Heritage World Coin Auctions
NYINC Signature Sale 3037 Sess. 2-4 5 January 2015
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Ancients
SICULO-PUNIC. Entella. Ca. 345-315 BC. AR tetradrachm (25mm, 16.84 gm, 2h). Circa 345-315 BC. Head of Persephone left, wearing barley-ear wreath, triple-pendant earring, and necklace; four dolphins around, shell below chin / Horse prancing right before palm tree. Jenkins, Punic 134 (O45/R120). Nanteuil 411 (same dies). HGC 2, 282 (R2). Lovely style, strike. Choice iridescent toning. NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 3/5, Fine Style.From The California Collection. The location of the main Carthaginian mint in Sicily identified by Punic inscription as "The Camp" has long been a matter of conjecture and dispute. Recent research, adopted by Oliver Hoover in his Handbook of Coins of Sicily (CNG 2012), suggests the "Camp" mint to have been Entella, a fortress-like city located in central-west Sicily. The Siculo-Punic coinage of Entella seems to have been intended mainly to pay mercenary soldiers who were used to being paid in Greek coin, as the silver tetradrachms adhere closely to the Attic weight standard. Designs were usually based on the ubiquitous issues of Syracuse (obverse), but with reverses displaying their Carthaginian allegiance (the palm tree, phonix in Greek, is likely a canting pun on the term Phoenician). Horses also feature prominently, likely referring to the outstanding cavalry of the Carthaginians and their Campanian allies. The obverse of this beautiful piece is a near-perfect copy of the ubiquitous Euainetos decadrachm design, while the reverse shows the "Punic Horse" in a graceful pose with one foreleg raised.
Estimate: 12000-16000 USD
SICULO-PUNIC. Entella. Ca. 345-315 BC. AR tetradrachm (25mm, 16.84 gm, 2h). Circa 345-315 BC. Head of Persephone left, wearing barley-ear wreath, triple-pendant earring, and necklace; four dolphins around, shell below chin / Horse prancing right before palm tree. Jenkins, Punic 134 (O45/R120). Nanteuil 411 (same dies). HGC 2, 282 (R2). Lovely style, strike. Choice iridescent toning. NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 3/5, Fine Style.From The California Collection. The location of the main Carthaginian mint in Sicily identified by Punic inscription as "The Camp" has long been a matter of conjecture and dispute. Recent research, adopted by Oliver Hoover in his Handbook of Coins of Sicily (CNG 2012), suggests the "Camp" mint to have been Entella, a fortress-like city located in central-west Sicily. The Siculo-Punic coinage of Entella seems to have been intended mainly to pay mercenary soldiers who were used to being paid in Greek coin, as the silver tetradrachms adhere closely to the Attic weight standard. Designs were usually based on the ubiquitous issues of Syracuse (obverse), but with reverses displaying their Carthaginian allegiance (the palm tree, phonix in Greek, is likely a canting pun on the term Phoenician). Horses also feature prominently, likely referring to the outstanding cavalry of the Carthaginians and their Campanian allies. The obverse of this beautiful piece is a near-perfect copy of the ubiquitous Euainetos decadrachm design, while the reverse shows the "Punic Horse" in a graceful pose with one foreleg raised.
Estimate: 12000-16000 USD