Leu Numismatik AG
Web Auction 17 14-16 Aug 2021
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AEOLIS. Demetreion (?). Circa 450-400 BC. Hemiobol (Silver, 8 mm, 0.37 g, 1 h). ΔHMH-TP[IO] Head of a horse to right. Rev. Head of a nymph to right within square incuse. Cf. AMNG III, 2, p. 146, 14 and Pl. XXXVI, 20 (oktobol with a walking horse, described as 'Thraco-Macedonian dynast Demetrios'). Cf. Gorny & Mosch 228 (2015), 62 (diobol, described as 'uncertain Thracian dynast Demetrios'). Leu Web Auction 13 (2020), 301 corr. (reverse legend). Naumann E-Auction 30 (2015), 15 ('Greek uncertain'). Naumann E-Auction 53 (2017), 108 ('Asia uncertain'). Very rare and of great interest. Very fine.
See the note in Web Auction 13 (2020), 301. The coins described by Imhoof-Blumer and offered in Gorny & Mosch 228 clearly belong to the same issue as the small hemioboloi. The erudite scholar's suggestion to attribute this issue to an unknown Thraco-Macedonian dynast named Demetrios is a tempting idea, however, two observations speak against this. Firstly, Imhoof-Blumer's argument that the legend ending on O instead of Ω, as would be expected for an ethnic, points towards a name of a ruler, not a place, is not valid for Classic Greek of the 5th century BC. At this time, declinations were not yet canonical and ethnics ending on O[N] (such ΣYRΑΚΟΣΙΟΝ) appear frequently on coins. Secondly, while Imhoof-Blumer does not provide any provenance for his piece, the few pieces recorded since then all seem to come from Asia Minor. If this is true, it would argue strongly against a ruler named Demetrios, as such a decidedly Macedonian name would not to be expected in pre-Hellenistic Asia Minor, nor would a Greek ruler in general be expected to sign coins. Thus, our interpretation of the legend as a place name seems the most likely, but without recorded find spots, the question regarding their origin will remain unresolved for the time being.
See the note in Web Auction 13 (2020), 301. The coins described by Imhoof-Blumer and offered in Gorny & Mosch 228 clearly belong to the same issue as the small hemioboloi. The erudite scholar's suggestion to attribute this issue to an unknown Thraco-Macedonian dynast named Demetrios is a tempting idea, however, two observations speak against this. Firstly, Imhoof-Blumer's argument that the legend ending on O instead of Ω, as would be expected for an ethnic, points towards a name of a ruler, not a place, is not valid for Classic Greek of the 5th century BC. At this time, declinations were not yet canonical and ethnics ending on O[N] (such ΣYRΑΚΟΣΙΟΝ) appear frequently on coins. Secondly, while Imhoof-Blumer does not provide any provenance for his piece, the few pieces recorded since then all seem to come from Asia Minor. If this is true, it would argue strongly against a ruler named Demetrios, as such a decidedly Macedonian name would not to be expected in pre-Hellenistic Asia Minor, nor would a Greek ruler in general be expected to sign coins. Thus, our interpretation of the legend as a place name seems the most likely, but without recorded find spots, the question regarding their origin will remain unresolved for the time being.