Heritage World Coin Auctions
NYINC Signature Sale 3037 Sess. 2-4 5 January 2015
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Ancients
MACEDON. Neapolis. Ca. 525-480 BC. AR stater (20mm, 8.27 gm). Head of Gorgon facing, with protruding tongue / Quadripartite incuse square. SNG ANS 408–9. AMNG III, 1-2 and pl. XVI, 18-19. Well centered and struck in high relief. NGC XF 5/5 - 4/5. From the James Cain 'Faces of Medusa' Collection. The Gorgons were three sisters whose terrible visages and gaze could turn one to stone. The mythology dates back to Minoan times, where they seem to have originated as sea deities; about 700 BC, Hesiod names the three Gorgons as Stheno, Euryale and Medusa and says they were the offspring of the sea monsters Keto and Phorcys. Of the three, Medusa is shown with writhing snakes instead of hair; the other two are often depicted with grotesque grins, fang-like boar's tusks, and protruding tongues. Medusa was famously slain by the hero Perseus and her head used as a weapon to turn his enemies to stone. Images of Gorgons appear frequently in Greek art as talismans of protection, particularly on the shields of Greek soldiers and as decorations for the breastplate.
Estimate: 4000-5500 USD
MACEDON. Neapolis. Ca. 525-480 BC. AR stater (20mm, 8.27 gm). Head of Gorgon facing, with protruding tongue / Quadripartite incuse square. SNG ANS 408–9. AMNG III, 1-2 and pl. XVI, 18-19. Well centered and struck in high relief. NGC XF 5/5 - 4/5. From the James Cain 'Faces of Medusa' Collection. The Gorgons were three sisters whose terrible visages and gaze could turn one to stone. The mythology dates back to Minoan times, where they seem to have originated as sea deities; about 700 BC, Hesiod names the three Gorgons as Stheno, Euryale and Medusa and says they were the offspring of the sea monsters Keto and Phorcys. Of the three, Medusa is shown with writhing snakes instead of hair; the other two are often depicted with grotesque grins, fang-like boar's tusks, and protruding tongues. Medusa was famously slain by the hero Perseus and her head used as a weapon to turn his enemies to stone. Images of Gorgons appear frequently in Greek art as talismans of protection, particularly on the shields of Greek soldiers and as decorations for the breastplate.
Estimate: 4000-5500 USD