Stephen Album Rare Coins
Online Auction 19 20-21 Mar 2023
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ELIS: Olympia, AE unit (5.85g), ca. mid-2nd century BC, BCD Olympia-301, SNG Copenhagen-447, laureate head of Zeus right // FA / ΛEI / ΩN ("of the Eleans") within wreath, attractive green patina, Choice VF.
This coin illustrates the archaic letter digamma (F), which stood for the /w/ sound that descended from Proto-Indo-European. It was completely missing in Attic Greek and had largely disappeared from other dialects by the Classical period except for its use as a numeral (6). It was, however, introduced into the Latin alphabet via the Etruscans and became the letter F.
Estimate: 75-100 USD
This coin illustrates the archaic letter digamma (F), which stood for the /w/ sound that descended from Proto-Indo-European. It was completely missing in Attic Greek and had largely disappeared from other dialects by the Classical period except for its use as a numeral (6). It was, however, introduced into the Latin alphabet via the Etruscans and became the letter F.
Estimate: 75-100 USD