Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 138 18-19 May 2023
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Locri Epizephyrii.
Nomos circa 350, AR 7.60 g. Laureate head Zeus r.; beneath neck truncation, ZEYΣ. Rev. ΛΟΚΡΩΝ Eirene, holding caduceus, seated l. on cippus, decorated with bucranium; below, ΕΥΡΕΝΑ. de Luynes 765 (these dies). SNG ANS 501 (this reverse die). Kraay-Hirmer pl. 102, 291 (this reverse die). Historia Numorum Italy 2310.
Extremely rare and in exceptional condition for the issue, probably the finest specimen
known. A portrait of great beauty, the work of a very skilled master engraver. Struck
on very fresh metal and with a light iridescent tone. Good extremely fine
Ex NAC sale 9, 1996, 111. From the Athos and Dina Moretti collection and an Exceptional Collection assembled between the early 70s and late 90s.
Why Locri Epizephyrii failed to strike coinage before the 4th Century B.C. remains a mystery, especially since several of its less-important neighbours produced large coinages in the Archaic and early Classical periods. Robinson proposed that the city's coinage needs may have been met by nearby Caulonia, which had an inexplicably large output for a city of its size.
Beyond its basic classification, little is understood about the coinage of Locri. However, numerous inscriptions dating from c.350-250 B.C. suggest that at least by the time Locri was issuing coins, the sanctuary of Zeus had become the city's principal credit institution by granting loans by transferring sacred revenues to the public funds. Thus, it is hardly surprising that Zeus or his associated symbols dominate the major coin types of the city. This stater appears to be from the inaugural issue at Locri. Its style and composition are masterful, its type unique, and its rarity a strong indication that this was a small issue struck for a brief period. Yet, there is no consensus among scholars as to precisely when, or why, it was struck – only that it probably dates to between c.375 and 330 B.C. Head dated the issue to c.344-332 B.C., noting that the depiction of Eirene (peace) suggested it was struck in "an era of internal peace and prosperity." He proposed that it was struck after the younger Dionysius was expelled from the city in 346 B.C. The son of the Syracusan tyrant Dionysius I, who had married a noble Locrian woman, Dionysius II was welcomed as an exile. When he behaved despotically, he was forced to leave. This turned out to be an event of great importance since it caused the former oligarchic regime to be replaced by a moderate democracy. Most scholars had agreed with Head that this coinage was struck after c.350 B.C., though some associated it with the activities of Timoleon or Alexander the Molossian. However, Kraay favoured an earlier date of c.375 B.C., based upon a comparison with the introduction of the seated Nike on the staters of Terina (a design which is generally considered to be the prototype for the first coinage at Locri). In doing so, Kraay paid greater attention to style and fabric than to the possibility it was linked to an historical event. In defence of that approach, he suggested it is possible that the reverse inscription was meant to be read as 'eirene of the Locrians', thus making peace at Locri comparable to Nike at Terina. He added that "...if Eirene at Locri was a city-goddess like Nike at Terina, the issue need not be occasioned by any particular manifestation of peace, and the date in the first quarter of the century of the prototype at Terina for the seated figure suggests that the version at Locri should not be later than c. 375 B C."
Nomos circa 350, AR 7.60 g. Laureate head Zeus r.; beneath neck truncation, ZEYΣ. Rev. ΛΟΚΡΩΝ Eirene, holding caduceus, seated l. on cippus, decorated with bucranium; below, ΕΥΡΕΝΑ. de Luynes 765 (these dies). SNG ANS 501 (this reverse die). Kraay-Hirmer pl. 102, 291 (this reverse die). Historia Numorum Italy 2310.
Extremely rare and in exceptional condition for the issue, probably the finest specimen
known. A portrait of great beauty, the work of a very skilled master engraver. Struck
on very fresh metal and with a light iridescent tone. Good extremely fine
Ex NAC sale 9, 1996, 111. From the Athos and Dina Moretti collection and an Exceptional Collection assembled between the early 70s and late 90s.
Why Locri Epizephyrii failed to strike coinage before the 4th Century B.C. remains a mystery, especially since several of its less-important neighbours produced large coinages in the Archaic and early Classical periods. Robinson proposed that the city's coinage needs may have been met by nearby Caulonia, which had an inexplicably large output for a city of its size.
Beyond its basic classification, little is understood about the coinage of Locri. However, numerous inscriptions dating from c.350-250 B.C. suggest that at least by the time Locri was issuing coins, the sanctuary of Zeus had become the city's principal credit institution by granting loans by transferring sacred revenues to the public funds. Thus, it is hardly surprising that Zeus or his associated symbols dominate the major coin types of the city. This stater appears to be from the inaugural issue at Locri. Its style and composition are masterful, its type unique, and its rarity a strong indication that this was a small issue struck for a brief period. Yet, there is no consensus among scholars as to precisely when, or why, it was struck – only that it probably dates to between c.375 and 330 B.C. Head dated the issue to c.344-332 B.C., noting that the depiction of Eirene (peace) suggested it was struck in "an era of internal peace and prosperity." He proposed that it was struck after the younger Dionysius was expelled from the city in 346 B.C. The son of the Syracusan tyrant Dionysius I, who had married a noble Locrian woman, Dionysius II was welcomed as an exile. When he behaved despotically, he was forced to leave. This turned out to be an event of great importance since it caused the former oligarchic regime to be replaced by a moderate democracy. Most scholars had agreed with Head that this coinage was struck after c.350 B.C., though some associated it with the activities of Timoleon or Alexander the Molossian. However, Kraay favoured an earlier date of c.375 B.C., based upon a comparison with the introduction of the seated Nike on the staters of Terina (a design which is generally considered to be the prototype for the first coinage at Locri). In doing so, Kraay paid greater attention to style and fabric than to the possibility it was linked to an historical event. In defence of that approach, he suggested it is possible that the reverse inscription was meant to be read as 'eirene of the Locrians', thus making peace at Locri comparable to Nike at Terina. He added that "...if Eirene at Locri was a city-goddess like Nike at Terina, the issue need not be occasioned by any particular manifestation of peace, and the date in the first quarter of the century of the prototype at Terina for the seated figure suggests that the version at Locri should not be later than c. 375 B C."