, dolphin l. Sambon p. 332, 828 (drawing). SNG ANS 564. Rutter 5. Historia Numorum Italy 611.
Very rare and in exceptional condition for the issue, among the finest specimens known.
A very interesting portrait perfectly struck and centred on a full flan, lovely old
cabinet tone and about extremely fine
Ex Hess-Leu 36, 1968, 9; M&M 68, 1986, 5 and New York XXVII, 2012, Prospero, 10 sales.
Little is known about Phistelia beyond that it was a native Oscan city of Campania that struck a coinage in its own name in the fifth century BC. Despite the Italic ethnicity of the city, the coinage of Phistelia illustrates the strong influence of Greek art and culture. The three-quarters facing female head on this well-preserved didrachm is derived from a slightly earlier didrachm issue of Neapolis (HN Italy 553)-the preeminent Greek mint city in the region in the fifth century BC. The man-faced bull on the reverse represents the Greek river-god Acheloos. He is depicted in this peculiar manner in part because during a wrestling match with Heracles, Acheloos attempted to escape the hold of his opponent by changing his shape, first into that of a serpent and then into that of a bull. Acheloos was finally defeated when Herakles tore off one of his horns. This horn subsequently became the miraculous cornucopia (horn of plenty), which had the power to constantly fill itself with food. Although Acheloos was a river-god specific to the region of Aitolia in mainland Greece, he was considered to be the father and source of all rivers everywhere in the world. He was popular in Sicily and especially Campania, where the god virtually served as the civic badge of Neapolis. In the fifth century BC, the man-faced bull type also appeared on didrachms of the Campanians of Cumae, Allifae, Hyria, and Nola, all of which may have been struck at Neapolis for the use of these various Campanian cities and peoples. It is unclear whether the use of the man-faced bull may have served to represent Neapolis as the mint responsible for production or if it may reflect some form of economic alliance among the cities and peoples of Campania or even the political domination of Neapolis in the region. At the same time that the types advertise the deep influence of Greek artistic culture in Campania, the reverse legend is strictly indigenous in origin. It gives the name of the city written using the Oscan alphabet. This script, which was ultimately derived from the archaic Etruscan alphabet in the seventh century BC, had been modified to reflect the phonemes of the Oscan language by the fifth century BC.
Didrachm circa 405-400, AR 7.39 g. Female head facing three-quarters r. Rev. 8ISTLVS Man-headed bull advancing l.; in exergue, dolphin l. Sambon p. 332, 828 (drawing). SNG ANS 564. Rutter 5. Historia Numorum Italy 611.
Very rare and in exceptional condition for the issue, among the finest specimens known.
A very interesting portrait perfectly struck and centred on a full flan, lovely old
cabinet tone and about extremely fine
Ex Hess-Leu 36, 1968, 9; M&M 68, 1986, 5 and New York XXVII, 2012, Prospero, 10 sales.
Little is known about Phistelia beyond that it was a native Oscan city of Campania that struck a coinage in its own name in the fifth century BC. Despite the Italic ethnicity of the city, the coinage of Phistelia illustrates the strong influence of Greek art and culture. The three-quarters facing female head on this well-preserved didrachm is derived from a slightly earlier didrachm issue of Neapolis (HN Italy 553)-the preeminent Greek mint city in the region in the fifth century BC. The man-faced bull on the reverse represents the Greek river-god Acheloos. He is depicted in this peculiar manner in part because during a wrestling match with Heracles, Acheloos attempted to escape the hold of his opponent by changing his shape, first into that of a serpent and then into that of a bull. Acheloos was finally defeated when Herakles tore off one of his horns. This horn subsequently became the miraculous cornucopia (horn of plenty), which had the power to constantly fill itself with food. Although Acheloos was a river-god specific to the region of Aitolia in mainland Greece, he was considered to be the father and source of all rivers everywhere in the world. He was popular in Sicily and especially Campania, where the god virtually served as the civic badge of Neapolis. In the fifth century BC, the man-faced bull type also appeared on didrachms of the Campanians of Cumae, Allifae, Hyria, and Nola, all of which may have been struck at Neapolis for the use of these various Campanian cities and peoples. It is unclear whether the use of the man-faced bull may have served to represent Neapolis as the mint responsible for production or if it may reflect some form of economic alliance among the cities and peoples of Campania or even the political domination of Neapolis in the region. At the same time that the types advertise the deep influence of Greek artistic culture in Campania, the reverse legend is strictly indigenous in origin. It gives the name of the city written using the Oscan alphabet. This script, which was ultimately derived from the archaic Etruscan alphabet in the seventh century BC, had been modified to reflect the phonemes of the Oscan language by the fifth century BC.