Nomos AG
Auction 26 21 May 2023
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SICILY. Himera. Circa 455-430/25 BC. Tetras or Trionkion (Silver, 7 mm, 0.18 g). Bearded male head to right, with a goat's ear and horns. Rev. Three pellets. Buceti 37. Manganaro, Mikrà 27 and pl. 4, 52. Very rare. Dark patina. Some roughness, otherwise, good very fine.
From the "Collection sans Pareille" of Ancient Greek Fractions.
The head on the obverse of this might well be that of Pan (the Latin Faunus), because of his goat's horn and ear, but he is more probably the head of a peculiarly Himeran monster, who appears as a protome with the same head, but with wings and and the leg of a lion, on well known Himeran litra (as Buceti 31 and 32). In addition, those coins have, on their reverses, a figure of a young Pan riding on a goat (see also the obverse of lot 118 below, with that same figure), thus making it clear that this head is not Pan's.
From the "Collection sans Pareille" of Ancient Greek Fractions.
The head on the obverse of this might well be that of Pan (the Latin Faunus), because of his goat's horn and ear, but he is more probably the head of a peculiarly Himeran monster, who appears as a protome with the same head, but with wings and and the leg of a lion, on well known Himeran litra (as Buceti 31 and 32). In addition, those coins have, on their reverses, a figure of a young Pan riding on a goat (see also the obverse of lot 118 below, with that same figure), thus making it clear that this head is not Pan's.