Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 132 30-31 May 2022
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The Cyclades, Tenos
Didrachm circa 260-240, AR 6.62 g. Head of Apollo Carneius r. Rev. ΤΗΝΙΩΝ Poseidon standing l., holding dolphin and sceptre; in l. field, bunch of grapes. SNG Copenhagen 769. SNG Lockett 2631. Dewing 1970.
Very rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. An interesting Hellenistic
portrait struck on very fresh metal. Virtually as struck and almost Fdc
Privately purchased from Herbert Kreindler in 2002 and notarized as being in Switzerland prior to 2004.
Although it is struck to a much lower weight standard than the Attic, this didrachm derives its types from two of the most widely recognized Attic-weight coinages of the third century BC. The reverse type depicts Poseidon holding a dolphin and trident, a modified version of the Zeus who graced the reverse of tetradrachms struck both during the lifetime and after the death of Alexander the Great. Here Zeus has essentially been turned into Poseidon by the replacement of his usual eagle with a dolphin and the substitution of his scepter with a trident. Likewise, while the laurel wreath worn by the youthful horned head on the obverse signals a representation of Apollo Carneius, the model for the head is clearly that of Alexander the Great with the horn of Ammon found on tetradrachms initially struck by Lysimachos in 297/6 BC. Even the anastole hairstyle typical of the Alexander portraits remains visible here at the same time that the head is supposed to be read as Apollo Carneius. This issue of Tenos, perhaps above all others of the third century BC, illustrates how strongly the coinage of Alexander the Great and Lysimachos influenced the civic coinages that evolved in the decades that followed their deaths. While influenced by some of the most common and widespread coinages of the Hellenistic age, the present didrachm, of Tenos is actually one of the rarest in coinage struck by cities of the Cyclades.
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Didrachm circa 260-240, AR 6.62 g. Head of Apollo Carneius r. Rev. ΤΗΝΙΩΝ Poseidon standing l., holding dolphin and sceptre; in l. field, bunch of grapes. SNG Copenhagen 769. SNG Lockett 2631. Dewing 1970.
Very rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. An interesting Hellenistic
portrait struck on very fresh metal. Virtually as struck and almost Fdc
Privately purchased from Herbert Kreindler in 2002 and notarized as being in Switzerland prior to 2004.
Although it is struck to a much lower weight standard than the Attic, this didrachm derives its types from two of the most widely recognized Attic-weight coinages of the third century BC. The reverse type depicts Poseidon holding a dolphin and trident, a modified version of the Zeus who graced the reverse of tetradrachms struck both during the lifetime and after the death of Alexander the Great. Here Zeus has essentially been turned into Poseidon by the replacement of his usual eagle with a dolphin and the substitution of his scepter with a trident. Likewise, while the laurel wreath worn by the youthful horned head on the obverse signals a representation of Apollo Carneius, the model for the head is clearly that of Alexander the Great with the horn of Ammon found on tetradrachms initially struck by Lysimachos in 297/6 BC. Even the anastole hairstyle typical of the Alexander portraits remains visible here at the same time that the head is supposed to be read as Apollo Carneius. This issue of Tenos, perhaps above all others of the third century BC, illustrates how strongly the coinage of Alexander the Great and Lysimachos influenced the civic coinages that evolved in the decades that followed their deaths. While influenced by some of the most common and widespread coinages of the Hellenistic age, the present didrachm, of Tenos is actually one of the rarest in coinage struck by cities of the Cyclades.
View a video of this lot