Nomos AG
Auction 26 21 May 2023
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LESBOS. Uncertain mint. Circa 500-450 BC. 1/12 Stater (Billon, 9 mm, 0.92 g). Head of a young, male African to right. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square. Bodenstedt 4.1. SNG Arıkantürk 625 var. SNG von Aulock 7715. Rare. Toned and with a portrait that is probably that of real person, albeit with his features slightly emphasized. Very fine.
From the "Collection sans Pareille" of Ancient Greek Fractions, ex Münzen und Medaillen 79, 28 February 1994, 319 (1200 CHF).
Nowadays we are constantly being told that the ancient Greeks had many faults, really were not the true ancestors of democracy, didn't treat women properly, etc. After a while such carping revisions starts to get boring, no? This tiny coin shows us something very important that we need to think about: on its obverse is the portrait of an African male, who could, in fact, be someone we might meet on the street today. He is not here for any conceivable derogatory reason: while the Greeks considered anyone who did not speak Greek a barbarian, for them anyone who spoke Greek was perfectly ok. This African did not appear on the coin as a slave, or a servant, or some lower class character, he is here as an exciting, interesting and exotic character, worthy of curiosity and respect. Such dark complexioned people were known as Aethiopes, (from Aethiop, who was, according to Pliny, a son of Vulcan/Hephaestus) and are first mentioned by Homer; they were familiar to Greeks (and Romans) who travelled on the Nile into Nubia. It is rare that a simple coin can be loaded with so many fascinating implications!
From the "Collection sans Pareille" of Ancient Greek Fractions, ex Münzen und Medaillen 79, 28 February 1994, 319 (1200 CHF).
Nowadays we are constantly being told that the ancient Greeks had many faults, really were not the true ancestors of democracy, didn't treat women properly, etc. After a while such carping revisions starts to get boring, no? This tiny coin shows us something very important that we need to think about: on its obverse is the portrait of an African male, who could, in fact, be someone we might meet on the street today. He is not here for any conceivable derogatory reason: while the Greeks considered anyone who did not speak Greek a barbarian, for them anyone who spoke Greek was perfectly ok. This African did not appear on the coin as a slave, or a servant, or some lower class character, he is here as an exciting, interesting and exotic character, worthy of curiosity and respect. Such dark complexioned people were known as Aethiopes, (from Aethiop, who was, according to Pliny, a son of Vulcan/Hephaestus) and are first mentioned by Homer; they were familiar to Greeks (and Romans) who travelled on the Nile into Nubia. It is rare that a simple coin can be loaded with so many fascinating implications!