Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Electronic Auction 505 1 Dec 2021
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ISLANDS off THRACE, Thasos. Circa 90-75 BC. AR Tetradrachm (36mm, 16.76 g, 11h). "Imitative" series. Wreathed head of young Dionysos right / Herakles standing left, holding club, lion skin on arm; monogram to inner left. Prokopov, Silberprägung, Group XII, – (unlisted dies); Lukanc 1927; HGC 6, 359. Toned, struck with worn obverse die, slight die shift on reverse. VF. Struck on a broad flan. Very rare with this monogram, Prokopov records only 16 examples, 15 of which are in museums.
Traditionally, this monogram has been thought to represent the first four letters of Aesillas' name (in Greek form), similar to the Thasian tetradrachms that bear the monogram of Sura (see Bauslaugh p. 23). Aesillas was Roman quaestor in Macedon, circa 95-70 BC. Prokopov, however, places the issues with this monogram early in her "Thasian type" coinage, which began circa 148 BC. This placement, however, is contradicted by her own hoard evidence. According to Prokopov, coins from dies tied to this monogram have been found in the following hoards: Mezek, Municipiului Bucureşti (CH II 104), Şieu Odorhei (CH VIII 300), and Sînpetru (IGCH 637). Two of these are unhelpful in dating, as the Mezek hoard publication is still forthcoming, and the date of c. 250-200 BC reported for Şieu Odorhei is impossible, as it predates the majority of the coinage in the hoard (Thasian spread-flan tetradrachms and Macedonian First Meris tetradrachms). The remaining two, Municipiului Bucureşti and Sînpetru, however, are dated to circa 94 BC and the early 1st century BC, respectively. If these dates of deposit are correct, then the assumption that the monogram represents Aesillas is probably correct.
Traditionally, this monogram has been thought to represent the first four letters of Aesillas' name (in Greek form), similar to the Thasian tetradrachms that bear the monogram of Sura (see Bauslaugh p. 23). Aesillas was Roman quaestor in Macedon, circa 95-70 BC. Prokopov, however, places the issues with this monogram early in her "Thasian type" coinage, which began circa 148 BC. This placement, however, is contradicted by her own hoard evidence. According to Prokopov, coins from dies tied to this monogram have been found in the following hoards: Mezek, Municipiului Bucureşti (CH II 104), Şieu Odorhei (CH VIII 300), and Sînpetru (IGCH 637). Two of these are unhelpful in dating, as the Mezek hoard publication is still forthcoming, and the date of c. 250-200 BC reported for Şieu Odorhei is impossible, as it predates the majority of the coinage in the hoard (Thasian spread-flan tetradrachms and Macedonian First Meris tetradrachms). The remaining two, Municipiului Bucureşti and Sînpetru, however, are dated to circa 94 BC and the early 1st century BC, respectively. If these dates of deposit are correct, then the assumption that the monogram represents Aesillas is probably correct.