Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 132 30-31 May 2022
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Attica, Athens
Didrachm, 'Wappenmünzen' type circa 520, AR 8.56 g. Gorgoneion facing with open mouth and protruding tongue. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square, diagonally divided. Svoronos 63. Seltman group D83 (P63/A56). Kroll pl. 2, 15. Rosen 196.
Extremely rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. Struck in high relief
and perfectly centred with a lovely old cabinet tone. Extremely fine
From a Distinguished Swiss collection.
By the traditions represented in the works of Aristotle and Plutarch, Athenian coinage was introduced by Solon, who became Archon of Athens in 594/3 B.C. However, hoard evidence shows that those literary references cannot be accurate, as they speak to a time long before coinage was first produced in Athens. The references either must be to drachm weights of silver (rather than, specifically, to coined silver) or the original texts were subjected to later revisions. The first coinage of Athens, known as Wappenmünzen ('heraldic coins'), appears to have been introduced in about 545 B.C., near the start of the tyranny of Pisistratus. It would seem that local elites were the driving force behind this coinage as the variety of designs, fourteen in all, likely represent shield-like family badges. The small number of dies employed and the rarity of the coins both indicate that these were not substantial issues. Among the coinages, the didrachm was unusual, though in the earliest phase of Athenian coinage, it was in fact the standard denomination: a coin that was equal in weight to a Corinthian stater (about 8.6 grams). However, sometime between c. 525 and c. 515 B.C., during the tyranny of Hippias (527-510), the Wappenmünzen coinage was superseded by the Gorgoneion tetradrachm series. The introduction of double-weight coins perhaps indicates that the Athenians planned to start using coins for the purpose of large transactions and international trade, rather than principally for local use.
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Didrachm, 'Wappenmünzen' type circa 520, AR 8.56 g. Gorgoneion facing with open mouth and protruding tongue. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square, diagonally divided. Svoronos 63. Seltman group D83 (P63/A56). Kroll pl. 2, 15. Rosen 196.
Extremely rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. Struck in high relief
and perfectly centred with a lovely old cabinet tone. Extremely fine
From a Distinguished Swiss collection.
By the traditions represented in the works of Aristotle and Plutarch, Athenian coinage was introduced by Solon, who became Archon of Athens in 594/3 B.C. However, hoard evidence shows that those literary references cannot be accurate, as they speak to a time long before coinage was first produced in Athens. The references either must be to drachm weights of silver (rather than, specifically, to coined silver) or the original texts were subjected to later revisions. The first coinage of Athens, known as Wappenmünzen ('heraldic coins'), appears to have been introduced in about 545 B.C., near the start of the tyranny of Pisistratus. It would seem that local elites were the driving force behind this coinage as the variety of designs, fourteen in all, likely represent shield-like family badges. The small number of dies employed and the rarity of the coins both indicate that these were not substantial issues. Among the coinages, the didrachm was unusual, though in the earliest phase of Athenian coinage, it was in fact the standard denomination: a coin that was equal in weight to a Corinthian stater (about 8.6 grams). However, sometime between c. 525 and c. 515 B.C., during the tyranny of Hippias (527-510), the Wappenmünzen coinage was superseded by the Gorgoneion tetradrachm series. The introduction of double-weight coins perhaps indicates that the Athenians planned to start using coins for the purpose of large transactions and international trade, rather than principally for local use.
View a video of this lot