The New York Sale
Auction 34 6 January 2015
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ANCIENT COINS, GREEK COINS, Sicily, Motya (c.412-410 BC), Silver Didrachm, 8.3g. Hound standing right, plant below. Rev. female facing head right, branch with four leaves behind (cf Jenkins 20/18 (O11/R10; die combination not recorded); cf Hurter, Die Drachmaprägung von Segesta, pl. 22, D / pl. 21, H1 (obverse/reverse, this obverse die)). Some areas of porosity on both sides, still desirable, very fine. Rare.
During a short period near the end of the 5th Century, c.412-408 BC, the cities of Motya and Panormos struck Didrachms of Segestan type. Motya, which had hitherto issued Didrachms with a horseman design, now adopted the Segestan hound for its obverse. Furthermore, in at least three instances an actual Segestan obverse die was used to strike the coins for Motya, and two of the three were also used to strike coins for Panormos. The coins in question clearly show the progression of use: Segesta - Motya - Panormos. This leads to the important question of where these coins were minted. It was previously thought that the dies were physically transported from one city to the next, but it seems more likely that there was a central mint involved in striking for all three cities. Hurter saw the hand of a single engraver at work, which supports the theory of a central mint, and Jenkins proposed that the coins were struck at Panormos, based on the grounds that it was newly opened. However, at this time the location of the mint remains uncertain.
Estimate: $ 1,000
During a short period near the end of the 5th Century, c.412-408 BC, the cities of Motya and Panormos struck Didrachms of Segestan type. Motya, which had hitherto issued Didrachms with a horseman design, now adopted the Segestan hound for its obverse. Furthermore, in at least three instances an actual Segestan obverse die was used to strike the coins for Motya, and two of the three were also used to strike coins for Panormos. The coins in question clearly show the progression of use: Segesta - Motya - Panormos. This leads to the important question of where these coins were minted. It was previously thought that the dies were physically transported from one city to the next, but it seems more likely that there was a central mint involved in striking for all three cities. Hurter saw the hand of a single engraver at work, which supports the theory of a central mint, and Jenkins proposed that the coins were struck at Panormos, based on the grounds that it was newly opened. However, at this time the location of the mint remains uncertain.
Estimate: $ 1,000