Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 134 21 Nov 2022
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Greek Coins. Metapontum.
Nomos circa 440-430, AR 7.63 g. META retrograde Barley ear; in l. field, grasshopper. Rev. AΨEΛO – SO – AEΘΛON partially retrograde Achelous standing facing, in human form but with bull's head, holding patera and reed. Kraay-Hirmer 230. Jameson 265 (this coin). Noe-Johnston 311a (this coin). Gillet 134 (this coin). Holloway, Art and Coinage in Magna Graecia, p. 118 (this coin illustrated). Historia Numorum Italy 1491 (these dies).
Extremely rare, the only specimen in private hands of four known. An interesting and
fascinating issue of great importance and fascination. Minor areas of corrosion
on reverse, otherwise good very fine
Ex NAC sale 10, 1997, 38. From the Jameson, Nervegna, Gillet and Athos and Dina Moretti collections and anExceptional Collection assembled between the early 70s and late 90s.
In 630 BC, Greek colonists from Achaea founded the city of Metapontum in southern Italy. The site of the new settlement commanded an agricultural hinterland with rich soil that soon brought wealth to the city through the grain trade. Metapontum was so closely connected with its grain that the Metapontines are said to have once dedicated a "golden harvest" at Delphi. This is presumed to have been a dedication of sheaves of grain fashioned from gold. Thus, it is not surprising that an ear of grain became a badge of the city very early on. The origin of the grain ear on the obverse of this extremely rare silver nomos of the later fifth century BC can be traced back to the city's earliest coins, which were first produced around 540 BC. Here the iconic grain ear type has a grasshopper clinging to it, perhaps serving as a reminder of the risks involved in wealth derived from agriculture. If the grasshopper were a locust, the golden harvest of Metapontum would be devoured and the wealth that it represented turned into valueless stubble in the fields. At first glance, the figure on the reverse of the coin might seem to be a representation of the Minotaur-the most famous bull-headed humanoid of Greek mythology, but the epichoric Greek inscription makes it clear that this is actually a depiction of the river-god Achelous. The bull-headed figure is a remarkable departure from the usual custom in Magna Graecia and Sicily, which commonly represented water deities as bulls with human faces. Here instead, we find the head of a bull grafted onto the body of a man. It is unclear whether the more usual iconography of the man-faced bull was consciously developed in order to avoid confusion with the Minotaur. To help distinguish the figure on the Metapontine coin as the river-god, he also carries reeds and a patera from which he pours his waters.
Nomos circa 440-430, AR 7.63 g. META retrograde Barley ear; in l. field, grasshopper. Rev. AΨEΛO – SO – AEΘΛON partially retrograde Achelous standing facing, in human form but with bull's head, holding patera and reed. Kraay-Hirmer 230. Jameson 265 (this coin). Noe-Johnston 311a (this coin). Gillet 134 (this coin). Holloway, Art and Coinage in Magna Graecia, p. 118 (this coin illustrated). Historia Numorum Italy 1491 (these dies).
Extremely rare, the only specimen in private hands of four known. An interesting and
fascinating issue of great importance and fascination. Minor areas of corrosion
on reverse, otherwise good very fine
Ex NAC sale 10, 1997, 38. From the Jameson, Nervegna, Gillet and Athos and Dina Moretti collections and anExceptional Collection assembled between the early 70s and late 90s.
In 630 BC, Greek colonists from Achaea founded the city of Metapontum in southern Italy. The site of the new settlement commanded an agricultural hinterland with rich soil that soon brought wealth to the city through the grain trade. Metapontum was so closely connected with its grain that the Metapontines are said to have once dedicated a "golden harvest" at Delphi. This is presumed to have been a dedication of sheaves of grain fashioned from gold. Thus, it is not surprising that an ear of grain became a badge of the city very early on. The origin of the grain ear on the obverse of this extremely rare silver nomos of the later fifth century BC can be traced back to the city's earliest coins, which were first produced around 540 BC. Here the iconic grain ear type has a grasshopper clinging to it, perhaps serving as a reminder of the risks involved in wealth derived from agriculture. If the grasshopper were a locust, the golden harvest of Metapontum would be devoured and the wealth that it represented turned into valueless stubble in the fields. At first glance, the figure on the reverse of the coin might seem to be a representation of the Minotaur-the most famous bull-headed humanoid of Greek mythology, but the epichoric Greek inscription makes it clear that this is actually a depiction of the river-god Achelous. The bull-headed figure is a remarkable departure from the usual custom in Magna Graecia and Sicily, which commonly represented water deities as bulls with human faces. Here instead, we find the head of a bull grafted onto the body of a man. It is unclear whether the more usual iconography of the man-faced bull was consciously developed in order to avoid confusion with the Minotaur. To help distinguish the figure on the Metapontine coin as the river-god, he also carries reeds and a patera from which he pours his waters.