MYSIA, Kyzikos. Circa 450-330 BC. EL Myshemihekte – Twenty-fourth Stater (7mm, 0.67 g). Bearded male, nude but for petasos and cloak tied at neck, crouching left on the back of a sacrificial ram lying left, holding its head up with his left hand, exposing its neck that he prepares to strike with a knife held above in his right hand / Quadripartite incuse square. Cf. Von Fritze I 156 (unlisted denomination); Boston MFA –; BN –. Minor marks, die rust on obverse. VF. Extremely rare, Hurter & Liewald record a single example in a private collection; only one in CoinArchives (Roma XIX, lot 514).
The identification of the male on the obverse has long been debated. M. F. Lenormant first suggested Phrixos sacrificing the ram with the golden fleece, but Greenwell preferred Odysseus slaying the animal Circe provided him before his descent into Hades, in part due to the figure being bearded, which indicated an older individual, which contrasts with the youthful portraits traditionally given to Phrixos.