Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 126 17 Nov 2021
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The Cyclades, Delos
Euboic didrachm or stater circa 470, AR 7.60 g. Seven-stringed cithara. Rev. Four-stringed lyre within incuse square. Sheedy –.
Apparently unique and unrecorded. Dark tone, a very deep test cut, otherwise very fine
Ex NAC sale 59, 2011, 601.
The archaic coins of Delos depict on their obverse a cithara with strings ranging in number from three to seven. On all but the last issue of the archaic period the reverse is a utilitarian incuse punch of varying format. It is only with the fourth and final Archaic issue documented by Sheedy that a reverse type is employed: a wheel-like device with an ethnic within its angles, all set within a shallow incuse square. Sheedy knew of only two fractional silver coins from the final series: a tritartemorion of 0.45 grams and a hemiobol of 0.33 grams. The present coin appears to be undocumented, and represents a remarkable addition to the coinage of this famous island. It resembles the standard issues of Delos by having on its obverse a cithara (above which there is an incomplete object or letter), but replaces the reverse punch with a fully realized, artistic reverse type of a lyre set into a shallow square. The cithara ('box lyre'), with an often-elongated wooden sound box and straight arms, was sacred to Apollo, and thus was one of the most familiar musical instruments of the ancient world. It seems to have been derived from the first string instrument, the lyra ('bowl lyre'), which had curved arms and a sound box fabricated of tortoiseshell. The lyra was invented by Hermes while still an infant, as related in one version of the myth recorded by the Roman-era mythographer Pseudo-Apollodorus (Bibliotheca 3. 113): Hermes "...found a tortoise feeding. He cleaned it out, and stretched across the shell strings made from the cattle [of Apollo] he had sacrificed, and when he had thus devised a lyre he also invented a plectrum... When Apollo heard the lyre, he exchanged the cattle for that". Though in Classical and Hellenistic times Delos was important for its treasury, in the Archaic period its economic survival depended on its ideal location and facilities for trade, and its famous sanctuary of Apollo, which likely drew visitors on a regular basis and would have been especially well attended during its festival, which Thucydides (3.104) describes as a popular event.
When this coin was offered at auction, some scholars doubted its authenticity. Their reservations derived from the fact that the style of the lyre on the obverse was stylistically compatible with the first issues of Delos-datable to the end of the sixth century, whilst the incuse square and the cithara on the reverse were datable to at least 50 years later. Objectively, this enigma is numismatically difficult to explain and could cast doubt over the authenticity of this coin. However, a technical analysis of the coin suggests the exact opposite. Indeed, the coin presents a very deep test cut with characteristics which would be impossible for a counterfeiter to reproduce. The oxidization of the surface of this coin is uniform and even develops into the test cut, clearly indicating that the coin had the test cut when it was interred and that this feature could not have been produced at a later stage by a forgerer. Had this been the case, even using ancient metal, the internal part of the test cut would have resulted in exposing fresh metal. It is also worth noting that when we look even more closely, the test cut also presents completely perpendicular walls which would have been impossible to reproduce using fusion or pressure-casting techniques. To conclude, the technical analysis carried out on this coin can only confirm its authenticity and its stylistic inconsistency is a mystery which warrants further investigation without erroneously condemning an unquestionably authentic coin.
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Euboic didrachm or stater circa 470, AR 7.60 g. Seven-stringed cithara. Rev. Four-stringed lyre within incuse square. Sheedy –.
Apparently unique and unrecorded. Dark tone, a very deep test cut, otherwise very fine
Ex NAC sale 59, 2011, 601.
The archaic coins of Delos depict on their obverse a cithara with strings ranging in number from three to seven. On all but the last issue of the archaic period the reverse is a utilitarian incuse punch of varying format. It is only with the fourth and final Archaic issue documented by Sheedy that a reverse type is employed: a wheel-like device with an ethnic within its angles, all set within a shallow incuse square. Sheedy knew of only two fractional silver coins from the final series: a tritartemorion of 0.45 grams and a hemiobol of 0.33 grams. The present coin appears to be undocumented, and represents a remarkable addition to the coinage of this famous island. It resembles the standard issues of Delos by having on its obverse a cithara (above which there is an incomplete object or letter), but replaces the reverse punch with a fully realized, artistic reverse type of a lyre set into a shallow square. The cithara ('box lyre'), with an often-elongated wooden sound box and straight arms, was sacred to Apollo, and thus was one of the most familiar musical instruments of the ancient world. It seems to have been derived from the first string instrument, the lyra ('bowl lyre'), which had curved arms and a sound box fabricated of tortoiseshell. The lyra was invented by Hermes while still an infant, as related in one version of the myth recorded by the Roman-era mythographer Pseudo-Apollodorus (Bibliotheca 3. 113): Hermes "...found a tortoise feeding. He cleaned it out, and stretched across the shell strings made from the cattle [of Apollo] he had sacrificed, and when he had thus devised a lyre he also invented a plectrum... When Apollo heard the lyre, he exchanged the cattle for that". Though in Classical and Hellenistic times Delos was important for its treasury, in the Archaic period its economic survival depended on its ideal location and facilities for trade, and its famous sanctuary of Apollo, which likely drew visitors on a regular basis and would have been especially well attended during its festival, which Thucydides (3.104) describes as a popular event.
When this coin was offered at auction, some scholars doubted its authenticity. Their reservations derived from the fact that the style of the lyre on the obverse was stylistically compatible with the first issues of Delos-datable to the end of the sixth century, whilst the incuse square and the cithara on the reverse were datable to at least 50 years later. Objectively, this enigma is numismatically difficult to explain and could cast doubt over the authenticity of this coin. However, a technical analysis of the coin suggests the exact opposite. Indeed, the coin presents a very deep test cut with characteristics which would be impossible for a counterfeiter to reproduce. The oxidization of the surface of this coin is uniform and even develops into the test cut, clearly indicating that the coin had the test cut when it was interred and that this feature could not have been produced at a later stage by a forgerer. Had this been the case, even using ancient metal, the internal part of the test cut would have resulted in exposing fresh metal. It is also worth noting that when we look even more closely, the test cut also presents completely perpendicular walls which would have been impossible to reproduce using fusion or pressure-casting techniques. To conclude, the technical analysis carried out on this coin can only confirm its authenticity and its stylistic inconsistency is a mystery which warrants further investigation without erroneously condemning an unquestionably authentic coin.
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