Nomos AG
obolos 21 2 Jan 2022
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IONIA. Phokaia. Circa 360-340 BC. Hemiobol (Silver, 6 mm, 0.38 g, 12 h). Female head to left, her hair rolled up at the back. Rev. Head of a griffin to left, crest along the back of his neck; all within a linear frame. Apparently unpublished, but see Nomos 18, 2019, 162 for another example from the same dies. Lightly toned. Very fine.
When a coin of this type first appeared at auction in 2013 it was somewhat bizarrely dated to c. 480 BC; this is, of course, stylistically impossible! Heads like the one on the obverse of this coin are quite similar to the heads of Apollo on contemporary issues from Kolophon, but since our example lacks a wreath it is surely of a local nymph, probably Phokaia herself.
When a coin of this type first appeared at auction in 2013 it was somewhat bizarrely dated to c. 480 BC; this is, of course, stylistically impossible! Heads like the one on the obverse of this coin are quite similar to the heads of Apollo on contemporary issues from Kolophon, but since our example lacks a wreath it is surely of a local nymph, probably Phokaia herself.