Nomos AG
Auction 24 22 May 2022
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MYSIA. Kyzikos. Circa 500-450 BC. Stater (Electrum, 19 mm, 16.15 g). Gorgoneion facing, with open mouth, protruding tongue and serpent hair; below, tunny fish to left. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square. BMFA 1445 = Warren 1492. SNG Paris -. Von Fritze 129. Lightly toned. Good very fine.
From the Villiers Collection, ex Triton XX, 10 January 2017, 215.
Gorgoneia were very popular on Greek coinage during the 6th and 5th centuries BC, so it is not surprising to find one here on the coinage of Kyzikos. The proportions of the head are actually rather odd: the cheeks extend outwards far beyond the ears, giving her head a rather pear-shaped look. Given that the choice of types for the electrum coinage of Kyzikos were left to the magistrates responsible for each issue, it would be interesting if the magistrate responsible for this piece had connections with a city like Apollonia, or Neapolis or Parion, which used a gorgoneion as a badge on its own coinage.
From the Villiers Collection, ex Triton XX, 10 January 2017, 215.
Gorgoneia were very popular on Greek coinage during the 6th and 5th centuries BC, so it is not surprising to find one here on the coinage of Kyzikos. The proportions of the head are actually rather odd: the cheeks extend outwards far beyond the ears, giving her head a rather pear-shaped look. Given that the choice of types for the electrum coinage of Kyzikos were left to the magistrates responsible for each issue, it would be interesting if the magistrate responsible for this piece had connections with a city like Apollonia, or Neapolis or Parion, which used a gorgoneion as a badge on its own coinage.