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NYINC Signature Sale 3097 10 Jan 2022
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Ancients
IONIA. Ephesus. Phanes (ca. 625-600 BC). EL third-stater or trite (13mm, 4.67 gm). NGC Choice VF★ 4/5 - 5/5. Milesian standard. ΦΑΝEΟΣ (retrograde), spotted stag walking right, head lowered / Two square incuse punches, side-by-side, decorated with linear cross-hatch pattern interiors. Kraay & Hirmer 585. Weidauer 40. Linzalone LN1075. Cleanly struck on a broad oval flan, with a fine stag and clear legible inscription.
From the Buxton Collection
One of the earliest recorded series to bear both a type and inscription, the famous electrum stater and its fractions bearing a stag and the retrograde legend "I am the badge of Phanes" stand apart for both historical importance and vigorous archaic artistry. The Phanes coinage falls into seven denominations, from the (extremely rare) full stater down to a 1/96 stater, all featuring the stag in various poses; only the full stater and third-stater or trite are inscribed. The early date of the issue is confirmed both by the archaic artwork and legend (some of the Greek letters are of early form, and the die engravers had not yet learned to reverse their inscriptions in the die so as to read correctly on the struck coin), and the discovery of a fraction from the same series in a votive deposit in the foundations for the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, which commenced construction prior to 550 BC. If indeed a person, the "Phanes" named on this piece is likely unknown to history: He might have been a Carian or Ephesian treasury minister of the later 7th century BC, or a private individual wealthy enough to strike his own coinage. Wolfgang Kastner, in SNR 65 (1986), points out that, grammatically, "Phanos" (as on the staters and halves) or "Phaneos" (as rendered on electrum trites) cannot be the genitive of the male name Phanes. He theorizes that the legend refers to a goddess called "Phano" or a place name. An alternative reading of the legend as "I am the tomb of light" has also been proposed, supporting the possibility that the name and types refer to a divinity, perhaps Apollo-Phaneos (light-bringer) or Artemis (due to the stag).
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/greek/ancients-ionia-ephesus-phanes-ca-625-600-bc-el-third-stater-or-trite-13mm-467-gm-ngc-choice-vfand-9733-4-5/a/3097-30023.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3097-01102022
HID02906262019
© 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 30000-40000 USD
IONIA. Ephesus. Phanes (ca. 625-600 BC). EL third-stater or trite (13mm, 4.67 gm). NGC Choice VF★ 4/5 - 5/5. Milesian standard. ΦΑΝEΟΣ (retrograde), spotted stag walking right, head lowered / Two square incuse punches, side-by-side, decorated with linear cross-hatch pattern interiors. Kraay & Hirmer 585. Weidauer 40. Linzalone LN1075. Cleanly struck on a broad oval flan, with a fine stag and clear legible inscription.
From the Buxton Collection
One of the earliest recorded series to bear both a type and inscription, the famous electrum stater and its fractions bearing a stag and the retrograde legend "I am the badge of Phanes" stand apart for both historical importance and vigorous archaic artistry. The Phanes coinage falls into seven denominations, from the (extremely rare) full stater down to a 1/96 stater, all featuring the stag in various poses; only the full stater and third-stater or trite are inscribed. The early date of the issue is confirmed both by the archaic artwork and legend (some of the Greek letters are of early form, and the die engravers had not yet learned to reverse their inscriptions in the die so as to read correctly on the struck coin), and the discovery of a fraction from the same series in a votive deposit in the foundations for the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, which commenced construction prior to 550 BC. If indeed a person, the "Phanes" named on this piece is likely unknown to history: He might have been a Carian or Ephesian treasury minister of the later 7th century BC, or a private individual wealthy enough to strike his own coinage. Wolfgang Kastner, in SNR 65 (1986), points out that, grammatically, "Phanos" (as on the staters and halves) or "Phaneos" (as rendered on electrum trites) cannot be the genitive of the male name Phanes. He theorizes that the legend refers to a goddess called "Phano" or a place name. An alternative reading of the legend as "I am the tomb of light" has also been proposed, supporting the possibility that the name and types refer to a divinity, perhaps Apollo-Phaneos (light-bringer) or Artemis (due to the stag).
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/greek/ancients-ionia-ephesus-phanes-ca-625-600-bc-el-third-stater-or-trite-13mm-467-gm-ngc-choice-vfand-9733-4-5/a/3097-30023.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3097-01102022
HID02906262019
© 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 30000-40000 USD